Is it too late to sell a house in Northern Ireland???

championmongo1

My perception of the what may happen in the Northern Ireland housing market:

One of the factors that has effectively forced a housing market slow down has been the continually rising interest rate followed by the current financial market turmoil. However with the Bank of England effectively bailing out Northern Rock, a precedent has been set which effectively means the Bank of England will help banks if they get into trouble in the current climate as long as they have an otherwise sound business model.

With the US Federal Reserve dropping it's interest rate by 0.5% and inflation here dropping to 1.8% which is now below the governments target of 2%, I think the Bank of England is likely to cut it's base rate by 0.25% in the coming months.

This will instill a little confidence back into the financial markets which in turn will inspire more confidence in the housing market. Prices here peaked in May and have dropped off a little since (averaging around 3% down in my area) but houses are starting to sell again already albeit for near the asking price rather than above it.

I think house prices here will stagnate for 1-2 years then possibly begin to rise again albeit only by 0.1-0.5% per annum which would be below inflation (targetted around 2% per annum). This would mean that in 'real' terms houses will be cheaper over the next few years but without the dramatic price crash some people seem to be hoping for.

What do other MSE members think?

championmongo1

I'm contemplating changing estate agents as I have only had two viewings in 3 months with no offers when the other house for sale in my lane sold in 6 days with another agency! I phoned up my estate agent yesterday morning, didn't say who I was and asked for a particular guy, he was another call but would call me back as soon as he was free I was told but I'm still waiting for the call back! The other house was on for £5k less although it needs a little TLC IMHO, but I'm thinking of dropping my price just to get a sale but not sure if I should do that with current agent or change agent at the same time?

My ideal completion date would be 31st January 2008 (end of mortgage tie-in) which leaves 4 months, take away a month for the Christmas festivities leaving 3 months which means I think I need to have it sale agreed soon if my dream of being with my better half again in the new year is to be realised!

Colin_Kee

I'd advise to change agent & maybe drop price a bit first. Sounds like your current agent isn't exactly pulling their weight!! Proves my belief that when times are good (or have been) EA's tend not to do a great deal in the way of "Selling" they tend to just wait for the folk to come to them..

leftieM

How about getting another EA out to value your house? I'd suggest getting the EA that sold your neighbour's house out. My experience has been that EAs will tell you sale prices for your area when they are doing the free valuation. They won't say anything over the phone. You can then decide whether to drop you price and to what level.

championmongo1

I share contempt for estate agents Colin_Kee, they like getting as much from us for as little work as possible! It makes me mad! :mad:

And cheers leftieM-always the voice of reason regardless of what your husband may say! :rotfl:

I had all the local agents out to value the house before I decided to go with UPS (in order to get the best feel from the agent and of course the lowest fees) so they all know my house and the other house in my lane was sold by my second choice agent. So I will do a suprise visit to my estate agent today just to see exactly how well (or not) my house is being marketed (i.e. is it in the window, or at least displayed well inside,etc.) and take it from there.

I think if I were to go with my second choice agent, given the current market conditions they would probably market my house at overs over £160k which I would be more than happy with as long as it gets the d*mn thing sold!

championmongo1

I did a suprise visit to my estate agent yesterday and my house is being well displayed and he has more sold agreed houses (all at my end of the market!) than the last time I was in and more than the other agents so I'm sticking with him for now...

He has said that the market has picked up again although last year there were approximately 70 houses for sale in this area at any one time whereas now it's several hundred! He said this means that for a house to sell it really needs to stand out so I'm giving him some work to do. I'm getting a few better pictures taken to highlight some of the work I have done since the house went on the market, getting him to tidy up the brochures and the biggest change is I've decided to drop the asking price by £5k to make it more accessible to more buyers!

He said this will should help get a quicker sale which is good for both of us as he gets his commission sooner and I get to re-unite with my better half! Will keep you all posted and thanks again to everyone for all your advice!

gibbyni

champion, just out of interest what estate agent is it up with, my friend had one up with home and away and he said they where a total waste of time, they changed, not to sure who to and it sold shortly after

championmongo1

It's on with Ulster Property Sales! Home and Away properties would have been cheaper but I didn't think they were as reputable and as the old saying goes: 'you get what you pay for!'

Out of interest, when did they sell? And in which bracket? i.e.

£100k-150k
£151k-£200k
£200k+

gibbyni

mother sold hers for £270k up in prospect it was with halifax and sold within a few weeks. she moved about 3 weeks ago. her friend who was with h&a was around the same figure, it was over in downshire and was up for about 2 months with no real interest, some one did put an offer on but she thinks it was strange and that the agent put them up to it. she changed about 2 months ago, not to sure who to but she moves out at the end of this month

championmongo1

It's nice to know that other houses are indeed still selling despite a lot of peoples doom and gloom! I thought the East Antrim market was still moving (i.e. houses selling, not increasing in value). I only put mine on with UPS at the end of June, wonder if Halifax could have shifted it buy now...