Are house prices really going down?

ftb_home_dream

Hello,

I'm starting to have doubts now and feel a bit depressed. Are house prices really going down? We are FTB and we have saved a deposit of 25% and also are willing to get mortgage agreed in principle. We put an offer in on four properties and all of them have been turned down.

£289K property - £250K offer - Rejected!
£289K property - £250K offer - Rejected!
£299K property - £250K offer - Rejected!
£310K property - £250K offer - Laughed in my face and Rejected!

We don't want to go over the 250K stamp duty threshold. We wanted to put in offer like £240K and then put it up to £250K but then we were worried we won't be taken seriously so we went it straight with a maximum of 250K

What do you guys think?

PasturesNew

You're being impatient. Yes, prices are really going down.

Every property is different. The seller's situation is different.

i.e. if you view a house at £289k that's been on since January, and offer £250k they will say no, if they were wanting to sell they'd have dropped it lower sooner

If you view a house at £289k that's been on 2 weeks, it's too soon for them to accept your offer or they'd have priced it at about £260-265k.

Every one is different.

Just wait. There's the whole of 2009 to go yet, then 2010. Things won't be much better in 2011 except by then they'll be priced at the right price so you won't need to put low offers in.

huntersc

Yes they are going down. Perhaps you're not making the offer in the way it should be made. There is a skill to it, just like any negotiation.

Secondly, as PasturesNew says, be more patient. Wait ntil their property has been on the market for 3 months/6 months, then they'll be screaming that they didn't accept your £250k offer.

Out of interest, do you have any Rightmove links for these properties? We can then see if these have already been reduced and for how long they've been on the market.

amcluesent

>What do you guys think?<

Buy at auctions where the price is much more realistic.

ftb_home_dream

PasturesNew wrote: »

You're being impatient. Yes, prices are really going down.

Every property is different. The seller's situation is different.

i.e. if you view a house at £289k that's been on since January, and offer £250k they will say no, if they were wanting to sell they'd have dropped it lower sooner

If you view a house at £289k that's been on 2 weeks, it's too soon for them to accept your offer or they'd have priced it at about £260-265k.

Every one is different.

Just wait. There's the whole of 2009 to go yet, then 2010. Things won't be much better in 2011 except by then they'll be priced at the right price so you won't need to put low offers in.

Yes. You are absolutely correct. I think I'm being impatient. But the way the agents say these things. I feel they are just laughing in my face.

ftb_home_dream

huntersc wrote: »

Yes they are going down. Perhaps you're not making the offer in the way it should be made. There is a skill to it, just like any negotiation.

Secondly, as PasturesNew says, be more patient. Wait ntil their property has been on the market for 3 months/6 months, then they'll be screaming that they didn't accept your £250k offer.

Out of interest, do you have any Rightmove links for these properties? We can then see if these have already been reduced and for how long they've been on the market.

If you don't mind me saying this...I don't want to give out the links here because some of the agents are already registered in this website.

But I did plenty of research on these properties.

£289K property - £250K offer - Rejected!
Been on the market since July this year. Reduced from £329K to £319K to £309K to £289K now. Previously sold for £215K in 2001.

£289K property - £250K offer - Rejected!
Been on the market since September this year. Reduced from £329K to £315K to £289K now. This is a part exchanged property and owned by a builder now. Previously sold for £260K in 2002. Bought as new build.

£299K property - £250K offer - Rejected!
Been on the market for six months now. Reduced from 319K to 299K. Selling due to divorce. Previously sold for £280K in 2003. Bought as new build.

£310K property - £250K offer - Laughed in my face and Rejected!
Been on the market only 1 week. Previously sold for 295K in 2005.

I know three of them will incur a loss if they sell at 250K but they have been on the market for so long and some of them are desperate to sell. But in this current market it would be crazy to put offer over 250K and incur 3% stampduty cost.

PasturesNew

For the current market sentiment, you're probably punching just a tad over your weight for now ... it's a small sample, to have offered on 4. It would take a desperate seller to take your offer now ... see how things have changed by February.

IveSeenTheLight

ftb_home_dream wrote: »

I know three of them will incur a loss if they sell at 250K but they have been on the market for so long and some of them are desperate to sell. But in this current market it would be crazy to put offer over 250K and incur 3% stampduty cost.

I can understand you not wanting to pay the 3% stamp duty, you'd still be paying 1% though so your only looking at a 5k saving or 2% of the purchase price

Most of the properties you have mentioned are £329k at peak.
With the reported average 14.8% drop, this would put them at approx £280k
You can understand why they might be reluctant to drop a further 11% or 12%

That said, there is nothing to say the market for that area wont be there later next year.

What's the area? It may help to understand how much it has dropped and how it was affected the last time house prices dropped.

As for them being desperate to sell, obviously not that desperate to take you up on your offer.

huntersc

ftb_home_dream wrote: »

If you don't mind me saying this...I don't want to give out the links here because some of the agents are already registered in this website.

But I did plenty of research on these properties.

£289K property - £250K offer - Rejected!
Been on the market since July this year. Reduced from £329K to £319K to £309K to £289K now. Previously sold for £215K in 2001.

£289K property - £250K offer - Rejected!
Been on the market since September this year. Reduced from £329K to £315K to £289K now. This is a part exchanged property and owned by a builder now. Previously sold for £260K in 2002. Bought as new build.

£299K property - £250K offer - Rejected!
Been on the market for six months now. Reduced from 319K to 299K. Selling due to divorce. Previously sold for £280K in 2003. Bought as new build.

£310K property - £250K offer - Laughed in my face and Rejected!
Been on the market only 1 week. Previously sold for 295K in 2005.

I know three of them will incur a loss if they sell at 250K but they have been on the market for so long and some of them are desperate to sell. But in this current market it would be crazy to put offer over 250K and incur 3% stampduty cost.

I agree that it would be crazy to pay just over the SDLT level, it's just as crazy for these people to market their properties close to it as well.

The thing is, the properties you mention have fallen from peak level prices. The first one, reduced by £40k, that's not a small amount. You can't expect people to accept 2001 prices yet.

If you're that bothered about the stamp then suggest the agent gets the vendor to discount by that amount.

I'd be open with the agents and tell them your expectations, exactly what you're prepared to pay. Then wait. Keep in touch but give it 3 months maybe they'll accept your £250k offer.

Perhaps, if you really want to buy now then you should be looking at houses that will have dropped below £250k?

PasturesNew

ftb_home_dream - are you using Property Bee?
What is the first part of the postcode where you're looking?

geoffky

Let the market do the work for you..you have the best time in a very very very long time to just sit back and watch this market implode....stand on the sidelines and watch and dont jump in too soon....you will be rewarded..