Just been told that the market is cooling in SW London

the_flying_pig

theEnd wrote: »

Another mad one today. Nice looking flat, 'ok' area. £625k !!!
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-46289228.html

half a mile from where i live, that.

the price is complete nonsense.

if they get even 90% of that price then, well, that's a textbook example of the kind of out-of-control inflation that's really damaging, to society & the economy.

Halle71

theEnd wrote: »

It has improved though. When I first moved down this way around '99, the pub scene was horrid. Chav infested, fighting dens. Changed a lot. Loads of good pubs, a more young professional feel to the place.

On the flip side, the shops have got even worse, but that's probably most high streets these days. No-one quite sure what to do with them.

It feels a bit like Brixton did when we left 5 years ago - seedlings of change. I'm not sure it will ever reach full potential though. There is a lot of change and cleaning up required.
That said, I could happily spend a night out in Tooting unlike when we first arrived.

H

Ps. We were at the aforementioned middle class chicken outlet yesterday and I do love it!

the_flying_pig

theEnd wrote: »

Some of the asking prices are insane:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-29967693.html

Average 2 bed...

.

in that area 4 bed houses [purpose built, not little ones with loft conversions] were going for that price circa 2006.

the_flying_pig

Halle71 wrote: »

...We were at the aforementioned middle class chicken outlet yesterday and I do love it!

as it happens i myself rocked in there alone at about 5pm, didn't have my contact lenses in so had to walk right up to the blackboard to look at the menu.

chicken, half chicken, or quarter chicken. not much good for my kids or vegetarian wife, so i didn't suggest that we all stayed for tea.

actually, come to think of it that was on saturday.

theEnd

Halle71 wrote: »

It feels a bit like Brixton did when we left 5 years ago

Has Brixton improved? Lived there for a year about 7 years ago. Hated it! Absolutely hated it!

Never saw any trouble, but just too busy, too many people trying to sell me drugs. Never been back there.

Halle71

theEnd wrote: »

Has Brixton improved? Lived there for a year about 7 years ago. Hated it! Absolutely hated it!

Never saw any trouble, but just too busy, too many people trying to sell me drugs. Never been back there.

They had a injection of cash to improve the centre and at the same time the council started controlling the type of business that could take out leases, something Tooting needs.....
And the market has been transformed into 'Brixton Village', foodie heaven (for 20/30 year olds)
House prices are somewhere between Tooting and Balham - decent three bed terraces circa £800/£900k.

There are lots of lovely roads in between Brixton Hill and Tulse Hill as well as Brockwell Park, one of the prettiest and most 'useful' parks in London (lido, tennis, great kids facilities).

observingthedebate

Tooting has less interesting layout than Brixton so potential is not as good. Balham high road is horrid and the High street full of family owned independent shops that are probably owned outright. Down broadway maybe the market has potentials for upgrading.

Tooting Bec, Graveney and Furzedown all very suburbia. I can't see how much better they can get. Some good houses though.

I would start by redeveloping the High Road, a natural spill over from Balham, but I doubt it will ever happen.

P.s. Not been to the chicken shop, heard great reviews

observingthedebate

the_flying_pig wrote: »

half a mile from where i live, that.

the price is complete nonsense.

if they get even 90% of that price then, well, that's a textbook example of the kind of out-of-control inflation that's really damaging, to society & the economy.

I agree. Loads of those maisonettes around there. I lived in one for a while. £550k is absolutely the max I would have thought they should be marketed for as they can make nice 3 beds property ok for a very small family. Location is great too and very safe.

AndyGuil

I think it is more a case of asking prices being closer to selling prices. The market was a little over excited at the end of last year. It isn't cooling just rising at a more reasonable rate.

Jason74

Halle71 wrote: »

We are selling (Mitcham/Tooting borders) and buying (Tooting) in SW Lonbdon. Our buyer dropped out last week after failing to meet new mortgage criteria and I have spoken to our EA now it is back on the market and they (KFH who pretty much have a monopoly in our area) have told me that the market is cooling. Fewer buyers, houses being reduced....

On the whole I'm not that bothered, but it's a bit of a bummer for us because we put an offer on the house we hope to buy two months ago when we got the asking price for ours and now the EA is advising we reduce our price. I still think we could achieve the asking price but not with the time pressure we have on our purchase.

Anybody else have any info/opinion on this?

I can't comment specifically on your area,as it's it's 3-4 miles away from my own area, and that's a world away in London terms. It might though be worth looking at the similar thread posted about Herts. The suggestion was raised there that the "market is cooling" line is being used by EAs in order to encourage instructions and / or acceptance of offers. I don't know if that's what's happening here, but it would make sense if the property you're buying is also via KFH.

In terms of what's happening near me in and around Crystal Palace / Penge, it's a very mixed picture. Sellers of unusually desirable properties (basically immaculately presented houses in the best roads) can still pretty much name their price. But for everything else, the market seems much more price sensitive than even 6 weeks ago. Prices aren't dropping by any means, but attempts to push prices still higher seem to be failing, followed by reductions back to previous selling prices for comparable properties.

I don't know how relevant that is to the picture given that you are in what is probably considered a "hotter" area, but it might be similar to the picture in wider London.