luton house prices

ClaireD85

my boyfriend and i have saved up to get a deposit and have a mortgage arranged to give us a budget of about £185k. we had started looking for 3 bed houses with good access to the train stations, but preferring LU3/LU4 as we both have family and friends near by.

what has happened to Luton, prices have gone mental in the last few months. we were looking for a nice 3 bed home, and wanted to avoid ex council like marsh farm, hockwell ring lewsey. but anythng decent is now over 200k and even ex council are heading towards the top of our budget.

really just want to vent as we rented for years to save up the deposit and now we are ready to buy prices are rising too quickly

Mallotum_X

There has been a lot of press recently highlighting Londoners moving to the town - lower prices and fast train links etc. Plus with the various re-developments in the town that have either started or about to (Airport/Old Vauxhall site/Town centre etc) it is increasing demand for properties. Knock on effect as you have seen is higher prices and fast sales for the better areas/houses.

lincroft1710

Just get on the train from Luton to London, travel 6 miles down the line to Harpenden. Go into a few estate agents there. Luton prices don't seem so bad now, do they?

Coveredinbees!!!!

Cool I live in LU3 hopefully my house will be worth more now.

rosie383

If you haven't had it valued for a while then it definitely will be worth more.
Claire, do you really need a 3 bed? Surely a really good 2 bed that you could grow into would be better if you don't have kids yet. Then you wouldn't be overstretching yourself too much just now. Maybe go for an end terrace so that you could extend in the future.
We need a 3 bed only because our family has grown but as FTB a 2 bed was perfect for many years.

ClaireD85

rosie383 wrote: »

If you haven't had it valued for a while then it definitely will be worth more.
Claire, do you really need a 3 bed? Surely a really good 2 bed that you could grow into would be better if you don't have kids yet. Then you wouldn't be overstretching yourself too much just now. Maybe go for an end terrace so that you could extend in the future.
We need a 3 bed only because our family has grown but as FTB a 2 bed was perfect for many years.

i suppose we don't really need a 3 bed, but we have lived in a pretty rubbish but cheap rental place whilst saving up and our target had been a 3 bed. A year ago our budget would have got us pretty much what we wanted without too many problems. we dont have children yet but the plan was to start a family after we had our home sorted. we have already put off the plans of a big wedding to put everything we can into the deposit

having spent the last year watching our dream slip away its hard, so i think we both want to still get the 3 bed, but not at the expense of location. i think we may have to drop to a 2 bed. although hopefully we will get what we want.

there is a house just gone on at 190k that works for the location 5 mins or so walk to the station, is mid terrace which may have to be one of the compromises. small kitchen but could be extended when we have more money in future.

the price seems almost too good as an almost identical house on the next street sold for 205 in the summer, so im thinking whats the catch. hopefully just a bit of good luck

hopefully we will be able to see it at the weekend, my boyfriend has rung and is waiting to hear back

Mallotum_X

Coveredinbees!!!! wrote: »

Cool I live in LU3 hopefully my house will be worth more now.

When did you buy? unless it was very recently then there will have been an increase in LU3. Of course that increase is only of any use if you are selling and buying somewhere cheaper.

Coveredinbees!!!!

Been here for nearly 10 years.

rosie383

How are you getting on Claire?

I probably shouldn't have done this ... but I did.
I just looked at 3 bed semi house prices this time last year. Honestly wish I hadn't done that now.

Round the corner from us, £174k decent house in Jan 2014.
Same size of house but with archaic wiring and GCH, on with a guide price of £230-239,995k. And it is starting to look reasonable!

If the house that we have offered on doesn't come to a sale, I think we are going to end up staying where we are. :mad::mad::mad::mad:
Every single decent three bed semi which has come on the market in a decent area in the past week has come on at £240-250k.

Mallotum_X

She posted a week or so back that has found something before it went on the market.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5150499


Have you noticed quite a few come on to the market listed as sold.

rosie383

I have seen a lot SSTC literally within days of coming on the market, and the EA themselves have told us that there is huge competition between them all for houses as they are being snapped up by mainly Londoners within hours of coming on the market.

Thanks for posting the link about Claire.