2 years on I thought I'd take a look at moving again

tomstickland

In late 2009 I spent a good while looking at moving. I hammered Rightmove and Property Bee for several months and in the end decided that there was nothing available that was close to work and worth the cost of moving to.

Fast forward to April 2012 and I've cranked up Rightmove and Property Bee again.
After a few weeks of looking, thinking, numerous drive bys and one viewing then my conclusion is.....
....

...there's nothing in the 20 mile radius from work that's worth the cost to make it worth bothering with.
I'm better off how I am. Living somewhere that's very cheap and sort of alright is better than living somewhere a lot more expensive that's just a little bit more alright.

I came at this from the other end and found that to buy somewhere that I "actually quite liked" would cost me nigh on £200K round here. Maybe £170K at a push if I was lucky.

New build prices are still ridiculous too.

Game plan: sit, wait and watch. Something decent might come up eventually.

tomstickland

So, how many other people are sitting around thinking the same things? My impression from talking to estate agents is that things have just scraped along with maybe a slight drop in prices, but mainly very little activity in the sub £200K price range.

shortchanged_2

I am seeing quite a drop in the lower end of the market i.e FTB price ranges where I am. However the next rung up the ladder seems to be staying stubbornly high, which from what I can see just makes climbing the ladder more difficult, hence we continue to have this dysfunctional housing market.
There seems to be very little for the 2nd time buyers to be able to afford now, and therefore there is very little movement.

moneyinmypocket

it all depends on when someone bought a house - the people who bought from 2004 onwards are more likley to stay put as they may not be worth there time and hassle moving - those who bought in late 90s are laughing and those in ealry 00s may have there morgage paid off but are umming and ahing about if its worth moving and taking on debt.

All this has caused a major bloackage in the 150k - 250k house market

anything below that may still go to a FTB if they have a dep so could sell quickly if priced right

Thrugelmir

tomstickland wrote: »

So, how many other people are sitting around thinking the same things?

Moving is an expensive hobby. Prefer to stay put as have no requirements to move, and save for a decent retirement property. (some years away).

Brallaqueen

I need to stop looking at RM. I am in no position to move and very unlikely to, unless mum and dad are doing a grand job of hiding their fortune.

But I can't stop looking! It is like a drug...

Loughton_Monkey

tomstickland wrote: »

.......Game plan: sit, wait and watch. Something decent might come up eventually.

.. and here is something decent for you.


http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34292594.html?premiumA=true

tomstickland

I forgot to mention that it has to be in my price range.

phil_b_2

Have you counted out doer-uppers? Finding something that needs work can be the way to go right now. Since the market is slow, the houses which need quite a bit of work are just sitting there and the owners are much more likely to take a significantly lower offer.

Taking on a bit of a project can seem overwhelming, but it's all about getting it at the right price and not minding a bunch of workmen marching around the place for a little while.

tomstickland

Not a lot of them around either. I have done up a house before. Ended up taking the floors out, doing brickwork, electrical, plumbing etc. I'm too busy at work to really want to spend a lot of time on another project.

If the prices made it really worth it then I might consider it.