Value of Property

amyparr

Hi guys,

I'm going to view a flat on Saturday which has been on the market since July - it looks as though an offer fell through recently so it's back on the market. We're FTBs and shouldn't have a problem getting a mortgage.

It's in a nice part of North London, and was bought at the very end of 2006 for £284,000.

The asking price is now £399,000. The last similar flat to sell on the road was summer this year for £355,000.

I can't imagine that it's worth much more than this - what do people think?

carefullycautious

Thank god I dont live in London. Nearly 400,000 for a flat geez :eek:

silvercar

Depends on the area. Some parts of London have increased a lot in the last year.

It really does depend on the exact location; the problem with London is that places only a short distant apart can have very different markets.

What area exactly is it?

PasturesNew

If I added up every penny I had ever earnt, in about 35 years of working... and stacked it all up in a pile ... it'd come to nowhere near £399k, so I'm glad I don't want to buy a flat there.

amyparr

It is a lot for a 2 bed flat, I agree, but unfortunately all flats in the area are very expensive! Luckily we're getting some help with our deposit, otherwise we'd be in the same position as most.

The area by the way is Canonbury, N5.

silvercar

Just because you are getting help with the deposit is not a reason to overpay.

I don't know N5 at all, but I wonder if there are areas nearby which would be better value.

amyparr

I have no intention of overpaying - help with the deposit or not - hence my original question.

Some areas are "better value for money" but it depends what you're looking for. I'm looking for a safe area, and a property that will retain its value. Unfortunately, £350-400k seems to be the going rate for that in Islington.

bmunky7

Don't see the harm in going in lower, at say £360k? Are there many other flats in similar areas and how much are they for sale at? I would suggest that a £115k (40%) profit over 3 years given the rapid fall in house prices seems a bit unrealistic.

googler

Is there any available price history for the surrounding streets?

Sale prices on zoopla, ourproperty, myhouseprice, nethouseprice etc.

Zoopla and ourproperty are free.

amyparr

The only recent sale that I can see is this year for a 2 bed flat for £355,000. It had previously been bought in 2007 for £390,000.

The postcodes that cover surrounding roads are N5 2JE/D and N5 2SE/L/J.

It's really hard to work out what the going price is, as you can't always tell how many bedrooms the flats are, whether they have outside space etc etc. It can vary a lot depending on that!

pie81

I'm in the middle of selling a flat in N5. From what I have seen, prices round there seem to be at, or just below, 2007 levels at the moment. Prices were lower earlier this year when everything was stagnant but have picked up since. So £399k doesn't sound silly.

To be honest if I were you I would ignore past sold prices - the market has changed since then so they're irrelevant really. Compare with other properties on the market right now in order to judge whether this is a sensible price or not. If you find one you like just as much which is cheaper, this one is overpriced. If not then that's why this one is priced where it is.

Of course their need to sell can be factored in as well... even if the property is worth what they're asking, you may be in a good position to make a lower offer if they've been trying to sell for a while and recently had something fall through. But don't make a lower offer just because one sold earlier this year for £355k... the market has moved since then.

[By the way, I think N5 is Highbury (or Newington Green to the eastern parts), not Canonbury. The EAs like to call some bits of N5 Canonbury as it sounds better than Newington Green, but the "real" Canonbury is the area in N1 round Alwyne Grove and Willowbridge Road...]