House pricing rant

[Mt563]

Why does house pricing seem so random sometimes? I'm guessing sellers?

I'm getting a little frustrated with houses on the market overvalued but clearly seller is happy to wait ad infinitum for the price they have in mind. Like, over a year on market, clearly overpriced, but no price drop and not open to offers.

I'm looking at 2 houses, next to each other on the same road.
One fully renovated, new everything, modernised layout, about 15% smaller, on at 425. But went on last spring so likely overpriced and/or not accepting offers.
Second one, needs all new windows, boiler, kitchen, bathrooms etc. Layout would benefit from modernisation. On at 'offers in the region of' 500. Given how much work it needs (plus the optional stuff) this price seems well over to me.

Rant over.

I think everyone knows what each budget brings to the job and housing market. Another mysterious black hole and another new dress for Rachel.

Obtaining an above-value offer. I don't want to sell my CD collection. But I'm willing to do so if someone pays me £100,000. It's not worth £100,000 but if someone is fool enough or desperate enough then it'd be rude to deny them.

A related tactic is a "whisper sale" where you put it on the market but it's not on Rightmove/ agent's window/ no board so people only find out if they call the agent. It works best where there is one agent who "has the market" for that sort/ price of property in an area but if you're not in a rush and you know that the seller pool for a certain property might be small - either due to price or factors unique to the property (thatched, slightly odd layout, lots of land)- it can stop the property hanging around on Rightmove and raising "why hasn't it sold?" questions.

And if house prices fall people could be in negative equity and not be able to sell because they can't repay the mortgage company from the proceeds.

It’s a seller’s prerogative to decide the price and wait it out until they get the price they want. Unless they are forced to sell by economic circumstances, they don’t have to drop the price.

You remind me of people on Vinted who moan that the item they want to buy is overpriced. If you think these houses are overpriced, then surely the answer is move on and buy something else that you feel is better value? I don’t know why people get worked up about these things.

We sometimes get the we have buyers looking for a house in your area, if you think there might be a premium price available you might be tempted to sell, but only at that premium. And yes it probably is a bit of a scam with agents wanting to drum up trade.

Yes, if you don't think it's worth the money or you can't afford it move on or make a silly offer and if it's rejected move on.

We did buy a house at a bit more than we thought it was worth, but it was in a really good area where few houses came up for sale and the value did go up quite a lot over the next 10 years, so it was well worth it in the end.

But if you consider an offer to be 'silly" then you are not likely to make it. NO offer is "silly". You never know when the fish will bite and you'll never found out unless you try.

Yes, but "strategy" implies intelligence, that approach is something different.

If a similar house in the street sells for less that will be their new value though, whether they like it or not, waiting in a falling market just means you get less when you eventually do sell.

I think they have given up trying to prop the housing market, the issues now are too global, too outside their reach.

My old next door neighbour was on the market when I bought my old house 18 years ago, they are on the market now and have been on and off periodically throughout, always 20% ish more than it’s probably worth (they are on with the “posh” estate agent who always suggests a higher price, I was on with them and ditched after 12 weeks as no offers). It’s like they sort of want to move but only if they get a really good offer

Unless it stops being a falling market. I guess it depends on why you’re selling, most people will just hold out until Labour are out if they were thinking of up/down sizing or moving locations.

Not sure what the connection to Labour is? If Reform win the next election there will likely be a bond market crisis, if KS is forced out there will likely be a bond market crisis, we are at 28 year highs on the 30 year gilt today because there is an election in a couple of days! It is all about the cost of borrowing and that is headed only one way.

The uncertainty of what they’ll do next, everyone just has to wait until they’re gone. It’s the sane in the job market.

Can"t see houses magically selling just because Labour are gone, they need to be priced for the new economic world of higher debt costs.

I think the market will start moving once they’re gone, nothing is selling now full stop: high or low.

Don’t fall for that nonsense
Some poor bugger is going to pay nearly 500 grand for a house full of problems that will cost them another 50 to 60 grand to finish up and then they’ll have to sit and wait for 10 years for the market to catch up with the amount of money that they’ve spent in the meantime
By the other one

You think sellers will start cutting their prices when Labour are gone?

You mean when Green/Reform come into power? 😂

Reform/Tories isn’t it.

I think people will be more willing to sell and buy if they don’t have to worry so much.

We'll see, but stability is not the first thing jumping to my mind when I think about the next 5-10 years.

I agree to a certain extent, but once the tax burden drops to a sensible level we will have a bit of a buffer to world events. We’ve quite literally taxed ourselves into poverty.

I would go and view it, possibly in the hope that I will see something that just puts me off the place completely, something you'll only know from an in-person viewing (downwind of a smelly factory, no parking, the road outside being used as a racetrack by local teens, etc.).

If I did still like it, I'd be feeding back to the estate agent that it's wildly overpriced and they're having a laugh.