Viewings - What Is Deemed A Good Response

meanmachine_2

dougk wrote:

This is nothing new - when I was looking about 98% of the details sent were like this!

Again its all very regional. Some estate agents (and solicitors) say they are very busy! Others are saying it is dead. Depends wher you live.

It's what's known as the ripple effect. Most parts of London have been dead for the last year. Now the south east is grinding to a halt, whilst some parts of the north, Newcastle for example are still experiencing rises.

But I was looking at figures during the last crash and, on average, properties only fell by around 2% in the first year of the crash. We're already at that stage, just 10 months into the downturn. Imagine how low that stat is going to go when ALL areas report negative readings. Get ready to man the lifeboats!

meanmachine_2

dougk wrote:

This is nothing new - when I was looking about 98% of the details sent were like this!

Again its all very regional. Some estate agents (and solicitors) say they are very busy! Others are saying it is dead. Depends wher you live.

This is new. For the last eight years properties have been selling themselves. EAs have had to do very little for their percentage. It's now a shock for them to realise that they have to get off their backsides and try to sell the abundance of stock on their books.

Their immediate, knee-jerk reaction is to ask vendors to slash their prices. This is by far the easiest option, rather than EAs putting some real legwork and hard graft into the job.

dougk_2

I am in the South East and it is NOT grinding to a halt - rather it is going the opposite way. It slowed before xmas but has picked up since Feb. Many parts of London as I understand slowed a couple of years ago and is now picking up again. My boss has just sold two properties in London(his own and one he inherited) within 7 days of being on the market.

Its not new - When I was looking for a house 5 years ago it was the same.

Estate Agents have always sent details of properties that "may" intrest you - 9 out of 10 times they don't. Its a basic marketing technique.

Again prices are not falling they are still more than last June! EXpect to see them to continue to rise by 2 or 3% this year.

meanmachine_2

dougk wrote:

I am in the South East and it is NOT grinding to a halt - rather it is going the opposite way. It slowed before xmas but has picked up since Feb. Many parts of London as I understand slowed a couple of years ago and is now picking up again. My boss has just sold two properties in London(his own and one he inherited) within 7 days of being on the market.

Its not new - When I was looking for a house 5 years ago it was the same.

Estate Agents have always sent details of properties that "may" intrest you - 9 out of 10 times they don't. Its a basic marketing technique.

Again prices are not falling they are still more than last June! EXpect to see them to continue to rise by 2 or 3% this year.

I'm beginning to suspect you're an EA desperately trying to talk up the market. April posted a fall of 0.1% nationally, which follows a 0.5% fall in March. These are the facts.

You seem incredibly keen to talk up the housing market. Hmm... Why? What is your interest? Please tell us. I don't know why a lay person would be so concerned about spinning if they weren't employed in the property business.

Or are you just an FTBer worried that you've bought at the very peak of the market? If so, then don't worry. Your home is a place to live, not a short term investment, right?

If your property was affordable and you only borrowed 3.5 times your salary, then again you have no reason to worry.

I'll be buying in 1-2 years time when properties are 30% down on their current ridiculous and unsustainable levels.

Poppy9

From Sunny South Wales the house market is dying. 5 houses in nearby roads which normally have people knocking on doors asking you to sell to them instead are langiushing since before Xmas. 2 sellers have now given up and taken their houses back off the market. IMHO they were not overpriced. Just weeks before they started talking of the market cooling an unmodernised identical property went for its asking price of £250k. The modernised properties were £260k - £280k. Not one of them had an offer.

I think people are nervous of buying now in case their is a huge downturn and they are left in Negative Equity. Agree with Meanmachine. So long as you don't overstretch yourself with a mortgage you will ride out the storm. A friend in £15k negative equity 10 years ago now has £100k equity in same property.

Woby_Tide

meanmachine wrote:

I'll be buying in 1-2 years time when properties are 30% down on their current ridiculous and unsustainable levels.

Serious question: if in 2 years time the market has only dropped 10% say would you still buy(i.e. which is your main criteria for purchase the reduction in prices, or by the end of the 2 year time frame you aim to have deposit/funding available?) Would you continue waiting for the remainder of your predicted correction or if market was showing signs of stabilising take a chance and purchase?

ITtim

dougk wrote:

I am in the South East and it is NOT grinding to a halt - rather it is going the opposite way. It slowed before xmas but has picked up since Feb. Many parts of London as I understand slowed a couple of years ago and is now picking up again. My boss has just sold two properties in London(his own and one he inherited) within 7 days of being on the market.

Its not new - When I was looking for a house 5 years ago it was the same.

Estate Agents have always sent details of properties that "may" intrest you - 9 out of 10 times they don't. Its a basic marketing technique.

Again prices are not falling they are still more than last June! EXpect to see them to continue to rise by 2 or 3% this year.

Im in the southeast too. my flat was on the marker for 4 days and i accepted an offer. I know about 8 people who are in the process of moving. i think its all scare mongering!

dougk_2

I am not an estate agent. I have no interest as I am not a property investor.

The figures you quote depend on what stats you read and how they are calculated. There are lots of conflicting stats from different companies / agencies out there. Some with seasonally adjusted figures (these adjusted figures based on the last few years trends) and others straight sale prices.

I just try and point out what I see happening. The only reason houses are not selling is because of scare mongering and the fact that you need to borrow more now. Also fewer people are buying second homes in places such as Norfolk, Wales and other rural areas as the prices are not as good for investment reasons.

FTB's are finding it hard , but it has NEVER been easy to buy your first house. That said most people have more disposable income than ever - its just how you choose to spend it (i.e. gadgets, cars, holidays, clothes...or a house). Yes it is an OR.

I am currently in the process of moving and prices here have gone UP since I made my offer, got it accepted and accepted an offer on the property being sold.
I have borrowed 3.8 times my salary - no problems with this and still I will have 65% of my income not being spent on the house. Not worried about interest rate changes if you are on 5 year fixed rate.

If in the unlikely event prices drop by more than say 5% in 5 years time they will have increased beyond this. So risk ...erm I see none.

Meanmachine, you have a vested intrest- you want prices to crash so you can get a bargain! Problem is the most like cause of a crash is high unemployment and poor economy. A possibility then is you will have no job (due to high unemployment) so won't be able to get the house you want as you can't get the mortgage.

meanmachine_2

Woby_Tide wrote:

Serious question: if in 2 years time the market has only dropped 10% say would you still buy(i.e. which is your main criteria for purchase the reduction in prices, or by the end of the 2 year time frame you aim to have deposit/funding available?) Would you continue waiting for the remainder of your predicted correction or if market was showing signs of stabilising take a chance and purchase?

No it's a good question. It's very difficult to call the bottom of any cycle and it would all depend on the rate of decline and what is going on both in my life and in the economy. But with the market flatlining, hopefully the BTLetters will soon leave the market, allowing people like me back on the ladder.

Who knows, though? If the majority of the population could see a crash coming then there wouldn't be a crash, would there?

To Doug: You don't appear to have overstretched yourself, so you should be fine whatever happens. So why worry if the market plunges? In fact, if it does, interest rates are liable to nudge down, making your current property cheaper to sustain. So it's a win for you, and a win for me!

meanmachine_2

dougk wrote:

Meanmachine, you have a vested intrest- you want prices to crash so you can get a bargain!

Sorry, this isn't true.

I don't want a bargain. I'm just waiting for prices on FTB properties to come down to a sensible level - 3.25 times the average income.

This whole website is meant to be for people who don't want to pay over the odds for goods and services. Why then would I buy a property at current prices? Seems barmy.