Why is nobody selling?

Spidernick

We had an extension built a few years back. Another advantage not yet mentioned is that the Council Tax banding remains the same until the property is sold. Although not on the scale of the Stamp Duty, etc. savings by extending rather than moving, it's still worth mentioning.

jacko74

I've been looking to buy for the last 10 months and all through the winter I've been desperately looking forward to the 'spring bounce' when the property market comes to life and everyone puts their houses up for sale... however it just hasn't happened at all this year, I'm getting far fewer Rightmove property alerts now than I was getting in Dec, Jan, Feb.

My search area isn't at all in a fast moving part of the country, most properties have been on the market for a year or more and the very few new ones that do come up for sale just join the ranks of unsold houses already languishing on the market.

It just appears to be a completely stagnant market with nobody willing to either buy or sell.

vivatifosi

An article on Sky News just now said that the number of houses currently on the market has fallen due to uncertainty regarding the outcome of the general election. Clearly that doesn't explain why there has been an associated fall over some months though.

jacko74

Yes I can only put it down to the election as to why the property market (outside of London and surrounding areas) has completely stagnated this year... personally I can't really understand why this should have such a dramatic influence on peoples decisions to buy or sell, I'm sure whoever gets in there will be no radical difference to property prices either up or down.

onlyroz

ringo_24601 wrote: »

For us, the cost difference between moving from 3 to 4 bed is immense (we'd have to spend an extra £150k).

BUT, for £50k I could get a loft extension that turns my 3 bed into a 4 - so why on earth would I move? There's been quite a few loft extensions go up around my area and very few house moves.

Also - no stamp duty or estate agent fees..

That's what we did - our 3-bed house is now a 4-bed and we saved around £15k in stamp duty, removal costs, solicitor's fees and estate agent fees.

Running_Horse

Really can't see the election making that much difference. Whatever your allegiance, and whatever the outcome, life will continue and people will still need to move. And both main parties seem committed to permanent house price inflation.

Loughton_Monkey

I currently have a cunning plan to increase house sales. But I need a Conservative government. I'm going to form a housing association. Mrs LM and myself as directors. It will buy this house, and we will become humble tenants. We will then sell it back to ourselves at a massive discount, picking up that difference from the government. That's two extra sales.

..... large gin & tonics all round.... :rotfl:

audigex

There are still houses available, particularly in the North, but nervousness over the election is making some people pause.

Mostly, though, I think it's down to stagnation: as someone mentioned, people are "maxing out" on what they can afford, before they ever get a chance to upgrade and jump up a step on the ladder.

The fact is that if you buy a house now, in 10 years you'll likely pay off 30% of your equity (including your current deposit). Now let's assume the house you'd like to upgrade to costs (currently) 150% of your current house value.

Add in approximate house price growth of 15% over 5 years predicted nationwide between now and 2020, and carry that on for another 5 years, and that upgrade now costs (after 10 years) almost exactly 200% of your current property's price

So now your 30% of the equity in your current home will just about cover 15% of your target home. But unless your wages have doubled in 10 years, you can't afford the mortgage: and an "average" person should expect their wages to grow ~30% in the next 10 years (2.5% compound).

You can quickly see, then, how people just simply can't afford to move, so they stay put or move sideways with the equity they have, but why do that unless you need to move?

lukeh23

As others have said the market is seizing up as the mobility is no longer there.

FTB's are stretched to their limits now and those in 3 beds (push to 4) don't have the leverage to move up as the property above them has increased in price as well.

We are also now in a situation where those who are close to retirement see no point in downsizing to the nice apartment of bungalow. So you have a couple or a divorcee living in a 4-5 bed while families coup up in two bed shoe boxes. The 60+ generation can't really be blamed, they have the choice of sitting in house with 8% returns or putting it into some dire ISA with 2-3% at best, or risking it in a volatile stock market.

The situation is a bit screwed, and it has to change. A lot in here are in denial (as they frame reference to the conditions they had when starting out), but the fact is its maxed out. We have near on 0% interest rates and property being 10x the average wage, and all the government can up with are tricks to lend tax payers money into the market or sell off more social housing.

Something has to give, I just have no idea what. Either a correction or we progress into a nation of landlords and renters. The best way would be to manage the system in a sober practical manner, but I highly doubt that will happen when we have a schizophrenic political class obsessed with buzzwords, slogans and appeasing to whatever the next think group spurt out as opinion, and not fact.

ukcarper

lukeh23 wrote: »

We are also now in a situation where those who are close to retirement see no point in downsizing to the nice apartment of bungalow. So you have a couple or a divorcee living in a 4-5 bed while families coup up in two bed shoe boxes. The 60+ generation can't really be blamed, they have the choice of sitting in house with 8% returns or putting it into some dire ISA with 2-3% at best, or risking it in a volatile stock market.

.

This statement is ridiculous what good is an 8% return if you have no access to it. People downsize to release capital not save it.