Have I missed my chance to buy in London?

RoisinDubh_2

woodsford said:

Have you tried to look in the Lee area?

I've just moved here and loving it so far.

Nope. What do you like about it?

RoisinDubh_2

okigen said:

RoisinDubh_2 said:

okigen said:

RoisinDubh_2 said:

okigen said:

Nope. You haven't missed the boat at all. I noticed that new flats posted in Many/June time started to ask for more aspirational price - or at least in the area I'm buying (central London). But they couldn't sell, and was £25k reduced 1 month later. There was a two-bed that I was very close to making an offer on, and it got reduced by £50k (from 450k to 400k) in one go!

One bed flats in London at the moment are as unpopular as it can get.

That makes me happy! There were a glut of samey one-beds with no balcony in purpose built blocks in the £250-280K range a few months back and there just don't seem to be many now. Perhaps it's just a bad few weeks. I also saw some massive reductions, so it seems like maybe people are just being cheeky. 

I think people saw the headlines about house price and thought they could fetch the same for flats. Or they think the pandemic is over so people will be ready to go back to small one bed flats in London again. I viewed a converted two bed flats, advertised in Jan at 390k for 65 square meters. That one was sold. Then in May the one bed right next to it also went to the market, asking 370k for only 51 sq metres (!) and in worse condition. Needless to say it can't sell, so now it has been reduced to 350k (which I still think will not sell).

All the ones I viewed have now sold. I will have to remember to go back and see how much they sold for, as it could have been well below asking price. I fell in love with one listed at 275K but it was only about 33 square metres, and it just seemed too small. The living room wasn't even big enough to put a desk in! It was a great location and really beautiful, but I think I'd struggle in that size of flat even if I weren't working from home 3 days a week tbh.

275k for 33 meter square  i.e. 8.3k per m2 is quite expensive.  Are you looking at Central London? It is still expensive even to central London's standard to be honest (unless it's one of the fancy historic cool looking ones?).

Given the size I don't think it will sell soon anyway,  so they may reduce the price in a couple of months time. Good luck

Nope, that was Crystal Palace. It was historic, fancy and cool looking and had a massive shared garden, and it did sell within a couple of weeks, as has everything I've viewed except one place which is obviously terribly overpriced (300K for a characterless one bed in Crofton Park with no outside space at all). That's what is making me nervous. I had a viewing lined up for another place tomorrow but been told it's cancelled because it's under offer.

okigen

RoisinDubh_2 said:

okigen said:

RoisinDubh_2 said:

okigen said:

RoisinDubh_2 said:

okigen said:

Nope. You haven't missed the boat at all. I noticed that new flats posted in Many/June time started to ask for more aspirational price - or at least in the area I'm buying (central London). But they couldn't sell, and was £25k reduced 1 month later. There was a two-bed that I was very close to making an offer on, and it got reduced by £50k (from 450k to 400k) in one go!

One bed flats in London at the moment are as unpopular as it can get.

That makes me happy! There were a glut of samey one-beds with no balcony in purpose built blocks in the £250-280K range a few months back and there just don't seem to be many now. Perhaps it's just a bad few weeks. I also saw some massive reductions, so it seems like maybe people are just being cheeky. 

I think people saw the headlines about house price and thought they could fetch the same for flats. Or they think the pandemic is over so people will be ready to go back to small one bed flats in London again. I viewed a converted two bed flats, advertised in Jan at 390k for 65 square meters. That one was sold. Then in May the one bed right next to it also went to the market, asking 370k for only 51 sq metres (!) and in worse condition. Needless to say it can't sell, so now it has been reduced to 350k (which I still think will not sell).

All the ones I viewed have now sold. I will have to remember to go back and see how much they sold for, as it could have been well below asking price. I fell in love with one listed at 275K but it was only about 33 square metres, and it just seemed too small. The living room wasn't even big enough to put a desk in! It was a great location and really beautiful, but I think I'd struggle in that size of flat even if I weren't working from home 3 days a week tbh.

275k for 33 meter square  i.e. 8.3k per m2 is quite expensive.  Are you looking at Central London? It is still expensive even to central London's standard to be honest (unless it's one of the fancy historic cool looking ones?).

Given the size I don't think it will sell soon anyway,  so they may reduce the price in a couple of months time. Good luck

Nope, that was Crystal Palace. It was historic, fancy and cool looking and had a massive shared garden, and it did sell within a couple of weeks, as has everything I've viewed except one place which is obviously terribly overpriced (300K for a characterless one bed in Crofton Park with no outside space at all). That's what is making me nervous. I had a viewing lined up for another place tomorrow but been told it's cancelled because it's under offer.

Blimey, Crystal Palace 😮 Maybe if that's your preference you can look into  Blackheath/Greenwich around Greenwich park also? I did a lot of viewings there back in April and there are many flats which will fit the bill: Victorian, pretty garden, 2 vibrant town centres, massive park nearby. If the location is on the correct side of the hill you can even have a paranomic view of the city below. Price-wise I think they come at 6k-7k ish per m2 so a bit more reasonable than the aforementioned (will be much more expensive if you want something right in the middle of Blackheath village though).

The main problem to me seems to be supply. When I viewed there were so many flats coming up, but now there is barely anything new. It's as if everyone had rushed out properties into the market so may take a while for stock to build back up.

woodsford

RoisinDubh_2 said:

woodsford said:

Have you tried to look in the Lee area?

I've just moved here and loving it so far.

Nope. What do you like about it?

• Safe - it is safer than I expected. I came from a nice area (Balham) but Lee feels safer.
• Good amenities nearby (i.e. supermarket etc) and you've got Blackheath 5-10 mins down the road for restaurants / cafes / park. Plus you've got a huge shopping centre in Charlton which is a 20 mins bus ride away but 15 if in a car.
• Good commute to central London (I commute a lot for work and socials) - it takes 25-30 mins door to door for me. Easier  than I expected.
• Good quality housing stock if you have the money
• Value for money.

One downside though - like the poster above said there is hardly any supply now. When I looked there were a good number of places avaialble but now it is hard to find them.

woodsford

Check this out btw - just came on today: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/108777959#/

Crashy_Time

RoisinDubh_2 said:

LAD917 said:

I suspect this is a temporary lull due to the sunset of the stamp duty holiday.  People thinking of trading up would've likely listed their flats during the stamp duty holiday window.

Yeah, I think they did. People were telling me at the time they were overpriced but I think it may have been the opposite...that people were quite desperate to sell and get out of London. Do you think it will pick up again after the summer?

Is PropertyLog showing any price reductions yet for your area?

[Deleted User]

Snap this one up for the entertainment value of watching cyclists going up the hill you'd be living on:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90503596#/

Plus close to One Tree Hill which is very atmospheric. Good to be living by a scrap of ancient woodland with a nice view.

Or here's another, near to Blythe Hill Fields:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/107069957#/

Crashy_Time

Poster_586329 said:

Snap this one up for the entertainment value of watching cyclists going up the hill you'd be living on:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90503596#/

Saw another sub 300k flat just listed that's next to Blythe Hill Fields that looked okay too, though I lost the link.

20k price drop on that one so far, are there any larger price drops that you can see?

[Deleted User]

I haven't been looking, just fired up Rightmove on seeing this thread.

But glancing at that listing again, looks like there isn't space for a washing machine, bath, or many of your possessions.  You might have to move the sofa every time you want to get something out of the oven.  

On the plus side, three guitars on the wall!

Crashy_Time

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/39367518#/

30k drop and TONS of supply if you widen the search area.