Who is selling?

dazco

I have recently come into a fair amount of money and have strapped my fingers firmly on the pulse of the housing market.

I am looking to buy something for about 250k cash and have noticed that, because of the tax, there are hundreds of properties out there at that price some a lot better than others.

I have noticed while driving around that there are a massive amounts of for sale boards about.

So who are these people who are selling? Why would they sell in such a bad market? Are they all looking to upgrade?

I think most of the sellers are chancers, for want of a better word, who are seeing if their houses will sell at the price offered then rent and buy when it gets really low.

There may be others who realise they have bought for a stupidly high price and realise that their home will not make them 1k a month and wish to bail out before it gets very sad. especially when mortgage rates are going up. Very few people in the UK will admit this, auction prices posted here prove that.

Who do you think is selling up?

Davesnave

People sell for all sorts of reasons, but Sell to Renters are probably a rarer species than many believe.

People looking at my house now are those with a fair amount of equity, and their reasons are mainly family-related, like having a young child and no garden or needing separate bedrooms for older kids. Another is relocating because of a job move. I also know a family who have just moved in order to get into the catchment area of the only co-ed comprehensive school in town.

You might say all thse things were predictable, but the fact is that at this time last year most people were blissfully unaware of the downturn in the housing market, so they expected to make their move when they were good & ready.

I'm a potential STR but for 3 specific reasons, of which 'I'm bu*gered if I'll buy at the moment' is probably third.

beingjdc

People die, people get divorced, people get new jobs in different towns.

The people selling in this "bad market" will be a lot better off than the people losing hundreds of pounds a month by renting their place out and waiting for a good one.

Leighthal

I'm trying to sell my old house as I don't live in it anymore.I moved up the ladder thanks to an inheritance.It's in FTBer territory but no-one is biting:( after 8 months on the market.
I'm beginning to think my only course of action is to tart it up and rent it out.

bethsdad

We're selling because our neighbours are driving us mad. Selling now means that we won't make any profit on our house (and probably a loss), but if it means that we can get out, then so be it. We don't really have a choice any more.

dudleyboy

dazco wrote: »

Who do you think is selling up?

All the ones you mention plus...

• Desperate buy-to-let "investors" who have bitten off far more than they can chew; saddled with multiple expensive mortgages on properties where the rent doesn't cover the monthly mortgage repayments
• Greedy property investors who've realised they may as well sell a half-finished house because no matter how much more work they do on the place, it'll still be worth less than they've spent on it (they're probably also wondering what the hell they're going to do for a living over the next couple of years)
• Over-indebted consumer spenders who've treated the equity in their house like a cash machine and realised that if they don't sell now they're very likely going to be in negative equity very soon (if they aren't already) - or those who wish to clear debts with whatever equity remains

... and of course...

• Employees who need to relocate for work
• Parents whose children are in undesirable school catchment areas

At this moment in time, renting has never felt so good.


I read a posting on the DFW board the other week by someone who was coming off their fixed rate deal this summer. They were about to see their monthly mortgage repayments shoot up from £750 pcm to £1110 pcm. Ouch! Worse still, their mortgage was 100%+ LTV and STILL interest-only because they (and I quote!) "couldn't afford a repayment mortgage".

If some people are finding their rent's going up it'll probably be mainly those who are renting from the bank.

I suspect this poster won't be alone and that it's hapless former FTB-ers like that who will be flooding the market with property in the coming months. I also suspect this will be the catalyst for the HPC, which is probably why the BoE is predicted to slash interest rates to 4% by the end of the year to try and prevent it / ease the pain.

Julie_mcewen

My boyfriend is selling his apartment quite simply because we want a house!
No other reason there is no trying to make profit on it(if anything hes willing to make a loss if it means selling it in this market) but thats it we have outgrown it and if we have to stay put then so be it! there is no rush but i cant see us selling up any time soon!

Nikki

We are selling because we want to move. We don't like Oxford, it doesn't offer us the lifestyle we want. DS1(ASD) has been out of school for almost 2 years and the LEA here couldn't care less.

dadsarmy

Hope to complete 21/07 :j

Our buyer is in rented no mortgage needed. we went up for sale in late april for 350 - reduced to 300 accepted 285

Liked the rock garden and ponds + 2 garages - 2 workshops

I feel sometimes maybe renters want to get on with their lives and do their own thing in their own home

boinging_2

I STR last August and will be buying a house hopefully very soon. My life has changed and I've reduced the mortgage borrowing by c£60k from what it would have been if I'd have bought in Aug 07.

I know the market will drop further but with a large deposit, discount on the house I'm buying and life to get on with, the time is right for me to buy again.

pickles110564

dudleyboy wrote: »

which is probably why the BoE is predicted to slash interest rates to 4% by the end of the year to try and prevent it / ease the pain.

It does not matter what the BOE does with rates, the mortgage lending banks will not follow the rate downwards.
Unfortunately only severe pain is going to follow for those poor soles that have over borrowed.