prices aint budging

MissMoneypenny

kristianwilliams wrote: »

The top half may have been scare mongered to drop their prices quickly and sharply. Does not mean they were not over valued in the first place.

Not sure what you are referring to as the top half. Houses costing x millions?

I know people were putting high prices in the hope of selling for that, but on the sellers forums, there are people who have been on the market for over a year and dropped from 900k to the mid 600k before they got an offer. In one case, the price they have been offered is what they paid for it 3 years ago.

skap7309

Pete0926 wrote: »

Or withdraw their house from the market, (if they are able to)
Or potential sellers will not even enter the market (if they don't have to)

See this is the problem - people need to realise though that the people who have to sell will pull prices down meaning every house needs to come down. Why o why on earth would someone want to pay 30k more for the same house on the same street if you can get it less from the person who has to sell? They must lower the price purely to drum up interest
To add to this why would you bother wasting yours and everyone elses time by putting a grossly inflated property on the market if you know it is cheaper elsewhere? Not sure it works like that.............

mustrum_ridcully

There are two types of sellers:
1 - Those who really need to sell
2 - Those who don't need to sell

The ones who aren't reducing fall into group 2 - they're the ones testing the market or who might like to move but can happily carry on living in their current house. These houses just won't sell and won't appear in the statistics.

Those who fall into group 1 need to sell so they will price their house to sell - that means reducing the price until you sell. These house will appear in the stats and will drive them down further.

Lotus-eater

Well he's only hurting himself no one else.

A member of my family has a property on the market atm and has exactly the same attitude. They are both waiting for the perfect buyer, who will look at the house and think its perfect for them. If you have a unique property, then maybe this can happen. Trouble is most properties aren't like this and can be compared to another one down the road.

hostman

phil_b wrote: »

If I was an estate agent I would be urging my clients strongly to not drop a single penny for this month. Its all abot public perception, and if falls slow down or stop things coudl change quite a lot.

An EA is more concerned about volumes rather than outright value.

If he doesn't sell anything, he makes no money. He would rather reduce ten properties by 10% and sell one, than have those ten properties sitting on his books looking over valued to potential buyers and not one selling.

WTF?_2

Many people seem to think that the market will simply shut up shop if prices aren't to the liking of sellers (ie. They're not at their unsustainable 2007 peak).

This simply isn't the case. To suggest that people simply won't sell and the market will freeze up is essentially like claiming a large part of the housing market was comprised of people buying and selling just for kicks.

With total average costs associated with a full house move in the region of 10k and all the associated stress in moving (one of the most stressful things you can do) I think it's safe to say that people weren't moving houses as a hobby.

Also, irrespective of how much people's houses had risen in price, so had the next step up the ladder and the gap had increased. A falling market makes trading up more affordable.

What the rapid decline in prices will do is take the speculation element out of the market which will have the long term effect of reducing volumes. However, all the speculators who were left holding the baby as the market peaked are going to be looking at having to shift that liability off of their hands in the coming years so plenty of supply coming onstream from them at least in the near term future.

In the meantime, there are plenty of people out there with large amounts of equity still in their homes who will want to move because of personal circumstances or because they want a bigger and/or better house. A move made more affordable as the steps get closer on the ladder. Add in 'investors' dumping property and all in all, the general market will go on at lower price levels even if the people who made huge mistakes find themselves trapped with their overpriced properties.

After 4 or 5 years the prices we saw in Aug 2007 will seem like a crazy fairytale and people will have adjusted to the reality of affordable house prices.

pickles110564

skap7309 wrote: »

Its about keeping up with market trends - housing at the moment is plummeting. No green shoots from where im sitting.

I have always said that houses are only worth what you get on completion of the sale.
Complete chains are now being formed in the area that I live, where as even a couple of weeks ago nothing was happening.In my book that means property sales are now happening again therefore green shoots are now poking through.

obsessed_saver

As most people have pointed out, only the distressed seller needs to reduce prices to sell in this market. If the sellers are not distressed (financially), or they are not in a rush to sell, then they are not going to reduce prices. Fair enough.

phil_b_2

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

If you were an EA, you would go bust. EAs need the commission from sales to survive. They work for themselves, not the client.

No EA will go bust within a month if they dont sell many houses. that is assuming they have cash reserves from the good times and decent planning. If that isnt the case they will go bust regardless...

I am talking about not lowring prices for ONE month, this month, a very important month. If the next set of figures show big drops again, market sentiment will really hit the fan. If they show greatly reduced drops (which would instantly be perceived as the market picking up by avergae joe) sentiment will be more positive and I think those folk waiting in the wings will be happier to part with their cash.

I'm talking about a strategy to improve buyer confidence. One different from your 'oh lets ram down all the prices and hope they sell' quick-fix approach.

Pobby

pickles110564 wrote: »

Oh I see, you are a desperate FTB that has just had the penny drop and realised that what Broders and I have been saying all along is correct.
It is up to the seller what price they want for their home not what the doom mongers are trying to scare them into thinking what is happening.
Just because someone posts something you,!!!!!!?,Carolt does not like you throw your toys out of the pram.
Get real the green shoots are poking through.

Pete0926Some sellers who are not desperate to sell, are either just leaving them at or near original price, or withdrawing from the market.We have just put our house on the market at 10 percent below valuation, but we are not desperate, we have a bottom line and will stick to it.

Well done mate, you are exactly what we have been talking about a sensible seller putting their home on for its value.

You keep mentioning `` green shoots``. Can you please explain what you mean? Thanks.