Are holiday home areas likely destinations for people who can sell up in the cities and work from home?Originally Posted by dougair
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Doubt it. There's a diff between moving a bit further out for more space or a bigger garden because you can WFH more and moving to somewhere like Cornwall.
If there are good transport links and it's less than 90 mins from a major city then perhaps but unlikely on the whole. I'd imagine mortgaged holiday homes will be going up for sale shortly if they aren't already.
All the agents near where I live have been incredibly busy with loads of sales agreed and many going to best offer - quite unusual. They all have loads going through. However . . . . . they are ‘going through’ and haven’t gone through. Searches are taking a lot longer, surveyors are down valuing (or valuing them accurately maybe) and lenders are being incredibly awkward. We’ve got 6 mortgage advisors and this month is our worst for completions in a long time (including lockdown) as the lenders are being very harsh. Asking for more than usual and almost changing the goalposts midway through application. All the advisors feel they are hitting their heads against a brick wall at the moment - not with all cases but with quite a few. My guess is a higher amount of sales than usual could fall through.
I was thinking more along the lines of South and West Wales, good motorway and rail links, and a third of the price of Cornwall.
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And another drop today, now down to OEIO £370k. They must be desperate to shift it!
We live in a small village in Bedfordshire, still commutable to places like London, Cambridge and Milton Keynes but 'country' enough to make working from home a far more attractive prospect than a more urban area. The local Facebook groups are currently being inundated with questions from those looking to move out here from the aforementioned places. I'm sure this is being driven mainly by the SD holiday and employers being way more open to WFH. It's certainly not done any harm to local property prices but whether it's sustainable is another question.
The attached neighbour of the £1.2m semi which the agent said would take £1m has just gone on the market yesterday for £1.25m. if the neighbour wasn't already on for £1.2m there is no way this would have gone on for £1.25m
Yet another semi detached house which has chosen to extend the house behind the garage and block off all side access. Bikes, garden mess, everything, straight through the house. Silly.
Yesterday's announcement re ways of working and extended lockdowns won't be doing much for prices. How's that furlough looking?
It’s the sales price that matters.
Indeed, marketing price means nothing but does set the wrong expectation.
The owner of the compny I work for is trying to sell his flat in Kensington for around 1.5 mil and is not getting very far, all the estate agents said that houses in London are not selling very quickly if at all.
At the same time I know a few people local to me (Yorkshire) who sold their houses very quicky and for good money.
From the beeb;
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54299628
We're on property viewing number 14 now having been sold for the past 6 weeks, and frankly, it's disheartening at a) what vendors think their mediocre property is worth and b) the dearth of decent housing coming to market. We were hoping that as Autumn approached we'd see the initial surge die down but prices for houses in need of full refurbishments are frankly not too far away from fully sorted properties. Lots of people making full asking price offers before viewing in order to secure properties that look good, only for their chain to collapse and come back to market a month later, houses being offered out to people ahead of others because they sold with the agency even when others may be in a more proceedable position etc. and failures of agents to properly re-market properties returning to the market. I've had to eyeball two from the Rightmove map that came back to market despite being registered with both agencies directly to book viewings.
It's slowly pushing us towards small development new builds that have relatively equal bedrooms, a study and open plan kitchen diners. Historic builds with separate lounge/kitchen/dining room that cannot be joined cohesively, integral garages with no actual access into them internally making space harvesting for a small extra office space impossible, long thin en-suites across property frontages that rob space for no real reason and box 4th bedrooms are the absolute bane of my search at present. I knew that we probably wouldn't find what we were looking for straight away, but 6 weeks in we're yet to see a property we'd even offer on...
I would guess that a lot of people don’t have to live in London to work for a London based firm anymore, the 1.5 will go a lot further outside of London.
Cheers..
Jase
this is the thing that is astonishing, even agents say 'its got so much potential' - yes it does, youre right but after spending £80/90/100k, its going to be a lot more than a similar property already completed, plus north of london, whose got another £100k to spend on a property once theyve spent half a million purchasing it?
It was ever thus. You see it all the time on TV programmes where amateur developers pay say £100k for a house and tell the presenter they plan to spend £20k on their refurb. Fast forward, they spend £40k and the property is valued at £145k so a £5k "profit", but the market went up 10% over the period which baled out their outcome which would otherwise have lost cash.
The thing is if you can only afford to borrow £x then buyers will often pay too much for a project as that's what they can afford and can then spend the money on it down the line once their income grows.
Latest predictions from the FT https://www.ft.com/content/16f82139-...0-27004489bb6b
At the risk of tempting fate, I`ve got a sale agreed on my house after 8 weeks on the market. Ironically it's the buyer who saw it the first weekend it was for sale, she's now got a sale on her own and a v. short chain which sounds promising.
