Should I reduce the price of my cottage?

brit1234

You better try to find the right price soon as I predict this summer we will have continuous prices falls going into next year.

Have you a rightmove link?

serious_saver

I think the thing you need to do is thoroughly research the prices that properties are actually selling for rather than looking at the prices that houses are marketed at. As a few others have mentioned EA's seem to have tendency to over value.

I'm am trying to buy at a completely different end of the market but I would like to give you my local example. In one of the areas I am looking there is a long street with a lot of houses regularly for sale (described by EA's as ideal for FTB's). All of the EA's are asking between £145,000 and £160,000 for a 2 bed mid link. However I know that a friend bought one recently for £120,000 and my sister bought one for under £115,000. I've done more research and as far as I can find no 2 bed has sold for more than £128,000 in that street EVER. The result is that sellers are just holding out for longer in the hope of getting a figure that just isn't achievable before getting desperate and selling at a very low price to the first person who can move quickly (My oppionion of course).

My sister's house was marketed for over a year at £145,000 (then reduced to £135,000) and the seller was desperate by the time she put the offer in (one toddler and baby on the way). If it had been marketed at £125,000 it probably would have sold straight away and achieved that sum or very close to it.

BlueC

brit1234 wrote: »

You better try to find the right price soon as I predict this summer we will have continuous prices falls going into next year.

Yes, you'd better try to sell QUICK QUICK QUICK because some random on an internet forum is predicting a collapse in the housing market!



(I'm not saying I disagree with brit1234, just that I wouldn't be basing my house price on their prediction!)

brit1234

BlueC wrote: »

(I'm not saying I disagree with brit1234, just that I wouldn't be basing my house price on their prediction!)

My prediction is based on studying risk at university and understanding the economic fundamentals.

House prices are falling slowly with 0.5% interest rates, banks have no desire or simply no money to irresponsibly lend to support todays prices. Without that funding the market will fall to the level which banks can support. Rises in interest rates will increase this speed.

Loanranger

Brit1234, stop peddling your house price crash nonsense. I'm surprised you haven't noticed yet that the housing market has not actually crashed, nor will it. It's just bumping gently along but of course that doesn't fit your agenda, does it?

WelshNic

Smallholdings are an in thing these days but you need to be marketed by someone that knows what they're doing - oh and don't listen to brit1234 :rotfl:

DannyboyMidlands

Loanranger wrote: »

Brit1234, stop peddling your house price crash nonsense. I'm surprised you haven't noticed yet that the housing market has not actually crashed, nor will it. It's just bumping gently along but of course that doesn't fit your agenda, does it?

Actually loanranger it's this tired old "bumping along" line that is nonsense I'm afraid. Do you have any evidence to back up your claim? Have you seen the latest Land Registry report? Depending on where you live a crash is exactly what is happening. Prices in the North East for example have fallen 9.3% in the last year alone. Blaenau Gwent are down 19.9% in the last year! Check it out:

http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/upload/documents/HPI_Report_Mar_11_db10pv4.pdf

Back to the cottage, Dorset only fell 1.2% but the situation isn't looking too rosey. I'd want to drop the price and get ahead of the curve.

Loanranger

DannyboyMidlands wrote: »

Actually loanranger it's this tired old "bumping along" line that is nonsense I'm afraid. Do you have any evidence to back up your claim? Have you seen the latest Land Registry report? Depending on where you live a crash is exactly what is happening. Prices in the North East for example have fallen 9.3% in the last year alone. Blaenau Gwent are down 19.9% in the last year! Check it out:

http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/upload/documents/HPI_Report_Mar_11_db10pv4.pdf

Back to the cottage, Dorset only fell 1.2% but the situation isn't looking too rosey. I'd want to drop the price and get ahead of the curve.

Don't patronise me.

Minus 2.3% YOY is hardly a crash, is it? More like a minor bump.

Seanymph

I looked at smallholdings - I would hazard a guess that for many people buying one is now more of a risk because of the time necessary balanced with working.

People I know are all working more hours - or more diligently anyway - to retain, often precarious feeling, jobs.

To successfully run something with paddocks and ground takes time, someone who has the money behind them and can cut back hours, or not work.......... i would say that's probably a depleting pool of purchasers.

I looked at a couple of places with land - only because we have a horse - but we have one now not three, and most people I know with horses are looking hard at the expense (and working on their children to take up something cheaper!).....

There will be a buyer out there, but I think there are fewer than ever because of the money it takes to run, and the lack of income it brings - we are all just working our butts off on the day to day and worrying about budgeting at the moment I think.

And I can't back that up with anything so don't even ask

Personally I'd market furiously - there are magazines 'farming at home or smallholder' ones like that - write to them and ask if they want to do an editorial on selling a smallholding in these troubled times, or feature yours because it's lovely. Period home do 'readers houses', country living do a section on readers houses for sale if you are a subscriber free, or £50 I think if you aren't.......... get on pony forums, smallholding, veggie growing ones and talk about how hard it is to sell with land - look for tips from people who may have experienced it, and will be interested.

Market it with specialist agencies too 'equestrian property' 'rural scene'........ dont' give anyone exclusive rights, and know you will pay slightly more in agents fees - but you can't pay it unless it's sold right? So it will be gone and that will be worth the extra couple of thousand.

Many many many people need to see it to find the right one - you can do a lot to make sure more people see it. I had a 'niche' house, and put it on with about 10 agents........... eventually some people bought it who were house hunting for a weekend about 18 miles away and saw it in an agents window and fell in love........ I only needed one, and so do you - you just have to make sure they see it.

I'd love it - but am in Norfolk (too far away) and have just bought....

CloudCuckooLand

Loanranger wrote: »

Don't patronise me.

Minus 2.3% YOY is hardly a crash, is it? More like a minor bump.

Some people's memories are too short...



[IMG]http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/Apps/house-prices/house-price-index-custom-reports/hpi_report.asp?g=1&gt=1&a=E&W-ALL&s=01 June 2007&e=01 March 2011&t=1[/IMG]

Currently running -12% since the 2007 peak...

Different people have different opinions about what constitues(d) a crash, but I'd say -16% through 2008 was a pretty good candidate.

So, for many a "crash" has already happened, and could be in the midst of being repeated, now that UK PLC has recognised it cannot keep spending money it does not have.

(If Gordon Brown had started the process sooner, maybe we'd have had a 2009 like 2008, and now be on a steady road to recovery, but he was too busy trying to buy an election to take that route.)