How to tell if property is good value

BikingBud

GDB2222 said:

I’d be comparing with other flats on the market. For example, this one is quite a bit bigger.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/123619361

The one that is slightly larger than a double garage, doesn't have windows in; the kitchen, bedroom or bathroom, the windows for the main living area look like they have blown, it appears to have electric heating, and has images taken from May last year when it was first listed and is now reduced from £325k to £300k.

What an absolute bargain

demontfort

Ybe said:

demontfort said:

Pocket Living flats are well designed in terms of use of space  but very pokey and claustrophobic and there are restrictions when you come to sell them on. People buy them because they like the brand which pretends to be ethical whereas in reality they are just another housebuilder selling tiny, overpriced London shoeboxes.  I'm not sure what the future holds for house prices in Barnet but for the UK housing market, prices are only going one way over the next few years and that's down whilst interest rates will rise further, so my advice is buyer beware.

So in terms of buying any UK property as a FTB, is it better to wait a bit for prices to fall? Or is the market just too unpredictable. 

Prices are falling steadily across the UK, however that isn't a uniform fall across all regions with some areas possibly still seeing rises. As others have said it's hard to predict where prices will go but with interest rates rising and the end of help to buy and quantitative easing most economists are predicting prices to fall for a few years yet. I'd also expect new builds flats in London to be hardest hit. I wouldn't let this stop you from buying a flat just shop around and don't feel pressured as it's a buyer's market right now. I bought a flat in London 10 years ago and it worked out for me. 

lookstraightahead

I love these - I'm really not sure if they're a good buy (I would never buy a new build like I wouldn't buy a new car or caravan etc) but the concept is great for London working. Roof garden and quick commute.

My London commute days are over but this ticks lots of boxes.

GDB2222

BikingBud said:

GDB2222 said:

I’d be comparing with other flats on the market. For example, this one is quite a bit bigger.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/123619361

The one that is slightly larger than a double garage, doesn't have windows in; the kitchen, bedroom or bathroom, the windows for the main living area look like they have blown, it appears to have electric heating, and has images taken from May last year when it was first listed and is now reduced from £325k to £300k.

What an absolute bargain

You have got a good point there. However, there are lots of flats around in the area, generally at a significantly lower price per square metre than the one the op is talking about. 

lika_86

lookstraightahead said:

I love these - I'm really not sure if they're a good buy (I would never buy a new build like I wouldn't buy a new car or caravan etc) but the concept is great for London working. Roof garden and quick commute.

My London commute days are over but this ticks lots of boxes.

So few people now commute everyday now though. Gone are the days where a shoebox with no easily accessible private outside space was fine because it was cheap and you spent long hours in the office in the week and then were out at the weekend so home was just a space to sleep.

Now homes need to be workspaces too and having the room for two people to potentially work from home becomes a consideration that was never usually an issue before. I doubt that these flats offer space to do that without taking over the dining table (fine in the short term but not as a long term workspace).

gwynlas

I bought two new build flats in London and luckily they both went up in a relatively short time but they were both on the open market. Personally I would not buy a property outside of the inner city without car parking. Silmilarly I would not buy in a development with such restrictive covenants regarding future sales as it seriously impacts on your market. As much as I beleive shared ownership developents are over valued at point of primary sale I would prefer to buy one of these at resale. They  at least have the advantage of being a time tested concept and you get actual figures re rental element, service charge etc.

lookstraightahead

lika_86 said:

lookstraightahead said:

I love these - I'm really not sure if they're a good buy (I would never buy a new build like I wouldn't buy a new car or caravan etc) but the concept is great for London working. Roof garden and quick commute.

My London commute days are over but this ticks lots of boxes.

So few people now commute everyday now though. Gone are the days where a shoebox with no easily accessible private outside space was fine because it was cheap and you spent long hours in the office in the week and then were out at the weekend so home was just a space to sleep.

Now homes need to be workspaces too and having the room for two people to potentially work from home becomes a consideration that was never usually an issue before. I doubt that these flats offer space to do that without taking over the dining table (fine in the short term but not as a long term workspace).

Everyohe I know (including DD) who work in London are back to working full time in the office.
I get your point though, but if it's only a day or two a week you can just make do like people had to during covid).
If work is a social part of life (which it is for many) or is active/physical then working from home is not an option anyway.
I think it's scary to be going down that route. It might work if you have lots of responsibility at home and you can multitask, but otherwise you just fester.

lika_86

lookstraightahead said:

lika_86 said:

lookstraightahead said:

I love these - I'm really not sure if they're a good buy (I would never buy a new build like I wouldn't buy a new car or caravan etc) but the concept is great for London working. Roof garden and quick commute.

My London commute days are over but this ticks lots of boxes.

So few people now commute everyday now though. Gone are the days where a shoebox with no easily accessible private outside space was fine because it was cheap and you spent long hours in the office in the week and then were out at the weekend so home was just a space to sleep.

Now homes need to be workspaces too and having the room for two people to potentially work from home becomes a consideration that was never usually an issue before. I doubt that these flats offer space to do that without taking over the dining table (fine in the short term but not as a long term workspace).

Everyohe I know (including DD) who work in London are back to working full time in the office.
I get your point though, but if it's only a day or two a week you can just make do like people had to during covid).
If work is a social part of life (which it is for many) or is active/physical then working from home is not an option anyway.
I think it's scary to be going down that route. It might work if you have lots of responsibility at home and you can multitask, but otherwise you just fester.

Interesting. Nobody I know is back full time in the office. Most are doing two or three days at home as standard and there is resistance to going in more frequently. I think some form of hybrid working will probably stick around for a lot of people. I just don't think a tiny place with likely not enough room for a dedicated work area is particularly sensible for a purchase if there are alternatives, particularly given the other limitations of this development.

MysteryMe

For the past few months I have had to travel into London from the home counties daily for a specific project. The drop off in numbers on the train on Mondays and Fridays is considerable. I've not noticed the same level of drop off Monday/Friday on the tube element of the journey. I guess it makes sense that those living further away will be more drawn to hybrid working.

lookstraightahead

lika_86 said:

lookstraightahead said:

lika_86 said:

lookstraightahead said:

I love these - I'm really not sure if they're a good buy (I would never buy a new build like I wouldn't buy a new car or caravan etc) but the concept is great for London working. Roof garden and quick commute.

My London commute days are over but this ticks lots of boxes.

So few people now commute everyday now though. Gone are the days where a shoebox with no easily accessible private outside space was fine because it was cheap and you spent long hours in the office in the week and then were out at the weekend so home was just a space to sleep.

Now homes need to be workspaces too and having the room for two people to potentially work from home becomes a consideration that was never usually an issue before. I doubt that these flats offer space to do that without taking over the dining table (fine in the short term but not as a long term workspace).

Everyohe I know (including DD) who work in London are back to working full time in the office.
I get your point though, but if it's only a day or two a week you can just make do like people had to during covid).
If work is a social part of life (which it is for many) or is active/physical then working from home is not an option anyway.
I think it's scary to be going down that route. It might work if you have lots of responsibility at home and you can multitask, but otherwise you just fester.

Interesting. Nobody I know is back full time in the office. Most are doing two or three days at home as standard and there is resistance to going in more frequently. I think some form of hybrid working will probably stick around for a lot of people. I just don't think a tiny place with likely not enough room for a dedicated work area is particularly sensible for a purchase if there are alternatives, particularly given the other limitations of this development.

Maybe it depends on your lifestyle and the type of job you have.