Zedrush Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Just thought id get other peoples opinions, pretty hard to read the market at the moment, alot of houses going on sale but not many seem to be shifting, you think prices in England are still going to fall or you think its going to or already has started recovering itself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 The prices around here are going up and houses are selling. Prices in Spain are rising too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbs Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Difficult it all depends on which part of the counrty and what type of property. I'm involved with a local property company and we are noticing a small increase in first time buyer type properties up to say £150k but anything over that is still not moving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 A major probelm affecting the market is valuers covering their backs when it comes to valuations for mortgages. This is affecting bespoke properties more than anything else, but its rife within the market. Example. A couple are wanting to buy a house for £200k. The mortgage deal they can find has a max Loan To Value of 85%. So they need to raise the other 15% in a deposit. So, they scrape together £30k of savings, and enough to cover the stamp duty and other fees (not easy) and go to the bank/mortgage advisor with their earnings and demonstrate they can easily afford the mortgage of £170k. Great - all set to go. They make their offer and it is accepted. Though then when the valuer from the bank goes round, they knock 10% off the sale price to cover their back. As valuers have been sued previously because banks are left with assets they cant shift when the client defaults, valuers now are making sure they provide values which they know full well a bank will get for the property if they have to sell it quickly. So, back to our couple. They then get a mortgage offer based on the new value of £180k for the house, and the 85% loan now means they would be offered a mortgage of £153k, not the £170k they had budgeted for. So, unless they can find £17k down the back of the sofa, they are left with two options. 1, try to renegotiate a 10% discount from the seller, or option 2, walk away dejected. Have a search on the internet for "mortgage lender undervaluing" and see what comes up. This is not necessarily driving prices down because sellers generally know full well what their house is worth, and sometimes the valuer takes 10% off a price which has already been negotiated below the asking price. Therefor vendors are unlikely to budge, as very few will sell their house at a giveaway price just because a bank wants to know they can sell it in 2 minutes flat if the new owner defaults. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zednick666 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I'm not sure bout the rest of the country, but certainly round me houses seem to have gone as far down as they're going and on the up a bit. Particularly with the government shared equity schemes available, developers are not as inclined to drop prices on new builds, as buyers can just purchase on a 75/25 deal. Mate of mine has just bought one with his girlfriend, £180k for a 4 bed semi with garage, brand new 3 tier townhouse, really nice. Great for a first time buying couple, the shared equity means at 24 you've got a house you can plan a family in and not have the need to upgrade to anywhere bigger. Personally though, I wouldn't go for it, I'd rather live within my means i.e. as higher mortgage as I can comfortably afford myself having put down a 10% mortgage - that way you get the best out of the equity you put in and all the profit of course is yours! I'm just hoping rates are low next year, as my 5yr fixed rate runs out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 The house prices in Scotland are defo up We just sold our house and got 25% more than the asking price Happy days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 The house prices in Scotland are defo up We just sold our house and got 25% more than the asking price Happy days You have a different system up there though, don't you, with the 'for sale' being a starting point and sealed bids inevitably leading to much higher selling prices. My line of work tells me prices south of the border, and particularly in the SE, are on the move up as there is more movement in the house construction - i.e. greater confidence -BUT, until the banks/building societies start reducing their deposit expectations for first time buyers, it is a slow improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goatboy Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 The prices in west London seem to have now been steady for about 4 months... A couple of people I know who have been looking to buy have missed out because houses are now starting to sell above the asking price. Looks like things are slowly on the move up but it may just be a temporary thing, are we really coming out of the downturn or is it just a blip/media BS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 we bought in a very popular area which is surrounded by excellent schools in a very afluent area, and the houseing prices haven't really fallen at all. i think our house is still the same value it was when we bought it a year ago. our flat on the other hand in the centre of ipswich is still in negative equity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeti Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 i'm looking to buy atm after my ex's just bought and her mam's been an estate agent for 20 years - thought it was a good sign. Round my way houses are starting to be snapped up within the week they're put on sale! Two houses i was looking at have been bought before i could get even a 2nddviewing and they've both been on for 6months but have had a frenzy of activity recently