Fantasists?

FlaatusGoat

Continuing my house hunt, I've broadened my search criteria for properties up to 350k out of curiosity. What really raises my eyebrows and I don't know if it's specific to this area is the amount of properties I'm seeing that were recently bought circa 2021ish and are up for sale. Plus an extra 100K?!

Someone who's more knowledgable than me please educate me. Are we dealing with vendors who are complete fantasists or am I the dreamer? See below examples.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128663483#/?channel=RES_BUY

No obvious work done.

Next example

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130008986#/?channel=RES_BUY

Up 80k with no obvious work done.

MFWannabe

First property I cant see what’s been done to warrant a 100k increase in 2 years but I don’t know area etc 
Second property is 80k in 4 years and clearly states new kitchen and bathroom and that increase sounds about right imo. It’s a nice property 

I think you need to stop getting hung up on what properties cost 2 plus years ago, you need to compare them with properties that have recently sold, how do the prices compare to those? 

Look at properties you like and can afford and would be willing to pay x amount for. Otherwise you’ll still be on here saying the same in another 2 years time 

[Deleted User]

Mine is up 20% since August 2020. 100k since 2021 sounds steep. Then again supply and demand could be a factor.

mi-key

Assuming like most sellers they have had a few agents in, and gone with a mid range valuation then that is what the houses are currently valued at for sale. They may be over valued, or under valued depending on your view, but that is what the sellers are asking for them, and agents generally try and list things at a price they think it can be sold at as its not in their interest to have unsold properties sitting for months or years on their books. 

Remember as well agents will know the local market, and will know what houses have sold for in the past months, what offers have been made etc..

Try not to worry about what houses may have sold for two years ago, or ten years ago or fifty years ago. You are buying a house now, so need to work around the current prices. You can't go back in time and buy it in the past, so what it has been worth isn't really relevant.

RelievedSheff

What a house sold for two years ago is completely irrelevant to what it's value is now.

You need to look at how a property is valued compared to other equivalent properties on the market now and recently sold.

Unless you change your perspective on this you are never going to buy a house. Almost everything on the market will be worth more than it was two years ago. There are very few (if any) places where property prices have stagnated or dropped in the last two years.

Postik

RelievedSheff said:

What a house sold for two years ago is completely irrelevant to what it's value is now.

It's sad but true.  Even second hand cars are worth more now than they were two years ago!  Says something about the state of our "economy"

GixerKate

I like the look of the second one, used to live near there too!

ReadingTim

FlaatusGoat said:

Someone who's more knowledgable than me please educate me. Are we dealing with vendors who are complete fantasists or am I the dreamer? 

Sorry mate, but you're the dreamer, with a bitter fixation with the past.  What something sold for 2 years ago, 20 years ago, or even 200 years ago is neither here or there, nor what the owner may or may not have done to the place since - you can't travel back in time and buy it instead.  You can't even buy something that sold yesterday, 'cos it's not on sale today.  

You can only buy what's on sale now, at today's prices.  Comparables should only be between properties you can actually buy, not something that someone already has.  Sold prices might be a guide, but they're no more helpful than last week's lottery numbers for this week's draw.   

[Deleted User]

How long have you been thinking like this?

Is it preventing you from buying somewhere, as I don't think that it's a helpful mindset.

I'm not too far away from you and I don't recall prices ever falling by more than a few percent before quickly rebounding and continuing to rise.

Sometimes, you just need to grasp the nettle and get on with it. 

theoretica

Some proportion of houses will have had a comparatively low sale price in their history - maybe a rush sale, being sold to someone in the family, being sold with sitting tenants who are now gone or the buyer just got lucky...  The realistic sale price and valuation for those properties will look like quite a jump in price. 

[Deleted User]

A lot of people thought they were getting rich and are now reluctant to lower prices to realistic levels.

Make realistic offers. They can only say no, and they might realise that they are being silly.