Large homes in Home Counties (Commuter area)

[Fretfulmum]

We are looking to put up for sale, DHs parents home which is a large detached type in a popular and very expensive Home Counties town. Commutable very quickly to London and usually large homes sell very quickly here. Absolutely nothing is selling that’s similar on the market right now and I really do get it. Cost of living and large homes with stamp duty £100k+, maintenance and bills etc. I’m beginning to think, who exactly is the target buyer of these homes- it can’t all just be people in their 40s with slightly older children who bought 10 years ago and now want to upsize with huge amounts of equity? Who is going to buy all these homes or am I being naive that there really are that many wealthy people who want to live in these kinds of towns and can afford it?
wondering whether to tell DHs parents to stay put for a few more years or better to get it on the market now. No real need for selling other than the house is expensive to maintain and far too big for them.

I disagree. These home owners are also the people who saw massive negative equity in the late 80s and early 90s due to dropping house prices.

True - I do believe that most of that generation understands that house prices can go down as well as up.

It is just their experience that over their lifetime prices have risen more than fallen so overall they have gained a lot of equity.

That's probably right. There seems to be a lot of entitlement as a result of this.

I don't agree there's a lot of entitlement as a result.

People are all different and I don't like to stereotype a generation just because yes ... some show entitled attitudes.

This is true but I have to say when we bought (which granted was 5 years ago) our area was/is classically full of older people and the houses are 4 /6 beds with people downsizing or probate... I think we say maybe 2 Houses that weren't downsize or probate... and we saw over 40!!!

All of them had a price in mind and "weren't prepared to sell for less"

And I do understand what mindset ... there was no compunction for them to move.
They don't need to move for schools... or jobs... or more space for kids or a home office....

several were actually empty... the owners clearly were able to afford their onward purchase with no issue and were simply "holding out" for the price they wanted. These were all £1m+ houses 🫠🫠🫠

It did stick in my craw a bit - we couldnt do a deal on one house... the vendor was adamant he wanted 1.125m ...we could only go to 1.1m - he bought it for 123k and he wouldnt budge on 25k 😒 ....

We ended up buying off "motivated sellers" they were early 70s / late 60s and divorcing. Neighbours ALL said she was the nicest and gave a scowl re the husband so i was happy we let her move on with her life 😅

I thought you were implying entitlement in your own post, ie that older generations know that prices can go down but don't expect them too and are therefore unwilling to accept it.
Of course people are individuals and it doesn't apply to everyone but there is more than a grain of truth in this generalisation and in some others.

No, I was not implying entitlement. That is a negative term that reflects your own views of a generation.

All I was saying is what I actually said with no judgement, It is just their experience that over their lifetime prices have risen more than fallen so overall they have gained a lot of equity.

Personally id aim for a quick clean sale.
The market is t going anywhere good.

The £2.5m+ market is going no where fast near us.
Some of the homes have been on for years

In laws have spoken with a EA and they said around £1.6-1.8m but that was over the phone. I’m sure they’ll get a better idea when they get a few to take a look in person.

Area is South Bucks. Can be in London in 23 minutes. This area isn’t short of wealthy buyers but things are stagnating by the looks of things. I’ve been watching similar homes on RM for a while and it’s rare for a house to be under offer since April in this price bracket and especially with outdated decor.

Even in the part of London I grew up in the 2m houses are slow to sell, used to go like hot cakes and the ones that are selling so far haven't kept up with inflation really.

Problem if, even assuming £600-800k equity (quite a lot for a family looking for more space) - the extra £1m mortgage will be £5.5k a month (£100k of income+) - and over £100k stamp duty.

That's the thing. It's a very chunky mortgage to take on. It only takes one job loss in what is now an increasingly difficult jobs market is quite a lot of sectors and the couple are in trouble, especially if they have signed up to private school fees. I think that's why more people seem to be struggling to sell in the last few months. There are always some people who have the money through whatever means and are prepared to spend it but they are more likely to looking for a 'bargain' as they will likely know that there are lots of properties on the market now and that most struggling to sell.
I hope they are successful @Fretfulmum.

If the local state schools are good enough, then the emerging target market could be families investing in generous housing in a good catchment rather than paying school fees. I think as the VAT and associated fee increases start to bite, more and more well-off families will decide they don't need independent schools and can give their DC a good start in life by other means.

I live in North Bucks which is significantly cheaper than South Bucks and the market is struggling on the 700K+ houses. Your IL maybe in for quite a shock as to what people are prepared to pay. If the house is 'dated' and not reflected in the price - the houses hang.

What are they looking to move into? Might be persuaded to sell for a realistic price if the next place is cheaper than they’re currently thinking.

The trouble with a stagnating market is the big impasse where nobody will budge on price except the desperate sellers and then the buyers holding out for a perfect place as there is plenty on offer. Only the best and realistically priced places sell. Anything compromised or over priced will just sit there.
Back to the 80s except with more demand and more overseas buyers.

We are in Herts in a commuter town with a similar 26 minute commute to King’s Cross. We are about to try and sell but the estate agent has warned us the market is slow for our size/value house (4 bed-with an extra annexe-£850 ish). People buying these sorts of houses are the move out of Londoners. We need to move for. Various reasons so we aren’t going to wait to market it but we aren’t expecting a quick sale.

getting work done is very expensive now so if an old house has a tiny kitchen or knackered roof, expect to reduce the price by 40-50k per kitchen/bathroom that needs work

@piscofrisco they are the move out of Londoners with high paid jobs but the days of making significant gains on London properties are gone. No one with a flat has made equity. So even they have less money now. Of course, some will have the money no matter what, from various means. DH and I are the typical lived in London, moved to the Home Counties, highly paid London jobs, had some help with buying our property etc. all our friends are in the same boat, and only one couple we know has bought a large detached 3000sqft+. It’s now a big risk to take on a £1m mortgage with higher interest rates/job uncertainty, and the equity gains from smaller properties are not as substantial as before.
In laws are going on the market by the end of this week. We’ve spoken to them about being realistic but they still think a kitchen/bathroom replacement and decor update will only cost £50k/ £70k. When I said it’s more like £250k they thought I was bonkers and didnt believe me 😕

It’s a bit of a nightmare all round really! Hopefully the right person will fall in love with their house (and outs for that matter) and buy it! Good luck!

I know people a few years older than me who make 200k in 2 yrs on a flat or 400k plus on a house simply because they bought at the right time. Even with great jobs it's very hard to earn that so quick. The whole stagnant flat market/higher interest rates & the associated impact on equity still has yrs to play out imo.

If anyone is interested, in laws have accepted an offer! Asking price went on at £1.5m and offer accepted at £1.395m
Apparently the neighbours are fuming! But in laws are actually happy they are downsizing and moving on, and Dh thinks the prices will go down further yet especially as the October budget gets closer with tax rises, so in laws have accepted the offer. In 2022, these kinds of homes were going for around £1.7m. MIL does feel a bit aggrieved they should have sold a few years ago but also doesn’t want to wait years for the market to recover.

Great news!

Wow, that was a quick sale for an expensive house!

They obviously priced it realistically and also showed good sense in accepting the offer they got which was fairly close to asking.

1.4M basically - now they will be able to focus on what they want to do which is to downsize.

That's great news @Fretfulmum. Wise of them to have priced it realistically. I hope the sale progresses without any major problems. I think your DH is probably right about the direction of the prices too.

They had to be realistic because it does need a renovation. New kitchen/bathrooms and probably some walls knocked down to modernise the layout, plus full redecoration. Every wall has wallpaper. The location is super so the new buyers will get a gem of a house once they’ve renovated.