Really Stoopid Question on House Prices

Littlemadam83

Hi guys,

Sorry to ask what may be a silly silly question, but why the hell are the news channels saying house prices are at an all time low when at the same time the road where I live is the same price it has always been

We are looking to buy our rented apartment, but cannot believe there are 2 others up for sale at the moment going for what they did before the recession hit.

Is it based on areas? I thought everywhere was hit from the downturn?

xxx

poppysarah

The clue is in your question.

Up for sale = not sold.

look up houseprices.co.uk and see what stuff sells. Bear in mind they do not list auction or repos sales so the figures look a lot healthier than they really are (A shocking travesty that should imo be corrected)

mark5

Do you mean interest rates are at an all time low?

Littlemadam83

Interesting, thank you! There was one property sold in Feb this year which went for £108,000 rather than £125,000 so me thinks these two current vendors are on another planet, as it wouldn't shoot up that quickly surely xxxx

Littlemadam83

mark5 wrote: »

Do you mean interest rates are at an all time low?

I thought house prices were at a really low point also? With people being in negative equity etc?

lynzpower

If they are on the market for 125

But sell at 108

then they are only PRICED at 125 as the vendor knows that lets face it no one isreally going to pay more than 108. Lenders wont lend that much!

If it was priced at 108, then buyers and thier surveyors are likely to price it down further.

These flats are not worth 125, that much is clear from the limited amount of info we have

Littlemadam83

Thanks Lynz! Great news, as we cant really afford £125k but £108 is far more realistic! Will keep an eye on that website also Poppysarah as I have a feeling that will be a great bargaining tool!

xxx

princeofpounds

This should be on the house prices board.

But the quick answer is that prices are not at a low. They dipped strongly last year, then troughed and increased a bit again, but not quite to previous levels. Go look at the halifax or nationwide indexes and you will see.

It also depends what you mean by house prices. People use different indexes which means different things. The most common are:

- rightmove, which in reality only represents asking prices.
- halifax/nationwide, which represent mortgageable property deals and so are a bit more realistic.
- land registry, which represents actual transactions but lags by several months as the transactions take time to complete. Even the land registry one doesn't include repos or auction properties (although some repos might be listed on rightmove).

So in the crisis, rightmove 'prices' never moved much, but the value of transacted properties fell materially.

Some of these indexes are broken down regionally and you will see that there are regional variations - London for example has recovered more strongly than more peripheral areas.

QTPie

Hi

it really depends on the supply and demand in your area...

I live in a very desirable area (Bath) and SOME sectors of the local Market HAVE jumped by 10/15% since Feb (good larger family houses certainly). HOWEVER many other sectors and less desirable properties are still falling or going unsold. Most things coming onto the Market around here (no matter what the sector), now, are being "optimistically" priced.... Not a good time for buyers really: quite a bit more choice, but I think that you would have to pay "over the odds". Sellers may well lower prices again, but they are all giving it a go and it may well take some months for them to lower prices....

QT

QTPie

Just to add.... In the good larger family house sector of the Market around here, prices are about 20% above peak (late 2007) prices...

poppysarah

And get property bee installed for firefox - you can view rightmove in a whole new light with it

And home.co.uk is worth a look too.