They seem to be steadily going up 1 or 2% a month around Bedford and Leamington Spa way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zedrush Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 hmmm, down in s.e london I dont think any increase will happen till mid next year, well I hope so as I want to buy few more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 You need a nice villa with a pool on a mountain in Spain mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zedrush Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 You need a nice villa with a pool on a mountain in Spain mate. too many english people in spain mate, i would buy a place in Switzerland though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Nice and warm and great views bud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zedrush Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 stunning views bud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev-the-Rev Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Very nice Martin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 The Villa needs a bit of work though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev-the-Rev Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 That's one interpretation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich5259 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 The house next door went on the market last week with the asking price 10 grand above what I expected, based on the one 3 doors away selling in February Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zazur Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I know this is not about houses but it is an overall view of the boat shows that have been taking place over the last 40 days and will show that things are still tight in this market. The Nice boat show in France was a big flop if you get to speak to the honest people with not alot of sales closed. The Southampton boat show was not a flop but not fantastic either with a few companies having some success but alot of companies not doing very well. The Monaco boat show which has just ended this weekend was quiet and very slow for business, not it's usual huge success. The rich are still very rich but it appears everyone else is either uncertain about the future still or not willing to spend lots of money at the moment, but as allways there will always be some exceptions. Again this market is affected by the banks not willing to lend money without a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronzee Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 [too many english people in spain mate, i would buy a place in Switzerland though Lol, or a place in Australia or NZ. English Pounds being stronger than most currencies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 September property prices claw back fallsFriday 2nd October 2009 House prices rose by 0.9 per cent in September, re-tracing growth back to the levels seen this time last year. This is the fifth monthly rise in a row, according to the Nationwide House price index but Nationwide cautions that low activity levels in the market is likely to hold back growth. Compared to last year, price growth is down just –2.7 per cent, according to the index, but down 13.5 per cent since the market peaked in October 2007. Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: “The 3 month on 3 month rate of change – generally a smoother indicator of the near term trend – rose from 3.3 per cent in August to 3.8 per cent in September, the highest level since August 2004.†He added: “At GBP 161,816, the average price of a typical UK property was essentially unchanged from a year earlier, representing the first time since March 2008 that the year-on-year rate of change has not been negative. Over the first nine months of 2009, the seasonally adjusted index of house prices has risen by 4.1%.†The Nationwide said the economic headwinds still prevailed, despite some cheering economic indicators. “One reason to remain cautious about the outlook for house prices is that turnover in the market is still well below normal levels. The housing turnover rate – measuring the percentage of the private sector housing stock changing hands on an annualised basis – fell to only 3% at the end of 2008,†he said. Gahbauer said although the turnover rate has since recovered to nearly four per cent, there is still quite some way to go before turnover reaches the pre-downturn level of between 7 and 8 per cent. Michael White, chief executive of online mortgage advisers Email Mortgages.com, said: "To talk of an average UK house price is always something of a red herring given the UK is very much a regional housing market – some homeowners, for example, those in the London commuter belt, will have seen their property bounce back strongly since the large falls of last year, while others have only seen a slight house price recovery. One must expect that the recent house price increases, if they are to be maintained at all, will only be in very small increments and this will be the pattern for the foreseeable future." White said the real issue for the UK housing market continues to be the low level of mortgage lending by the banks; a recent Bank of England Credit Conditions Survey for quarter three outlines what anyone working in the mortgage market has known for some time, that lenders have not increased lending to businesses or individuals as previously promised, instead lending has been cut. Given the small number of lenders currently active in the market it is therefore unsurprising that many potential house purchases are not going ahead because of the difficulty accessing mortgage finance; a particularly acute problem for first-time buyers." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zedrush Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 cheers sarnie great info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.