MSE News: House sales plunge in 3-year slump

TypeR

Itismehonest wrote: »

I didn't say growth, I said no big fall (as in crash).

I agree with you but, while interest rates are low, the reasons for any crash are more likely to come from increases in repossessions due to unemployment rising etc. or possibly if/when the rental market becomes less attractive to investors.

I'm not just pulling theories out of the air. It is personal experience of having a property on the market last year. 5 months on the market. 15 viewings. 5 interested; 2 of which hadn't even put their own place on the market; 2 who had but subsequently pulled out because they couldn't sell their own & 1 whose monetary position was a total nightmare & were living in cloud cuckoo land.
In other words 5 sets of people who were to some degree or another timewasters as none were in a position to buy any property whatever the price.
We don't need the hassle so will wait until there is more certainty in the market.

It's good news you aren't a forced seller.

However, there is a two way opinion on this subject. The opinion you've painted which is along the lines of people either not having the money due to not being able to sell, one who in your opinion was a monetary nightmare.
The flip side is your house is over priced, I know for a fact before you reply, that in your opinion it's not - but a fair valuation isn't what you think it's worth, or what an estate agent thinks it's worth - it's worth what someone can afford to pay for it. The good news is you're financial position doesn't dictate wether you sell or not - Sadly with the state of the Economy, I suspect far far more are experiencing tougher times.

Itismehonest

With 15 viewers & no mention from any of them of being overpriced & no offers which were significantly under asking price I'd like to know how you come to the conclusion that it was overpriced?
You missed my point - they were interested in it at the price advertised but did not have any way of getting the money as their own properties were not selling or could not be sold. So, they may be asking too much for their places but that doesn't mean that we were.

So, we'll wait to see if things free up in the market. Enough people like ourselves & those of our prospective buyers who are now doing the same & that's a significant number of properties not going on the market.
The subject of the thread was number of house sales not house prices or the nation's economic growth .

Odette

PD1 wrote: »

What amazes me is the people who ARE willing to pay silly inflated house prices - surely there can't be an endless supply of cash rich idiots who don't know what to do with their money bar throw it at an increasingly unstable market.

I think there were people like this before, now not so much, which is why you get headlines like this.

jimpix12

Retro_Bunny wrote: »

It's simple. Stop building "affordable" houses, and allow development of expensive houses.

I've been trying to move for 5 years - I live in an affordable house, own and rent another affordable house, and desperately want to move to an "unaffordable" house but there are none on the market due to their restricted development. However there are tons of boxy affordable houses available. Just nothing in the middle banding between say £150k and £400k for me to move to.

If you allow someone to build a single expensive house, I'll put 2 "affordable" / first time buyer houses on the market, £110k and £140k. I would imagine I'm not alone, stuck in a stagnant market.

All markets rely on a range of products: new cars / nearly new cars / used cars, Tesco value / standard / finest. Why does the wisdom of government believe that we only need 'value' houses?

Simple solution: Move to the SE or London, you can find a bedsit for £300k I'm sure.

myhouse_2

Itismehonest wrote: »

With 15 viewers & no mention from any of them of being overpriced & no offers which were significantly under asking price I'd like to know how you come to the conclusion that it was overpriced?
You missed my point - they were interested in it at the price advertised but did not have any way of getting the money as their own properties were not selling or could not be sold. So, they may be asking too much for their places but that doesn't mean that we were.

I would suggest that if several houses similar to yours have sold at the price you are asking, then your asking price is probably realistic. If that is not the case then your asking price is probably unrealistic. There are of course a few other minor factors which might affect this, but it doesn't really matter how people are interested in your property at the asking price. If they can't afford the property (for any reason) then they are not real buyers. And if you don't have any real buyers interested in your property then it's over priced.

Pincher

Retro_Bunny wrote: »

It's simple. Stop building "affordable" houses, and allow development of expensive houses.

If you allow someone to build a single expensive house, I'll put 2 "affordable" / first time buyer houses on the market, £110k and £140k. I would imagine I'm not alone, stuck in a stagnant market.

http://www.wingfieldmews.co.uk/index.cfm

The developers went for a mix, apartments and detached.
Still have availability in both.

Itismehonest

myhouse wrote: »

I would suggest that if several houses similar to yours have sold at the price you are asking, then your asking price is probably realistic. If that is not the case then your asking price is probably unrealistic. There are of course a few other minor factors which might affect this, but it doesn't really matter how people are interested in your property at the asking price. If they can't afford the property (for any reason) then they are not real buyers. And if you don't have any real buyers interested in your property then it's over priced.

For normal properties in areas where comparisons can be made that would, indeed, be the case.
Within a couple of miles radius, of the few that have been on the market over the last couple of years, 3 have been taken off (1 of those having reduced by 45k & still had less interest than us even after lowering) & 1 other which was also reduced by 45k, is still on the market &, again, has had less interest. There have been no sales so it is impossible to judge.
Zoopla (yes, I know it's useless & even more so for me) shows only one price for my postcode & that is from the late 1990s. Properties round here don't go up for sale very often.

Yes, it may be overpriced (incidentally we went with EAs valuation not our own) but we don't have to sell at a figure much less than we want to achieve. Of course, if people are desperate (& aren't tied by mortgage equity) they can slash prices to get rid of their places but the whole point of my initial post was that for those of us who are in a more fortunate position, & there are still a great many, then we just wait things out.
This means that there are fewer houses for sale.
I imagine this scenario is happening all the way up the property ladder.
Incidentallly, the people interested were all from more expensive areas selling more expensive properties to move to an area where they would get more for their money. The problem was not at our end but at theirs. They were all in 1m plus properties & would have been cash buyers if their own properties had sold. So, as I said, maybe their prices are more of a problem than ours?

Anyway, this wasn't a "How do I sell my house" thread. It was discussing the reduced number of house sales.

PD1

ReadingTim wrote: »

Maybe these 'cash rich idiots' are just people who prefer their walls a different colour to magnolia, and don't like being at the mercy of a 6 month AST?

Yeah, I see your point....my point was that its incomprehensible that people are willing to pay inflated prices. Theres always people needing to move, doesn't mean they have to pay whatever an estate agent dreams up.