Anyone else experienceing a slow market in Scotland (selling)

ProDave

Short version of the story to start with, I will elaborate as necessary.

In 2012 we made the decision to move (actually to build the new house and sell the old one). 2012 was not a good time to think about selling a house as the house market here, like most of the UK was in recession since 2008 (it had just taken us 3 years to sell a 1 bedroom flat that we had as a BTL)

But this was a long term plan and not one that needed immediate action. By the time we were thinking of selling in 2014, the Scottish Independence referendum was closing in, too much uncertainty to entertain selling it then. But come late 2014 with the "correct" result (another issue to debate) we felt it was finally time to put the house on the market. At this point we had secured our building plot and were getting ready to build.

It has now been a little over 2 years on the market. Now on the second estate agent (the change made little difference other than the "we are trying to so something" mentality) Probably half a dozen viewings in total. Everyone says what a lovely house in a lovely location and we never hear from them again.

It's a 5 bedroom house, three with en-suite, and double garage, detached of course in just over 1/4 acre, so at the upper end of the property market in the north Highlands, some way north of Inverness, in the countryside though only 3 miles from a reasonable town.

In my line of business as an electrician, I get to see a lot of people in a lot of houses and meet a fair few either selling or know someone who is selling, and almost without exception, at this end of the market, everyone is taking a long time to sell. 5 years to sell is not uncommon, and one estate agent when I was looking to change agents was honest enough to say expect it to take at least 3 years to sell.

So it seems to be well known amongst sellers and agents that the upper end of the housing market, is still, to say the least, slow. Yet you never hear any mention of this in the press, and they continue to tell us house prices in Scotland are rising (if you believe the statistics my house is worth 10% more now than when it went on the market)

I wonder if anyone else on here is in the same situation?

I'll put my tin hat on now as I expect the first reply to be not sold in 2 years, the price is too high.

Hintza

ProDave wrote: »

I'll put my tin hat on now as I expect the first reply to be not sold in 2 years, the price is to high.

Well that would be stating the obvious it is obviously over priced.

So you have to make a decision on what you want to do next. If I was in your shoes I would either slash the price or pull it off the market for a year.

My old adage when selling houses was get three valuations and the first one to get the push was the one with the highest valuation.

There is a big difference between need to sell and want to sell and of course location location location is important.

I don't envy you and until there is some certainty in where Scotland is going it will be difficult. Good luck.

ProDave

In Scotland, you have to get a home report done to sell a house, so that is done by a surveyor, and the surveyor places a value on the house. No estate agent will give you a valuation.

Our home report, (which found NOTHING wrong with the house) valued it at £300,000. That valuation was based on a house only 100 metres away literally in the same road, that sold just before we went to market for £285,000. That was a 4 bedroom house, no garage and only 1 en-suite. So the surveyor made a judgement that us having 1 extra bedroom, 2 extra en-suites, and a double garage, made ours worth £15,000 more than the one that had just sold. So I do no believe it is over priced. Rather there are just very few buyers for this type of property at the moment. That's one of the things in due course I want to discuss

The house up the road took over 3 years to sell.

It's easy to say drop the price, and it would be great if I could drop the price to get a sale knowing the one I bought would also be cheaper. but it is not that simple. I am building the new house. the new house is smaller than the old one so I am downsizing. The cost of building materials and labour is going up, not down, so if I drop the price of the old house, there is a real possibility it will cost more to build the new smaller house, than I sell the old larger house for, and I am sorry but I am not paying to downsize. I maintain because of lack of demand (as I say a topic in it's own right) prices here are under valued in so far as you would be doing incredably well at the moment to build a house and then sell it for enough to recoup your costs, let alone any thought of making a profit on it.

Thrugelmir

ProDave wrote: »

So I do no believe it is over priced. Rather there are just very few buyers for this type of property at the moment.

You can't have it both ways. A market is determined by a mixture of supply and and demand of which price is a critical factor. Perhaps there's better value elsewhere in the locality as well.

ProDave

Thrugelmir wrote: »

You can't have it both ways. A market is determined by a mixture of supply and and demand of which price is a critical factor. Perhaps there's better value elsewhere in the locality as well.

