Agent valuations in a declining market

BrixMorta

!!!!!!? wrote: »

There are good EAs out there who actually know the business and provide and efficient and competent service of selling houses. Unfortunately there are also a lot of chancers who jumped onto the boat in the middle of a fast rising tide who act in a sloppy, unprofessional and downright rude manner. They are about to be exposed.

Well said !!!!!!

Nenen

movilogo wrote: »

If more and more people were brave enough to this insult few years back, housing bubble would have burst long time ago!

As a FTB, I am now "insulting" sellers with 20% below asking price offer. And I'm sure others are also doing the same - as the houses I made offers are still on market for 3 months running (asking prices were £150-£165k range).

...and have any of the sellers you've 'insulted' accepted your offer 20% below?
I really wish some of the sellers round here would reduce by 20%... I could afford to buy a house I actually liked then! Even when we've offered 10% under we've been turned down. Most sellers in this area seem to expect to get no less than 5K under asking price (and many of them expect full asking price). In our price range, even houses that have been on the market quite a while don't drop drastically.

Apart from Chriseast (who seems to have amazing luck in finding sellers who drop by HUGE percentages) has anyone else had sellers accept 20% below a reasonable price (and I'm not talking about a house that was obviously way over-priced in the first place)?

Does anyone think it really would be worth our while looking at houses on at 340-350K in the hope that they'd accept 275-280K?

merlinthehappypig

Nenen wrote: »

Apart from Chriseast (who seems to have amazing luck in finding sellers who drop by HUGE percentages)

I wouldn't quite put it like that. I want to stay renting for the time being to see how things shape up with house prices. I like having the cash in the bank and not worrying about money. It is actually making things much harder for me to argue against buying when these idiots keep reducing their prices!

To be honest, these are two fairly extreme cases, I think it is more a matter of circumstances (one emigrating, one finding a house they love) that thas resulted in these two big drops. I'm not suggesting for a minute that this is typical. One other we are 'interested' is only prepared to drop by £25000 on an asking price of £500000.

We are looking at another 8 over the next few days so I'll let you know if we get into any price discussions.

As I have said before I doubt that I would have the nerve to stick out for such big reductions if I actually wanted the house.

Buyers are thin on the ground and we are no-chain buyers able to proceed, so understandably people who are desperate to sell want to hang onto our interest. Sometimes they automatically assume that it's the price that's the problem, when that certainly wasn't the main reason for not proceeding with the two I have mentioned.

Nenen

chriseast wrote: »

One other we are 'interested' is only prepared to drop by £25000 on an asking price of £500000C

.......
that is still a 5% reduction... we've not managaged to get anyone to even lower by that much! :eek: We saw a house we fell in love with on at 335K and the most the seller would drop was 5K (approx 1.5% drop). When it hadn't sold in over a year she eventually took it off the market

chriseast wrote: »

Buyers are thin on the ground and we are no-chain buyers able to proceed, so understandably people who are desperate to sell want to hang onto our interest. Sometimes they automatically assume that it's the price that's the problem, when that certainly wasn't the main reason for not proceeding with the two I have mentioned .

We are in a very similar position (just not got so much to spend on our next house purchase). I thought it would put us in a really strong position with vendors and that maybe even EAs would be keen to get our business but in all honesty it hasn't made a lot of diffierence from when we were looking before we sold. Possibly it's just this area (Cambridge) is holding value/nerve! I'm just getting so despondent about ever finding a house we can afford that I actually like. We really want a house to make a long term home and I'm getting more and more convinced it's not going to happen without a substantial price correction. My dh wants to wait and see and I know he's probably right but i can't help feeling as if I'm living in limbo at the moment (and have been for 7 months now). Maybe you could come to Cambridge and find me a 25% reduction Chris!

WTF?_2

Nenen wrote: »

.
We are in a very similar position (just not got so much to spend on our next house purchase). I thought it would put us in a really strong position with vendors and that maybe even EAs would be keen to get our business but in all honesty it hasn't made a lot of diffierence from when we were looking before we sold. Possibly it's just this area (Cambridge) is holding value/nerve! I'm just getting so despondent about ever finding a house we can afford that I actually like. We really want a house to make a long term home and I'm getting more and more convinced it's not going to happen without a substantial price correction. My dh wants to wait and see and I know he's probably right but i can't help feeling as if I'm living in limbo at the moment (and have been for 7 months now). Maybe you could come to Cambridge and find me a 25% reduction Chris!

We're just at the very early stage after the peak where the market and sentiment are turning. Prices are naturally going to be 'sticky' as people still think their house is 'worth' what it could fetch not so long ago at the very peak of the market.

