Selling in Manchester - over it already

[howdoyousurvive]

We’ve decided to sell our humble 3 bed terraced and relocate to a more rural area 20/25 min drive.

We have already put an “offer of interest” on a property we love (been up since Feb and praying it doesn’t get taken).

My question I suppose is how long are we really going to be in this for? From what I’m reading it’s stagnant atm. We’ve had over a dozen viewings at least and house has been on market for 4 weeks on Saturday. We’ve already dropped price last week to take into consideration some exterior things that need doing but our property is great on the inside (lots of revamp in past 2/3 years) and in fine working order all over.

Nervous this is going to be a weeks turning into months!

What bit of Manchester? I have some Rightmove alerts set up and have noticed that some areas seem to be holding / increasing prices while others seem to be dropping. I have no data, just seems to be what I’m noticing.

buying and selling does take months!

Yep the market here isn’t as positive as it was. The economy is terrible. There are loads of reasonably priced houses for sale in my area of the city that have been on the market for months, half of them have been reduced. This is a popular area for families and young professionals, with great travel links where for a long time similar houses sold within a month.

That’s a lot of viewings with no offers. Have they given you or your estate agent any feedback?

I have been on the market for 5 weeks and just accepted an offer. It is far slower than I have known it in a long time, that said I seemed to have had a flurry of viewings before the offer. Patience is required I am afraid it is a long stressful path.

I think Manchester has been holding up far better than most parts of the UK because of all the jobs (and Londoners) moving up there. Perhaps some areas have started to fall now. There seems to have been a distinct change in the last few months in some places that have been resistant to price declines so far.
As another poster said, the economy is in a bad place and unemployment is already creeping up. This is v likely to get worse.
Wrt your house though, 4 weeks isn't long and you have had a good level of interest. so it doesn't suggest that your place isn't v over priced. I would give it another 2-4 weeks and then reassess. The house you like has been on the market a long time so I would try to negotiate a good price once you sell yours.

I thought Manchester was doing pretty well with the housing economy compared to elsewhere. Two people I know sold their house within days recently and had loads of viewings. Is it definitely fairly priced for the area?

As someone not from Manchester who’s been looking to buy a house in Manchester I have to say I was amazed how expensive the houses are. Maybe things were a bit overpriced and are now settling down? I believe there’s also a trend for younger people to move into the city centre with all the flats being built? So maybe it’s a case of supply and demand….if they’re all looking at the flats then there’s less people looking at the houses slightly out of town?

I thought Manchester was doing pretty well with the housing economy compared to elsewhere.

Generally yes, but there’s been a change these last few months from what I’ve heard from others and from what I’m seeing in my area. Terraced houses in my area priced between £180k - £220k used to be snapped up in weeks, but not anymore. Maybe it’s the cost of living combined with the N.I increase and people staying put waiting for prices to drop further.

Manchester is a very varied landscape property wise. It really depends where you are selling and moving to. It doesn't seem as heated as it was and there are a lot of (overpriced) houses languishing in my area now that would sell if they were more realistic. I have alerts set up and it's mostly reduction properties coming through now.

A lot of Manchester has become over valued and is now starting to adjust downward. Still plenty of sales completing but pricing needs to be realistic to reflect market changes.

Per Otta Property

Prices are holding in lots of Manchester but everything is taking ages and it’s definitely a buyers market - people are waiting until they find the perfect house and for interests to fall. This is a terrible time of year to sell though. It will pick up a bit in September