New Build Home - Undervalued without visit

Crashy_Time

RelievedSheff said:

Crashy_Time said:

BikingBud said:

RelievedSheff said:

Sunsaru said:

BikingBud said:

980233 said:

Crashy_Time said:

Ok, I suppose it isn`t the same, are you happy with the price of your one?

Very happy considering it wasn't down valued and I know it will gain value. Wokingham isn't town that loses value despite it's local MP.

Appear to be a few here that have been down valued, some by between £50-£85K [in a little over 5 weeks!]

Also some that have been increased despite being unsold since Mar 21!

No sense, no logic, just human nature.

Sorry to be pedantic but they haven't been down valued, just reduced. Probably because they are asking to much in the first place. Looking at the last sold prices the vendors are going to make a tidy profit but were maybe reaching too far to start off with?

Interesting to see is what they actually sell for though.

^^^^^^ Exactly this.

There is a vast difference between a property being down valued and a property having the asking price reduced.

The vendor can put their house on the market for whatever asking price they like, it doesn't mean that they will sell it for that. There are a couple flying kites where we are now with their asking prices. No way will they achieve what they have put them up for. When the asking prices are reduced it doesn't mean they have been down valued or that house prices are dropping, it simply means that the asking prices are coming down to something more realistic and in line with the current market.

Of course

I would suggest the former is when the vendor may be too stubborn to realise it is overpriced and the latter may be when they accept their expectations are unrealistic.

The difficulty is that buyers often believe the emperor's new clothes are real.

Yes, that is a big part of the problem, to be fair they have been bombarded for years with the message that you can`t go wrong with debt on bricks and mortar, even new builds!

If you view your property as a long term home then you really can't go wrong with bricks and mortar. The long term trend has only ever been in one direction barring the odd short term blip.

There doesn`t seem to be much context there, where is the line that shows bills for cladding/leasehold issues for example, or drops in transactions where the chances of achieving the average price for your property diminish, if you can even find a buyer?
Another problem is that in a bubble people buy whatever they can afford, and most don`t want this to be their "long term home", although many recent buyers will no doubt find that it is!

Crashy_Time

What is the plan OP, look elsewhere?

saajan_12

Back to the OP's question and not debating the same debate..

Missbunny14 said:

oz0707 said:

I'd say the builder either has to agree with the values and sell it for 20k less or prove otherwise. I think your fighting for the wrong team here. Its in your interest to let the builder know you will walk unless they can either justify the price or drop it to the valuation. Desktop surveys are pretty common and I can't see it being much different to visiting a new build, especially If the surveyor has attended the specific site. 

Don't get me wrong, we had a strongly worded discussion with the developers about their pricing however once they said the surveyor never even tried to contact them we felt like we couldn't fight against that. Our only option now is to try and get them to lower the cost i guess. 

OP, if this is the main thing directing you to question the valuation, then step back. Desktop valuations are common across the board but especially for new builds because
* comparable sales info is available from desktop
* materials, construction, plan etc all available from desktop
* property expected to be new so no subsequent deterioration or repair issues, or at least covered by a guarantee

The fact that it was a desktop valuation doesn't inherently make it wrong or more suspect. 

Missbunny14 said:

ccbrowning said:

Is it e-surv doing the survey? I'm having a lot of fun just getting them to carry one out on a new build we're looking at. Game of phone tag between everyone now for a week.

Worried we'll be in a similar situation as it's a small development of very expensive homes and we'll be one of the earlier surveys. I think a couple sold before, but at the start of year for less money.

I'd have a discussion about lowering the price or some upgrades on the house, although I doubt they will budge if they were never even contacted, as you suggest.

We do have the money to pay the in between (they don't know this) but its not ideal because we won't have hardly anything left for furniture etc and if the house really isn't worth as much as they're pushing us to pay, we will be in negative equity before we are even in the door. 

Well the question is really what value do you think the house really is / what you are willing to pay.. 
* If you think its 20k more, then even if you successfully appeal the surveyor, you're paying that 20k through the mortgage (+interest) so it makes little difference to you to pay the 20k in cash (except for some cash flow fun whereby you wait for some furniture etc. 
-> If it turns out you're wrong then the negative equity is still there, regardless of what one surveyor says

* If you think its 20k less (now given the surveyor's comments) then your course of action is to reduce your offer with the developer. They can agree (esp if they think they'll get the same push back from other buyers) or refuse.. at which point you can walk away or decide if you want to pay up..

Crashy_Time

With the economic situation deteriorating hourly you should be taking 30K off by now?

Crashy_Time

Gavin83 said:

Ultimately there's real way to know whether house prices will rise or fall, despite what some people preach on here. However it's fair to say the general trend in most areas has been increasing house prices for a while now. This might change, they might even go up further. Only time will tell.

At this stage in a price bubble if rates rise they will fall, I have heard no good argument yet that contradicts that.

RelievedSheff

Crashy_Time said:

Gavin83 said:

Ultimately there's real way to know whether house prices will rise or fall, despite what some people preach on here. However it's fair to say the general trend in most areas has been increasing house prices for a while now. This might change, they might even go up further. Only time will tell.

At this stage in a price bubble if rates rise they will fall, I have heard no good argument yet that contradicts that.

You have been saying that for the last 5 or more years!

RelievedSheff

Crashy_Time said:

Gavin83 said:

Ultimately there's real way to know whether house prices will rise or fall, despite what some people preach on here. However it's fair to say the general trend in most areas has been increasing house prices for a while now. This might change, they might even go up further. Only time will tell.

At this stage in a price bubble if rates rise they will fall, I have heard no good argument yet that contradicts that.

This website here seems to contradict your argument:

https://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/property-statistics/nationwide-average-house-prices-vs-base-rate/

It plots the BOE base rate against house prices and shows that even in times when interest rates were rising that house prices were rising. 

Missbunny14

Just an update for anyone that is wondering how we got on… we got our mortgage today. The surveyor either changed their mind or our mortgage company overturned! 

If you ever read this because you’re in a similar situation, make sure you have an amazing mortgage advisor and don’t stop pressing if you don’t think something is right  

RelievedSheff

Missbunny14 said:

Just an update for anyone that is wondering how we got on… we got our mortgage today. The surveyor either changed their mind or our mortgage company overturned! 

If you ever read this because you’re in a similar situation, make sure you have an amazing mortgage advisor and don’t stop pressing if you don’t think something is right  

Congratulations.