Also, with a superficially strong economy many people reckon they can hang on for the price they want. That will change (people's perceptions and the economy) in the next 6-12 months.


This slump isn't going to be a short lived thing that all happens in a couple of months - we are likely looking at years of falling house prices after probably quite a steep initial drop. I personally wouldn't jump in now, just after the peak, any more than I would when it was at the peak.

Bank your money somewhere safe with a competitive rate of interest, find yourself a nice place to rent and sit back and wait. Once we're past the initial drop you might want to get into the market if you can personally afford it and really desire to own your own property (and don't mind seeing it drop slowly in value over a couple of years).

Nenen

!!!!!!? wrote: »

Bank your money somewhere safe with a competitive rate of interest, find yourself a nice place to rent and sit back and wait. Once we're past the initial drop you might want to get into the market if you can personally afford it and really desire to own your own property (and don't mind seeing it drop slowly in value over a couple of years).

Thanks !!!!!!... I know that your advice is logical... I'm just soooooo impatient to feel settled!

I don't think it would be such an issue if we were a bit younger (we're late 40s) but I've really had enough of moving around and living in places that feel temporary. None of the houses we've rented or owned so far have ever been one I wanted to stay in for ever... were just the means to an end at the time (e.g. near enough to work, or good place to bring up children). I long for that 'cottage with roses round the door' feeling... the one I imagine I'd get if I fell in love with a house and wanted to stay there for the foreseeable future rather than lived somewhere because it was the 'best of a bad job'. Sorry if that sounds like whinging! I do realise I'm lucky to know I have a roof over my head and will probably be able to afford to buy my own house again one day... more than a lot of people in the world can ever hope for!

merlinthehappypig

Nenen wrote: »

.......
that is still a 5% reduction... we've not managaged to get anyone to even lower by that much! :eek: We saw a house we fell in love with on at 335K and the most the seller would drop was 5K (approx 1.5% drop). When it hadn't sold in over a year she eventually took it off the market



We are in a very similar position (just not got so much to spend on our next house purchase). I thought it would put us in a really strong position with vendors and that maybe even EAs would be keen to get our business but in all honesty it hasn't made a lot of diffierence from when we were looking before we sold. Possibly it's just this area (Cambridge) is holding value/nerve! I'm just getting so despondent about ever finding a house we can afford that I actually like. We really want a house to make a long term home and I'm getting more and more convinced it's not going to happen without a substantial price correction. My dh wants to wait and see and I know he's probably right but i can't help feeling as if I'm living in limbo at the moment (and have been for 7 months now). Maybe you could come to Cambridge and find me a 25% reduction Chris!

Very similar position (and age!). We only have as much as we have because we are looking to buy with the parents in law and are putting in about half each. My wife feels the same as you and wants somewhere of our own again, even though we have never really felt settled anywhere either (8th house now I think). Like your OH I want to stay renting a while longer and see what happens. Like many people we have had real debt problems in the past and, to me, being debt free with some money invested far outweighs the desire to own again at present. We are in a rented house with a very secure tenure.

The real problem is the borrowing bit. If we could buy what we want outright, I wouldn't care about the possible decline in house values. It would be a home, not an investment. My real concern is taking on a mortgage, possibly struggling to meet it if interest rates rise a lot or circumstances change, only for house prices to have declined so much that in say 12-18 months I could get the same house with no or little borrowing.

Unfortunately the health and age of my parents in law means that in all probability we will have to buy again soon.

I have noticed a reality check in asking prices over the last couple of months here (West Somerset). Many of the houses we have seen in the paper have reduced, some by a lot, some by less and agents are definitely phoning back and chasing up viewings again.

Fingers crossed this will spread to your part of the country shortly.

Nenen

Chris... it is so nice to feel someone else is in a similar boat... I do understand what you mean... maybe the female 'nestbuilding' instinct is just a little stronger than male one... or we let our hearts rule our heads a little more!
I do agree re kicking ourselves should we decided to stretch ourselves to the limit and then a few months later prices drop significantly and we have years of unnecessary financial difficulties (done that... worn the t-shirt... seen the video and it's a horror movie! :eek:). Our life stories seem to be mirrored!

Guy_Montag

Hi Nenen,

I lived in Cambridge for a while, from a young person's point of view it's a dreadful place to try to buy. It's one area where there genuinely is just not enough housing. Tbh, I'd voted with my feet & move elsewhere - either deeper into the Fens or north a bit.

simonjstone_2

has anyone thought of trusting the experts, there is not going to be a crash its a slowdown. prices may drop a little but not the tens everyone is exepcting. you can not use the credit crunch or usa market as opinon. Credit will sort itself out with bigger deposits people will have to save for and the usa has more space than we have to devolp house so demand will always outstrip supply.