nobody buying one bed flats anymore?

stellaforstar

well, our one bed flat has been on the market since October 09. We have since dropped the price by £10k, taken new pictures etc, changed EA but yet we still have no viewings, let alone any offers.

i spoke to the EA today and am assured they are doing all they can, but thye just have nobody looking at one bed flats. they have no-one registered with them for one beds, no one ringing about ANY one beds.

i feel that as 2 beds are almost the same price now as one beds (in our area) ftb will always go for 2 beds. i just dont see us ever being able to sell this flat, especially in this climate.

i think now our only option is to rent it out and try again next year or the year after (depending on how the market goes). we REALLY do not want to do this ( have rented this flat out for the last two years and HATE being a landlord) but its either that or we just give the property away.

anyway - ami right? are people just not buying one beds anymore? are ftb now only focused on houses or 2 beds? - we live in south london/surrey.

thanks!

Fire_Fox

Anything will get viewings and sell if it's priced appropriately. It's highly unlikely two bedroom flats are worth the same as one bedroom flats, more likely all the one bedroom flats are overpriced! It is irrelevant that you have dropped the price if the price you started with was unrealistic. Have you looked at land registry sold prices for your street and area to get a feel for the true value of your flat? Have you got sitting tenants in the flat or is it empty? Tentanted flats are worth far less than those with vancant possession.

BenL

Due to high prices a lot of people will need 2 bedrooms so one can be let/rented to a friend to help pay the mortgage.

2 beds should not be about the same price, yours not selling at its current asking price shows this fact. You need to reduce your price so someone can afford it on their own or extend themselves so they are not forced to have a flatmate.

stellaforstar

yes - compared to the other one beds in area ours is competivetively priced - all other one beds are £155 - 159. ours is on at £149. the flat below ours (which is a one bed, exactly the same size and condition) sold at xmas for £150. the flat round the corner which was a one bed similar size sold for £152 in December. so i think ours is reasonably priced (wasnt to begin with, but now we have reduced the price it is)

according to ea no-one is looking at any one beds - not the ones that are cheaper than ours or similar price. no-one is interested in one beds.

ET1976

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2281339&highlight=

is it this flat?

Why don't you go round other estate agents posing as a buyer looking for a 1-bed flat, you could ask a few questions about what sort of price you should expect to be paying. In my experience this usually gives you quite a good feel for the market, whether there's lots of competition (from buyers or sellers).

Perhaps the one agent you are using just hasn't had any enquiries, or isn't very good.

overandout_2

I was a FTB - just bought a property end of last year - and was looking around those areas - south/southeast London.

I was looking for flats or houses around the 200k budget.....and I preferred a 2 bed properties as I wasn't thinking about moving anytime soon. Wanted the space and felt that 1 bedroom would be a bit too small.

But on the other note, if my budget only allows me 1 bedroom flat - I would have certainly considered yours....looks nice and in an area I quite like

Fire_Fox

stellaforstar wrote: »

yes - compared to the other one beds in area ours is competivetively priced - all other one beds are £155 - 159. ours is on at £149. the flat below ours (which is a one bed, exactly the same size and condition) sold at xmas for £150. the flat round the corner which was a one bed similar size sold for £152 in December. so i think ours is reasonably priced (wasnt to begin with, but now we have reduced the price it is)

Not a single viewer agrees with you and neither did anyone in your last thread, unfortunately.

Cannon_Fodder

This http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-24591526.html is still £10k cheaper with a garden.


The index shows 280 becoming 290 over 6 years. aka 140 to 145, to simplify things.

You paid £136k, so can at best expect £141k.


[IMG]http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/houseprices/housepriceindex/report/default.asp?g=1&gt=1&a=Croydon&s=01 June 2004&e=01 January 2010&t=1[/IMG]

stellaforstar

thanks everyone. there does seem to be so much competetion out there - one viewing we had a couple of weeks ago had seen 10 one beds in our area in just one weekend, so had lots to choose from ! - by the way, we are living in the flat at the moment, but will need to move out and rent it out if it cant be sold soon.

one thing about the reasonably priced issue though - why dont people even just putin a silly, taking the pixx offer? i mean, its on at 149, offer me £140? why dont people chance their arm with things like this anymore.

and why isnt it classed as a reasonable price when all the other 1 bed flats in the area are selling for more ? surely if ive priced it under the latest sales figures, it should be classed as reasonable?

stellaforstar

cannon fodder - so if its on the market at 149, i should expect £141? I would take £141 if someone would offer it

stellaforstar

new pics by the way - http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-14369442.html?maxPrice=150000&pageNumber=1&premiumA=true&backToListURL=%2Fproperty-for-sale%2Ffind.html%3FsearchType%3DSALE%26locationIdentifier%3DREGION%255E83020%26insId%3D1%26radius%3D0.0%26displayPropertyType%3D%26minBedrooms%3D%26maxBedrooms%3D%26minPrice%3D%26maxPrice%3D150000%26retirement%3D%26partBuyPartRent%3D%26maxDaysSinceAdded%3D%26_includeSSTC%3Don%26sortByPriceDescending%3D%26primaryDisplayPropertyType%3D%26secondaryDisplayPropertyType%3D%26oldDisplayPropertyType%3D%26oldPrimaryDisplayPropertyType%3D%26newHome%3D%26auction%3Dfalse%26x%3D15%26y%3D17