Would three near-identical houses for sale on one street worry you?

[CactusClive]

There are three houses we are potentially interested in buying. We’ve viewed one of them liked it but don’t want to rush.

Since then two more identical ones have come onto the market and we are wondering whether to view.

These houses were all built 2019 so newish, prices are £485k, £499k and £500k.

Is this a massive red flag? They’re literally the same house, maybe slightly different specs, but you can literally see all three houses from the same spot in the street, just to give an idea of how close they are.

It makes me think bad neighbours? Poor location?

We were thinking of a second viewing but now really thrown by the extra two coming on the market?

No not really. Houses are constantly for sale on my street. It’s very popular street. People move on, need more space, get new jobs, have more kids etc it’s a friendly street. We have leaflets through our doors all the time asking us if we want to sell.

I have no idea, but funnily enough I have a row of houses near me where 3 have also gone up for sale recently and my first though was that there has to be a reason they’re all moving. I certainly would be wary.

No. I wouldn't worry.

Thanks all maybe we need to just view the other two and see. Not sure how we’d decide which one is our favourite.

There is a small development over the road from me which was built at around the same time as those. They were built by cowboys and the occupants constantly have tradesmen there fixing things. A few of them have changed hands already and been slow to sell. Nobody local would touch them with a bargepole as they saw them being built.

It could be circumstances eg growing family, job relocation, some will have waited (put off moving due to the economy but just need to do it now), 7 years (thats a 5 and 2 year fix ending) they might have a plan to move on if it was a next step home.
I live on a street with 20 homes, since 2019 1 has sold, in the next 12 months I know three people will be putting their homes on the market. Me (downsizing), my next door neighbour up-sizing as have just had their 3rd dc in a 3 bed and my neighbour 4 doors down is moving to another country for a new job. All just circumstances that happen. Its a lovely quiet street.
It could be bad neighbours thats certainly the case on dc1 street but until you visit you'll not know. I'd visit them all ask why they're selling and read between the lines. Maybe even talk to the neighbours. A good tip is when you visit park your car around the corner, walk up the road and talk to anyone you see. Then go with your gut feeling. Dont be afraid to walk away but also don't let the fact theres 3 houses for sale put you off.

I wonder if it’s my street!!
there are 3 on my street and 2 up for sale as families have grown and 1 the lady has lost her husband and wants to be closer to her daughter.
that said on my dog walk through the estate there is another 6/7 of the same style sold/for sale as it’s a popular estate with a high turnover in the 2/3beds.
The 4/5 beds come up less frequently and the estate still has another 5/10 years to completion (first houses are about 10yrs old now)

I would want to find out more. In the road my mother lived in there were three up for sale at the same time because in two cases the occupant had died.

Sometimes it is just a co-incidence and sometimes there is a reason for it.

You have to do some digging and find out.

Thank you all I think if we do viewings then we can do some digging then too, it’s also not too far from us so maybe some drive bys at different times too :)

Where I am people move for school catchments. So move in for primary and out for secondary (and then back again later cos it's a lovely place with a slightly iffy secondary school).
If two houses are on either side of one house who is staying, I might want to find out a bit about the people in the staying house.

I'd view them all, you'll probably end up with a favourite somehow, or more houses to offer on to get a good price.

It’s a west Wiltshire town? The estate is relatively small maybe 130ish houses.

Not really.

There were two houses on sale on my street this month. One because the elderly owner died the other because an older couple wanted to downsize. There will be a third one soon after because the owner has gone into a care home.

However those are all period properties.

With fairly recent houses/a new built estate it is worth checking who the developer was and if there have been issues with poor workmanship or problems with estate charges.

Sorry worried I’m dripping feeding but also arguing with myself internally if it’s a problem but they’re opposite an office block, not a big one only two stories but I just wonder if office noise is an issue.

Check to see whether there is any outline planning permission for any new large developments or dual carriageways being built close by, as that prospect might cause people to want to move. Also check the flood maps.

Check the planning authority’s Local Plan to see if adjacent land has been identified for housing or other development. You’ll look for Strategic Housing Land Allocation or something similar.

And check for individual planning permissions granted on the same sites.

Even if you find something, though, bear in mind that these houses were only built because some land was identified for development. Settlements evolve and grow and if we are all to have somewhere to live we need to build new homes somewhere.

Sometimes it's when they know there is going to be an HMO. Up to 6 units they don't need planning permission (unless there's an Article 4 directive), so you might not be aware of it

It could even be something like a landlord who found the location and the kind of houses popular with tenants, and so invested in multiple ones - but has now decided to liquidate their portfolio to reinvest/spend the money elsewhere; or could even have died and it's their executors now winding up the estate.

Interestingly one gives hmo vibes as there’s a bed and desk in every bedroom so it could be this. It’s also chain free so could be.

No it wouldn’t necessarily bother me. There was several for sale near my DDs school but to be fair that’s an early 1970s estate so it was due to the deaths of the owners. Like others have said it could be a landlord who owns them all or landlords in general leaving the property business or just a coincidence.

My house is for sale on the same street as 2 other identical houses. I had to check you weren’t talking about my street. 😂. All on for different reasons, we are looking at getting a bungalow with a bigger garden, another is moving back to Lancashire to be closer to grandchildren and the other just fancied an older house with lots of renovations to do. Street and neighbourhood is lovely x

I don’t find it unusual in newer build estates. They tend to turn over quite frequently where I used to live. It’s when houses on older streets and retirement villages all suddenly go on the market it’s time to check the planning application portals to see what was on the horizon.

We sold one half of a semi. The other half was on the market too.
Next door wanted to build in their garden to raise money and it was refused. They therefore needed to sell to get the money.
We sold because DH moved jobs to a different area.
Both took a while to sell, probably because it looked dodgy. They were the same price but ours was bigger. We just wanted to sell. They just wanted to maximise the price.
The estate agent did our viewings and next door did their own. I suspect they slagged ours off because ours sold 2 weeks after theirs came off the market.
Nothing wrong with the road, neighbours or property, but I suspect many people assumed there was a bad reason for the sale.

Are they near a university? Parents could have bought them for their kids and they have finished their courses. Many private landlords are selling due to new rules.

I'd view all 3 and ask each estate agent the reason for selling (ive always asked this). Obviously you might not necessarily get the true reason, but it gives you a starting point to potentially do more digging!