Property asking prices - people are STILL holding out

carolt

I'm sure some will - but all 900 in Ashford, say?

We'll see.

neverdespairgirl

What about sold prices? Have any sold recently, and if so, for how much?

Maisie11

I felt I had to put my two pence into this discussion because we are trying to sell our house at the higher end of the market. It has only been on for a couple of weeks and we have had some viewings, however we dont NEED to sell. Selling would allow us to release some equity which would be wonderful however we have a Plan B which is to release some equity. We priced our house to sell and took the middle valuation but we have probably put it on at the worst time possible to be honest and I am not at all surprised we havent had any offers.

Sweeping generalisations along the lines of

1. People are desperate to sell - what does that really mean!! Wanting more space is not desperate.

2. House prices are dropping by up to 50% - maybe a 1 bed new build might but a period 4-5 bed house in say Gerrards Cross....

3. We must go back to 3 times the average salary for a house. What does that mean? Does a family with 4 children demand a 5 bed house at their current salaries. What about more desirable areas of the country, how will they be priced?

What ever happened to starting off with a flat and moving upwards.

Renting is not the be all or end all. If I was single I probably would rent but not now with schools to organise, furniture to move etc etc as well as a big dog. You are at the whim of your landlord who might want to sell himself. What ever happened to a house being your home......

carolt

If you don't need to sell, you won't affect the figures - selling figures. You - as a non-seller - no more affect the prices than I do as a non-buyer.

The prices will be set by those who are selling to those who are buying. And at the moment, only sellers who are prepared to take big drops will find willing buyers. So whilst you might not drop your price, if someone down your street has to, that will affect the valuation of your house - as you will see if you come to remortgage, if not sell.

And the idea that the wealthier end of the market has not overstretched itself is laughable - you have posted threads on needing to sell to keep up your lifestyle; others will have stretched themselves more.

Plus, if houses lower down the chain aren't selling, those higher up the chain won't sell either, as who will buy them?

Not as easy to divorce your situation from that of a 1-bed flat somewhere unsavoury, as you would like.

Gangstabird

The only thing that will stop people holding out is until they physically can't pay their mortgages anymore and they are reposessed. Unless you have to sell why would you. People who owe 100% on their properties are not going to give up without a fight and lets face it you can't blame them.

Annpan

Some vendors are holding out and some are reducing, but none of them seem to be selling anyway apart from a few having open days and saying , "This property must sell - owners emigrating." One went near us with that on the For Sale sign. It's been on at £395K many moons ago and then to £360K. It went for £315K. That's about 20% reduction on asking price.

lostinrates

Maisie11 wrote: »

Sweeping generalisations along the lines of

1. People are desperate to sell - what does that really mean!! Wanting more space is not desperate. But that is a bit of a sweeping generilisation too. Lots of people can wait, good for them! But death, divorce, needing to move in to care, needing to relocate for work, losing jobs, self employed work going down the pan (paticular problem for nice areas such as yours sadly) losing cash bonuses , there are lots of reasons why a sector of sellers might actually NEED to move, not just want to. There are even situations where want comes into play as much as need -for example, schools, loss of health of a parent/partner, age/health enforced downsizing, overcrowding, babies will still be born in the down turn, perhaps even more if people are entertaining themselves at home. Owning a walk up and becoming disabled. These are not all risks isolated to the bottom of the ladder, or to the top, but things that can happen to pretty much anyone.

2. House prices are dropping by up to 50% - maybe a 1 bed new build might but a period 4-5 bed house in say Gerrards Cross....A lot of really nice properties are having substantial reductions. I have not yet seen 50% on these, but something on at £1.2 million had a 200k reduction in two jumps before the summer, and still hasn't sold. Also, I notice pricing at the moment of new properties is very confused at the top end locally.

What ever happened to starting off with a flat and moving upwards. I think ladders were part of the problem. In my family my father was the first to buy a flat and scale up. My grandparents, on marriage, bought the house they stayed in until retirment. DH's mother bought the house he was born in and was not sold until after her death. Sometimes, some people would have down better to buy wisely once.

Renting is not the be all or end all. If I was single I probably would rent but not now with schools to organise, furniture to move etc etc as well as a big dog. You are at the whim of your landlord who might want to sell himself. What ever happened to a house being your home......

I somewhat agree, though I think this might be in part to do with the sytem of tenancies in UK, which we often discuss at length here Incidently even in that case my parents once rented with three giant dogs, and horses, while they couldn't find a house they wanted buy were keen to honour a sale.


I am genuinely glad that you don't have to sell, it sounds like you are in a good secure position and have bought wisely. I don't think people like you have ever been part of the problem, but that is not to say there aren't others who have been and find themselves in sad difficulty now.

stonethrower

There has been a lot of drops in the top bracket even going by todays evening standard

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23572439-details/Bargains+across+city+as+house+prices+fall+by+20+per+cent/article.do

StevieJ

I find it quite amusing that people get upset that some sellers don't wish to sell their houses.

pickles110564

carolt wrote: »

The prices will be set by those who are selling to those who are buying. And at the moment, only sellers who are prepared to take big drops will find willing buyers.

Not so Carol, repossesion in our street was put up for £420k and has an agreed sale.
We will not know how much they paid until it goes to Land Reg but it had people swarming all over it.
Like I have always said quality property will always sell and at a very high price.