Can someone explain the price difference here for me please?

[navyeyelasH]

I bought my house for £175,000 in May 2009, it's very near to this street I'm about to show you.

There are two houses on the same street, the one that was on for the most is at the "worse end" of the street. But why is there such a big price difference? I know obviously that this is merely an asking price and not the price the vendor got - both houses sold within 2 weeks.

most expensive one at worse end of street

cheaper one on better end of street

What is making the uglier one at the worse end of the street more ££? Is it the drive, bigger rooms and extra reception room?

I'm a bit scared as we have made out house into 2 receptions rooms only by pulling down a wall and now I wonder if that would cost us. Our house is more like the uglier one, but we have pulled down the wall that seperate the kitchen and the room with the doors leading to the garden.

Just to add my nicer end of the street I mean houses more like these:

bit unusual for the street

another slightly odd one for the street

most look like this

I don't really understand your question. Are you asking why the one at the rubbish end of the street is more than the one at the nice end?

I think house 2 looks nicer from the outside but house number 1 has a nicer garden. Inside they are much the same to me.

Fab yes sorry am trying to do tax return and MN - never a good idea.

My questions are 1. Why is the one at the worse end of the street so much more money?

1. If I lived in the uglier one and knocked down a wall to have a large kitchen dinner and a separate front room would I have 'devalued' my house?

Have you checked the local school catchment areas/distance from a good school? - if the more expensive house is closer to a good school that can make a big difference. But also the more expensive hose has two good-sized bedrooms & one smallish one, while the cheaper one has two medium and one small one. Plus the lounge in the cheaper one is only a little bit bigger than the more expensive one's lounge - and that one has a dining room as well. So unless the neighbourhood at the 'worse' end is really bad, I'd go for the more expensive one if I could.

I suppose you are right re the extra sq footage making it slightly more valuable but it could be that the vendor of the 'worse' house is greedier and wasn't in as much of a rush to sell as the 'better' house.

navy - does it really matter what your improvements have done to the value ? Really ? Presumably you bought the house to live in not to make a fast buck on. Putting a wall back up is a relatively cheap job, £1500 or less, not like a big disaster of a badly planned extension that costs an arm and a leg and ends up being a millstone. If the wall coming down makes the house a better place for you and yours to live in then live in it and enjoy it and if the value is considerably better in the opinion of several estate agents when / if you come to sell then perhaps consider putting the wall back up. No biggie.

Plus they are on with 2 diff agents. It could just be that the agents in question value differently. When we sold our last house we got 4 valuations and they all varied considerably.

The estate agents valuation / asking price is not an exact statement of what the house is worth, as you said earlier. It is the price the estate agent expects to be able to realistically acheive for the property, whether they will find someone to pay that for it is another story or maybe there is someone out there who would pay more, who knows.

Wow thats an amazing price difference. Quite spectacular. It will be interesting to see what they did actually sell for when the details go on Net House Prices.

Also don't understand why you are fretting? Seems like £175,000 was a great price to get yours for.

Try and think of it as a home, not £££ under the mattress.

the house at the nicer end is in a better school catchment so that's not it.

I scrimped and saved to buy my first home and when we bought it, it was a complete mess so we have done it up ourselves. So whilst I'm not looking to make any money etc it would be very disheartening to learn we may have lost money. Putting up a wall is very easy but it doesn't seem easy when I have been living in disarray with every single moment spent on diy for the last 6 months.

By the time we come to sell the last few months will seem like a dim and distant memory so I know I am fretting for nothing. But that doesn't stop the fretting

From the responses it doesn't seem the extra reception is playing a major role and I think our kitchen diner works well so I guess I should just say "sod it!"

navy, it's impossible to say whether or not you will have lost value at the point you come sell. Chances are the market will have chnaged considerably by then and also what makes the house desirable/marketable will have changed too. Buyers tastes will have changed.

I understand that but assuming every other factor stays the same could knocking down the wall have been a "bad thing".

I suupose the question is silly really as different people want differet things some may feel 2 receptions and a kitchen are a must and other may like open plan kitchen/diner.

Still there is a £70,000 price difference which to me makes no sense. Can't wait to see how much they sold for!

that massive price difference does seem bonkers!

I know of two properties in a terrace (next door to one another) - both in VGC. One is on at £465K and the other at £580K; the only difference being that the one at £580K has a...conservatory . The one at £465K is lovely, and still hasn't shifted, which makes the one at £580K ludicrously priced. I suspect the same is happening in your scenario.

Why not ask EAs advice as to whether to knock through or not? Having said that, go with whatever suits you and your family best, primarily it is your home, any money you make on it is secondary (especially in the current shoite market conditions).

saltyseadog, the thing is though is that both of these are sold - the board have come down and one of them was moved out of today, so one of them (the more expensive one!) is done and dusted.

Too late to ask EA, the wall is down and the new kitchen is in and I do love it so for now I will have to live with it and put thoughts of losing £ to the back of my mind.

The more expensive house had two double bedrooms and one single bedroom, whereas the cheaper house had two single and one double bedroom.

The more expensive house COULD potentially be in a better and more sound condition. IE the cheaper house could have a problem not mentioned in the advert, but found by a surveyor.

The more expensive house has room for a side extension, there may even be planning permission in place for a one or two storey extension.

Sorry naveeyelasH, I should have read the thread properly.

Agree with what Gold says - makes total sense. Plus there's no accounting for tastes, maybe the buyer of the expensive house fell in love with it for some reason..

The cheaper one is also ex local authority - which does make a difference too. (although it shouldn't!).

Hmm didn't know that about the cheaper one, the more expensive one is closer to current local authority housing. It also doesn't have planning permission (I would know as I live so close) - it does look more loved and from what I know of the neighbours the more expensive one has probably been well maintained.

So the 3 reception rooms part is probably a small factor in the difference? My house is identical to the more expensive one - just mine is uglier from the outside, less "dated" inside (IMO), has a bigger garden and a WC.

Maybe get some EAs to come and value yours?

There's no point is there?? Aren't they just fu of crap and given that one not too far away went up for £240 they aren't going to deviate too much?

Maybe when it's all finished I will contact the one we bought it through as they seemed very nice. Hopefully by the time we sell the market will be something approaching normal and we wont have lost too much?