when will people start buying again?

scrummy_mummy_2

When a market is rising, buyers are keen to buy quickly otherwise they feel they will loose out to rising prices. Sellers can sell property quickly and even, sometimes (gazumping) get more money for it than they had originally asked for. Both parties are keen to 'make money' and get a slice of the action.
Houses sell, the market is confident, estate agents buy Porsche Cayennes, everyone is smiley!

In a falling market, buyers are keen to get a bargain as they can see prices falling and sellers becoming increasingly more keen to get rid of their property before a 'loss' is made. Sellers see prices falling but take longer to accept this and hang on to what their house used to be worth and refuse to reduce the price even though it is not going to achieve that price any more. Some sellers get more anxious to get rid before the make too much of a loss as their level of borrowing is reached, but are reluctant to drop their asking price because they are trying to still make as much money as possible on the sale...this is when both parties objectives then become diametrically opposed and the string is stretched in opposite directions. This is the situation we are currently facing.

When will FTB's come back into the market.....the answer is when the buyers' and sellers' objectives are more closely aligned once more.

When will this be?....no-one knows.

jammie*dodger

confused31 wrote: »

Whether there is a sign or not i would still view, from a personal point of view, why wouldnt you view a house without a board?

I think that is a ridiculous statement, you would let your dream home pass you buy, because it hasnt got a for sale sign erected in the front garden.:D

I hear what you are saying but we have in the past viewed property that we've seen on rightmove and then we've spotted something else with a sale board and gone to see that. depends how much you want to sell the house I suppose.

In answer to your original question there are plenty of people looking. Lots can't get mortgages though. Our EA (the second one BTW) vetted all potential buyers to remove those who weren't able to buy but we still had a lot of interest. Lots of delays actually getting our buyer their mortgage - long valuation delays - and we had to drop the price a LOT.

I guess it's just a case of having the right house at the right price. If I had to guess I think it's going to be next March before we see any sign of recovery and then I think it will be more like a levelling out of prices.

Rob.

LisbonLaura

sparvar wrote: »

I think some buyers thinking that prices will half are living in a dream world.

Come back in three years & say that one again.

Like so many, it seems you have no conception of the size of the approaching financial storm.

RHemmings

confused31 wrote: »

I think it will be years before its a sellers market like last year and the couple of years before, but im not looking to make money im more interested in as when it will it rock bottom, and people will begin to buy again.

confused

I didn't say that it would be a sellers' market like last year. It is when it is no longer a buyers' market that it will stop going down.

See my previous comment about Japan. It took a decade to bottom out. Assuming that it has now bottomed out. I'd expect the UK to take about the same time.

narced

confused31 wrote: »

As i orignally stated in the first post this post is not about selling my house, it about when will first time buyers be back?
confused

Quite simple really - when they can afford it. There are several factors that have changed things recently:

1. Student loans - reduces the amount that graduates can spend as they have big loans to pay back.

2. Deposits - no more 100% or even 95% mortgages means more savings required, this has happened suddenly and so will take some time before the FTBs can save more.

3. Completely loopy, wacko, insane property price growth in the last few years has moved most properties outside many FTBs budgets

4. Huge increases in petrol prices (mostly yet to be factored into inflation), gas, electric, water, council tax, food, in fact all commodities.

5. Job market is looking riskier every day with global recession.

6. Interest rates on the rise as inflation soars due to 4.

In short FTBs are stuffed for the foreseeable future. Next?

RHemmings

narced wrote: »

Quite simple really - when they can afford it. There are several factors that have changed things recently:

That's too simple. If we get years of grinding falls, then public sentiment is likely to change. Such that buying a house will be seen as a sure way to lose money, rather than a sure way to make money. This is what happened in Japan. So even after people could afford to buy property again, they didn't want to. So the prices kept on dropping year after year.

bo_drinker

Seems to me that if you want to sell but don't have to as mentioned before it is like selling a car, if there are no takers you need to keep lowering the price until someone bites. Not to be confused with those that have to sell and keep dropping. We missed the boat unfortanately. We don't have a mortgage so will have to sit it out. Another 2.5k off the price this week

confused31_2

bo_drinker wrote: »

Seems to me that if you want to sell but don't have to as mentioned before it is like selling a car, if there are no takers you need to keep lowering the price until someone bites. Not to be confused with those that have to sell and keep dropping. We missed the boat unfortanately. We don't have a mortgage so will have to sit it out. Another 2.5k off the price this week

2.5k a week, so in 10 weeks you will have knocked off 25,000, i see from your other post's people have made an offer on your house on and then pulled out after you have accepted their offer.

Is this due to your house? or is it due to them not findng a buyer for their house as there are no first time buyers out there?

You can lower it as much as you like, it seems to me people havent got the money and are not even looking, there is the odd few on here, buts lets be honest estate agents are closing all over the place, whys that?

It seems to me your house is reasonably priced as you have had an offer and you accepted it, now ask yourself why as it fell through?

I would say your house is not in the first time buyers market, but a step up from that similar to my own.

So in reality im looking for someone who owns a FTB property who is moving up the ladder, but what you must remember is they need a FTB to buy theirs so they can move on.

I suspect a the people who have made offer on yours have been let down by FTB not getting mortgages due to large deposits and being scared of loosing a lot of money.

Now we all agree there are not many FTB out there so the market is dead, i think you will find the cycle of people pulling out of buying your house will be a common thing and will happen again.

I also see you have trawled streets looking for houses and you have been let down, that is why i was asking when will FTB be back and feel comfortable to buy again?

I dont want to be messed around by people as the market is unstable and that is why im prepared to wait for it all to settle down, obviously your not.

If each time someone pulls out you lower your price you may be able to sell eventually, but i still think this will be a long time as there are no FTB out there.

good luck with your sale

confused

skap7309

The_Prince wrote: »

I'm am a FTB and will be sitting on my savings until after the biggest drops (so another two years of falls to go I reckon, followed by a long period of stagnation).

Ditto, me to. I have no intention of going anywhere until the bottom appears as if this lasts around 2-3 years (which is what is being widely predicted) then i will be in a perfect position and would have reached 100% of a very substantial deposit (see sig).

I have a strange feeling there are many, many FTBs doing exactly the same thing. Whilst some people would prefer to buy as soon as possible it would be financial suicide not to wait for a golden opportunity at this just perfect time.

RHemmings

skap7309 wrote: »

Ditto, me to. I have no intention of going anywhere until the bottom appears as if this lasts around 2-3 years (which is what is being widely predicted) then i will be in a perfect position and would have reached 100% of a very substantial deposit (see sig).

I have a strange feeling there are many, many FTBs doing exactly the same thing.

Do you really believe that predictions of a bottom in 2-3 years are accurate? I believe that this prediction of an early bottom and recovery is just sop for home-owners, trying to make them feel that even if there is some "pain", it will be over soon. I don't thinmk it will be.