A house here is up for 25% more than 2009, what should I expect/demand?

ijrwe

A house I'm looking at around here is listed for 125k, which seems to be a common listing price for similar properties in the area. It's a smallish terraced house in a smallish city.

In August 2009, when it last changed hands, it sold for 100k. From the pictures of back then (on Rightmove) and now all I can see is that the kitchen has been changed to be a bit nicer, but it was hardly bad before, and there's a stove/fire thing installed in the sitting room.

There are no extentions or other changes that I can see or are mentioned, inside or out.

I was under the impression that there's not been a lot of movement in house prices since 2009, and certainly not +25%. I'm viewing the house tonight, shall I ask the occupants/owners what's been done to it since they moved in? It's a delicate subject, of course.

What should I look out for, what sort of things could make it "worth" that much more now, if anything? Or maybe it's just priced ambitiously, intentionally.

Thanks,

somethingcorporate

Possibly, also you will not know the position of the previous sellers. It could have been a forced / rushed sale that could have reduced the cost at the time.

If it compares well to current sales prices for similar houses in the same area then it may just have been legitimately low priced back in 2009.

It has put us off houses in the past though as you just think unrealistic seller.

theGrinch

it may have been a sell to a family member at a reduced price. I guess you will need to tease out the answer.

googler

Is the £100k from 2009 consistent with other similar sales around the same time.

Note also that it seems sites like Zoopla etc show as 'sales' the transfer of property between individuals on a non-sale basis. If the owners in 2009 were breaking up, and one bought out the other at £100k, that would show up as a 'sale'...

Kynthia

It might be that they got a bargain price for some reason back then, that there were problems with the property which devalued it and they've now fixed, or that prices in that particular area have increased. What matters is what is the property worth now?

Jimbo1976

If you look on rightmove etc you can get property trends for postcodes so you can see if prices are up or down since then property was bought in 2009.

It might be worth looking on the local council web site to see if any planning permission was granted. That should give you some idea to see if significant work has been done to the property.

As everyone else on the post has suggested that the price may have been artificially low last time, so it is probably more important to look at recent sold prices of similar properties to see if £125,000 is good value

DRP

As others say , compare the asking prcie with others in the area - perhaps it is not an outrageous price at all.


If it still seems high, I would ask the EA what work the vendor has done on the place since 2009 in order to warrant the increase in asking price.

Fire_Fox

What someone bought for is irrelevant, the only relevant thing is what it is worth in the current market based on recent sold prices in the area. I'm sure if you purchase this for £125K now and it's worth £200K in five years you are not going to insist on selling for £150K!

ijrwe

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Some valid points, and of course ultimately the current value of the house is what matters. But it does help me to get a handle on sensible offers, at least.

I visited the property tonight and it's very nice. The kitchen has been re-modelled, so to speak - apparently the floor levels have been changed and some other structural alterations to the walls. Not sure it's a 25k improvement, but it's something. The occupant said they'd had 20 viewings in two weeks, but no offers yet. One person is going back next week for a second look, as indeed will I.

I plan to put an offer in, probably 115 or so to start with?

Dunsaw

I wonder if this property is in Medway, Kent. I have just spent a small fortune in changing the floor levels as there were internal steps on the ground and first floor which would not have been ideal in the long term. This change in level is difficult to see after the works have been done but makes living in the property a pleasure.

Mickygg

If you get fixated on sold history prices it could make you go mad. As above there are so many variables such as forced sale, sale to family, no available purchases at the time etc. Obviously they are good as a guide but don't treat them like the bible!