Ours is the cheapest 5 bedroom house on the market in the immediate locality. A 4 bedroom house not far away has come to market recently for more than ours. The surveyors still think that is what they are worth.

kabayiri

Is there any possibility to attract a buyer selling up from an expensive area down South?

Down here in some of the villages in the Peak, the desirable houses get snapped up by people from outside the area.

My neighbour's house had a statement kitchen and bathrooms. The lady who bought put an offer in within 24 hours of it going on sale, gushed about the interior; and then proceeded to have the place gutted! She had sold a much smaller house somewhere in London.

zagubov

I seem to recall that Scotland is one of the most urbanised countries in the world. You're living in a constituency with an area the size of Cyprus with a quarter of its population.

I'm sorry but I hope someone out of the area shows an interest. I very much doubt that the politics of Scotland/EU/Brexit is the deciding issue here.

ProDave

kabayiri wrote: »

Is there any possibility to attract a buyer selling up from an expensive area down South?

Down here in some of the villages in the Peak, the desirable houses get snapped up by people from outside the area.

My neighbour's house had a statement kitchen and bathrooms. The lady who bought put an offer in within 24 hours of it going on sale, gushed about the interior; and then proceeded to have the place gutted! She had sold a much smaller house somewhere in London.

You are now touching on what I think is the real problem.

10 years ago, if this house had been on the market, there would have been hoards of Englishmen looking at it, able to sell even a modest property in the south and move to the the Highlands, own a house they could never afford in the South, and often mortgage free.

Of the half a dozen viewers we have had, ONE has been an Englishman. the others have all been local from within 30 miles. We chose the second estate agent because they claim to advertise the property on every property website there is, so it's not for lack of coverage, it's on zoopla, RM etc and many more I had never heard of.

The "problem" appears to be the English in general, no longer want to come and live in Scotland. I would really love to hear from the English why that is? My gut feeling is it's the independence thing. In late 2014 I thought it was all sorted with our "once in a generation" referendum, and we chose to remain part of the UK. I thought the English buyers would return. But now the mad woman in charge won't stop banging on about wanting another referendum, and I fear that is at least part of the problem. But I would love to hear what the English really think now? Would you move to Scotland, or does that, or something else put you off?

I am still keen to hear of other Scottish sellers who might have played the long waiting game. Did you sell eventually? for what price compared to the home report valuation?

Sapphire

Well, Scotland is a beautiful place, and I always liked and admired the Scottish people for their unique character and spirit. However, I do think that some people in England may have been put off by the rabid SNP woman, who gives the impression that all Scots hate the English – and for no good reason that I can see. I mean, we've had a joint shared history for hundreds of years, in which both nations played key roles. Some people I've spoken to actually feel hurt by what they perceive as hostility from the Scots. So that may be a factor in why English people are not buying in Scotland. Perhaps if Ruth Davidson (who is a real Scottish 'type' that I admire for her excellent speaking skills) manages to kick out the bulk of the SNP, things may change?

zagubov

Stop blaming the English. You bought a house in the remotest part of the UK from where England is and you're amazed people from the deep south aren't buying.

It's probably because they haven't got a synapse missing and don't know why they should live in exile out in the sticks.

I live in London, and if I ever moved to Scotland I'd move to a central belt city where I could have a big house close to the underground/motorway network, go to the ballet/opera/theatre, attend festivals or major acts, eat various cuisines, and send my kids to good schools. God know why I'd depend on another country's house buyers to be interested in buying my house, but living in London, that's maybe something I should take on board.

Hey ho, just keep whinging on about the referendum you won.

Can't imagine how much you'd be whinging if you'd lost it.;)

Hedgehog99

ProDave wrote: »

The "problem" appears to be the English in general, no longer want to come and live in Scotland. I would really love to hear from the English why that is?

1) Nicola Sturgeon

2) Nicola Sturgeon

and

3) Nicola Sturgeon

With her blatant anti-English stance and constant whining about having another referendum until she gets her way, nobody is going to risk it I'm afraid. Not that she'd win, but any uncertainty is not good for house prices and buyers are a fragile bunch - the slightest thing gives them the jitters.

Best of luck with your sale.