Lots of viewings but quite a few timewasters, we ended up with 3 offers , I hope we've gone with the right one because I don`t want to own 2 properties any longer than I need to, it's stressful and it has the potential to damage your wealth.
Buying and selling houses is a nightmare. We had offers from two interested parties on Saturday morning, Estate Agent kept ringing back and forth, I was negotiating whilst standing on a loft ladder fitting a new trap door, screwdriver in one hand and phone in the other.........you couldn't make it up! It's an emotional roller-coaster and I`ll breath a huge sigh of relief when it ends.......so will my bank balance.
What's frustrating is the lack of control over the process, no viewings for a couple of weeks then 4 in 2 days, then it goes quiet again for a couple of weeks followed by another spate of viewings. On the plus side, the Estate Agent has been excellent, they've handled things well so far and their communication has been first-rate. I`m a strong believer in using an agent with a local office that knows the area well.
If all goes well I`ll be in the new property before Christmas, we're working hard to get it sorted out to a point where it's liveable. Work should start on the extension in January, not the ideal time of year but we're keen to crack on.
latest from the beeb,
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54454990
makes me wonder how much value HS2 will actually bring and to how many business'/people....
That’s me buggered then…. I’m. Moving fron the sticks back to the City!
Moving against the flow…. Delighted with what we’ve got though and can’t wait to move!
We went on the market today (Suffolk/ Cambridgeshire Border), large 4 bed detached in a lovely Small village off the A14 and I’ve got 6 viewings on Sunday already!!!... gone to market with the same agent we purchased the house through and got a rate of 0.75% plus VAT as he was confident he would sell quickly. Fingers crossed he’s right!
Good luck with the viewings, although I suspect you will be in the crowd when it comes to buying your new house
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Many thanks, I’ve now got 11 viewings from buyers who can proceed in the next 72hrs. I Won’t be buying immediately as I’m lucky that I can sit out whatever happens nextGood luck with the viewings, although I suspect you will be in the crowd when it comes to buying your new house
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Wow that's incredible
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London prices will be stagnant until the foreign market comes back. Don't sell your London property yet unless you have to I'd say.
First of all London prices are not stagnant, they are falling.
Secondly, I hope the foreign market stays well away. My home is that, a home.
I couldn’t give a monkeys if the price drops. In fact I hope it does so my older teenagers can have a sniff at buying something in 10 years time in and around my part of SW London/NE Surrey.
Rising prices benefits nobody who actually wants to continue to live and stay in the area.
It helps the young people with a small flat who are hoping to trade up to a house and start a family. The rising price creates some equity, pretty much essential given that high Loan to Value ratio loans are unavailable or very expensive.
I agree with your general sentiment though, with three adult children all of whom live in London. One had just moved and found the market very competitive, both selling and buying. Overall it seems a very stressful time to be moving.
I guess experiences vary, maybe difficult to extrapolate pricing trends in such a volatile time.
I think much of the attraction of London is the foreign market. The multicultural nature of the city is the big draw to me - a true global city. In our development we have Brits, Russians, Hong Kong Chinese, Mainland Chinese, Koreans, Lithuanians, Singaporeans, Qataris, Thais, EU nationals and I'm sure a lot more. It is awesome and we get to learn so much and experience many different things. I would hate for that to change.
I get the need for equity, but it also makes their next purchase even more out of reach.
I just bought a house in London in August (after trying to buy/sell for a year). For me if prices dropped 20% across the board it would help me with my onward move if it was at the right time.
It doesn't actually. It hurts them too.
If you have a flat for 400k and want a house for 800k and prices jump 10% you've made 40k on the flat but you're 40k further away from buying the house.
When trading up you want a falling market so long as you retain a deposit. In the same scenario if prices dropped by 10% you'll have lost 40k but the house will have lost 80k so it's 40k more affordable.
I think you're bit a bit broad when you say London. The same is not true in Chingford, Enfield, Pinner, Stanmore, Barnet, Edgware etc. In central or certain areas I'm sure it's true but to say "London" is inaccurate imo.
Not sure about this. If I leave my flat and look to the right, there is a 3/4 bedroom house on the corner of the road. If I sold my flat for its current market value and wanted to trade up to that house at its current asking price, I would have to find nearly an extra £2.5 million in cash/mortgage.
If prices fell 50% accross the board, I would still have equity in my flat for the best mortgage rates but I would "only" have to find under £1.25 million which is quite a difference. The loss of value on my flat is a lot less than that! Unfortunately neither is realistic for me but it is a real life example!
I live in Barnet.
As I say, hard to generalise, depends on lots of factors and it is a volatile market.
I agree for older people, more established on the property ladder, a recession gives opportunities to trade up with a smaller gap between your current property and the new one. We certainly did that in the past, like many we couldn’t afford our current house if we had to buy it now.
