House Prices #4 Property market, buying and selling

[Folkevermore]

The worst part! But you're so close!!

I finally have the keys!
Thanks for everyone who’s helped me out over the last year or so

 

[peekachu]

Zero sympathy for second home owners, especially when it’s used as an airbnb - investments always involve risk and that’s the gamble they made

 

[Shinythings]

Our bid got accepted!

Really thought we'd get outbid but we're happy with what we offered as it is comfortably in budget and still quite a lot cheaper than other similar properties in the area. So we're delighted! Just have to hope it all goes through OK.

 

[Upintheair83]

We've had an offer on ours! Took the advice from you guys on reducing the price, and we've had an offer accepted on the house we like!!! Eeeeek fingers crossed for everything else to come!

 

[Folkevermore]

Effective mortgage rates about to eclipse what they were in the late 80s. So people can stop talking about 15%+ rates, as this is worse.

The disappointing thing is this was all too predictable what keeping house prices so high and artificially keeping interest rates so low would eventually result in.

Mark Carney has responsibility, just as the Tories have responsibility as the governing power and labour also for not being an effective opposition and now blame Tories for the rising rates rather than the actual issue of supressing rates for so long. Fuckwhits the lot of 'em.

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The amount of older people I’ve heard make fun of younger people for being scared about rates actually disturbs me.
I know a lot of older people don’t understand the info you shared, or that 6% now is like 15% back then, but god do they love to have a superiority complex about how much harder they had it. As if they didn’t have three bedroom houses whilst working in the local tescos

 

[Yel]

Homes should be a home. Not an investment, it's causing untold misery.

 

[101d]

Exchanged yesterday and completing on Friday!

The end of near guys! Never again.

 

[Upintheair83]

Iv never sold a house before....but it's stressful isn't it?? Wow. A family came for a viewing the other day, started going through all our drawers, turned our computer on and had their kids literally running around our landing. Iv got a really expensive floor lamp and I had visions of them breaking it. It's the most stressful thing ever! And it all feels so invasive too. Got someone coming for a second look today....fingers crossed we will get an offer, I wouldn't want to do this often. Lol.

 

[Pinhead Larry]

We managed to exchange and complete yesterday! So so happy to be in before Christmas. The most stressful experience but it is all worth it already

 

[Elle Woods]

Some sellers go to really odd extremes. You get the ones who take EVERYTHING then you get the ones who think they're being helpful by leaving you 15 tubs of paint so you can touch things up. Like I want your shitty magnolia paint Gloria, I've been thinking about redecorating and getting rid of your colour schemes since the moment you accepted my offer!

 

[Folkevermore]

I think while people may want to still buy, the finance may be out of reach. But it all depends on what you classify as hugely fall. Already down 4% in a year. I can see another 16% fall to wipe off the post covid insanity.

People I know who are currently buying are just resorting to much longer terms.
Either way younger people are screwed.
Even if prices fall, the interest is so high that it doesn’t make it more affordable. And if they do fall, a lot of people who bought recently will have negative equity and will have a huge headache with remortgaging and may have to go onto standard variable
And the older generations will sit in their half a million homes that they bought for £50k and claim that in their day it was more difficult (an experience I actually had with older relatives this weekend, who bought a 3 bed house on a single post office salary).

 

[Ruby’s mum]

I think the overall house values need to fall before messing with stamp duty again

It was the totally unnecessary stamp duty holiday that caused the last surge in house prices and in part led to the huge backlogs at Land Registry as everyone tried to complete before it ended.

 

[Folkevermore]

In defence of people using help to buy, for a lot of people it wasn’t a case of “just not buy a house at the top of their budget”, but a case of it being the only way to get on the property ladder.

I have a lot of friends who live in Buckinghamshire and could only afford places using shared ownership or help to buy.
There’s often a “greed” narrative around these things to shame young people who overstretched themselves, and whilst there are definitely circumstances like this, we need to remember that the real issue is how ridiculously expensive property is in the first place.

I was going to use help to buy, as it was one of my only options, however I was too late on the mark and missed out. luckily I bought using first homes scheme instead which has its drawbacks, but I never have to repay the discount (just pass it onto the next seller).

 

[Shinythings]

House has gone on the market officially. Please send me your good vibes for lots of viewings and offers

 

[Shinythings]

It's disgusting, isn't it. It's absolutely mad to me that our house - a 3 bed semi with a massive garden, driveway big enough for 4 cars (5 if you squeezed and they were small ones) and an outbuilding/office wouldn't sell for more than £300k (bought for £275k 5 years ago) but then there's what sounds like very similar properties selling for over double that price. There's no way 1) our house would ever be worth £625k and 2) we'd ever be able to afford to have such a mortgage. I certainly wouldn't want it on a 3 bedroom house. So how much are 4 beds in that area? Must be in excess of 800k?

Sounds like what we're after! Don't happen to be down south do you?

Re. Properties going back on the market having been sold. My estate agent who is BRILLIANT said it's because people are paying more than they are worth after getting into a budding war and the the survey downvalues it and they either can't get a mortgage or can't make up the gap.
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Also had an agent contact me about a house that was £50k above our absolute maximum and told them so. They suggested we speak with their broker (as they all do) to see if we could stretch our budget even further. I said to him we didn't want to stretch further and our absolute max was there for a reason. Seemed absolutely baffled as to why we wouldn't want to max out the mortgage....

 

[Meg78]

I’ve been pondering housing and realised I don’t know any of the older generation who continued to rise the ladder; they all purchased a home, and then stayed there. My in laws are worth a fair bob but still live in a 3 bed semi, when I asked them why they said they had no need for bigger, and now they’re living a VERY comfortable retirement from the extra that they saved. I wonder what it is about our generation that makes us all feel that need to upsize? I know I certainly do, but other than “I should” or “it would be nice to have” I don’t have solid reasons for a need!

 

[aidil]

It's grim the lack of empathy and the top trumps to say they had it worse.

Some people just don't want to accept they had it far easier with the essentials.

A Dr these days will have a lower standard of living than a supermarket worker did for the older generation and retirement will only be an option for a small amount at the top.

Too right! Had a family friend (in her 70s) tell me the other day that I should stop complaining on a £25k salary as she would’ve killed for that at my age… Yes, but you could’ve bought a three bed detached house for £45k at my age back then!

Starting to feel relieved that I bought a tiny one bed apartment on a small mortgage now..!

 

[Shinythings]

I instructed the agent I liked best yesterday. It became a no brainer in the end.

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

I bloody hope not because all it does is keep prices artificially high. They need to stop!!!

 

[Shinythings]

We went sold STC today at full asking price

Now to make a decision about which of our shortlist to go for. Would anyone mind me talking it through?