On the other hand, if you are young and have a decent job, especially with two incomes, you can actually borrow a lot at very low interest rates so the absolute price may not be an obstacle. What is tricky, at least in London, is finding the £50k-£100k+ you need to put in, to qualify for a decent loan rate or get a loan at all.
The Pizza Hut next to the Sainsbury's on East Barnet Road is the best Pizza Hut in the world. You're a lucky guy.
Back in the real world though this is what the MD of Halifax has to say.
Taken from https://www.theguardian.com/business...es-keep-risingGalley said the release of pent-up demand and the stamp duty holiday could only be temporary fillips. “It is highly unlikely that the housing market will continue to remain immune to the economic impact of the pandemic. And as employment support measures are gradually scaled back beyond the end of October, the spectre of increased unemployment over the winter will come into sharper relief.
“Therefore, while it may come later than initially anticipated, we continue to believe that significant downward pressure on house prices should be expected at some point in the months ahead as the realities of an economic recession are felt ever more keenly.”
That isn’t very far from me :).
I’m as fearful as everyone else about a recession in the coming year. I’m glad I won’t be moving house, it’s tough for anyone who needs to.
Equally, I remember surviving 20% falls in property prices in the past, and interest rates at 15%, so hopefully there will be a way through for people buying now.
From a cultural point of view I totally agree and I have very liberal views on immigration.
It is more the foreign buyer who has no other intention than to buy an investment property in London, and never live in it, who can sod off.
One of the reasons those foreign investors choose London is because of the very low likelihood that the government will confiscate the asset in the future. The same cannot be said for some of the regimes where they are nationals. However it does distort the market, mainly at the top end, although this then filters down
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I always wonder how the characters in Eastenders afford their houses - many have low-paid jobs (if they even work at all).
Just to update on our sale in Suffolk. The phone at the agents was going crazy as soon as we went to market last Thursday ( large 4 bed, big garden, double garage etc surrounded by fields in a pretty village), 11 people lined up to view within a day or so!. I did 7 viewings myself over the weekend and ended up with a bidding war between 2 parties, agreed a sale today at 25k over asking price!
And also in Eastenders or any of the soaps, if you do lose your house/split up with your partner/grow up and leave home etc etc you always find somewhere to live in the same square/street/village.
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wow that sounds crazy and congrats, the £25k is relative (although a big chunk nonetheless), what was your asking price if you dont mind me asking?
...indeed, not a nice time, many were affected by negative equity (not me, fortunately).
50k to buy a terrace house in the (even) less salubrious parts of East End in the early-mid 1990s
In late July a house nearby (Suffolk Coast) came on the market at 900K - within a couple of days it disappeared from Rightmove. It's just back on the market at 975K.
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Thanks, asking was 495k
congrats, hopefully you have no issues as things progress.
The UK needs to adopt a Scotland style system so you cant just change your mind and back out at any point.
Hopefully the market stays positive, waiting for NZ to open the borders to try move over and could do with the housing market staying how it is now! we had our house valued and it went up £100k in the 7 years we have been here. The house next door which is the mirror of ours but not as nice sold in 1 day 2 years ago and houses in the village sell very quickly. Just need it to stay that way for another few months!
This house had disappeared from RightMove and hence i thought it had sold, but it has re-appeared to at OIEO £370k, the only difference is it is now listed with a local bricks and mortar agent rather an online firm based in London.
With houses being snapped up in the area, i think it may go soon. I doubt theyre breaking even having bought in Feb 2020 for £352.5k and doing the improvements and all fees etc.
Is it worth selling now while the market is buoyant and the stamp duty holiday is in place and renting for a few months?
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I wonder if the buying frenzy will slow down a little now ? AFAIK it could be difficult for buyers to complete in the time before the stamp duty holiday ends. This is based on what I've read in the press regarding delays in processing mortgage applications, solicitors being very busy etc
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The house here which was on for 25% more than what the agent said the owner would take has reduced by 4.1%. We went to see it and it wasn't worth (in our opinion) even what the agent said they would take. It needs complete gutting and some major work.
The attached next door neighbour came on on for the a bit more than the original neighbour's price and we went to see that too. We were the 13th people to see it and no offers so they reduced it by 8% meaning both now are the same price in theory. Ok this newer, nicer house when you click in the description gives a guide price so the 8% reduction is at the bottom of the guide price, not necessarily what they'll take.
This was just over two weeks ago and nothing has changed on Rightmove. We're going to second view them both on the weekend and have a think. If we offer on either the offer will be a lot less than the advertised price, probably 15% lower.
Both are semis and for the price they're asking you can get detached houses on better roads in the same area. A detached dump on one of the best roads in the area went recently for 25% less almost. A very nice semi one road away went for 20% less recently. Shame as if we could have afforded that then we would have bought it.
Recently i have seen a fair few reductions in property prices of the few that have been put on sale after Rishi's SDLT holiday. I think people are trying to agree a sale and complete before the end of the tax year.
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