Rcession

[Brad]

So. Recession's biting. Oil & food prices rocketing. !

[SCSB79]

Our neighbours flat (Goodrich Rd) has been on the market for months. Was with Bushell's, now Foxtons. No idea if they have had any interested viewers... but it has been on for fooking ages now.

[Dr De Soto]

In our road, off Melbourne Grove, lots of places have been on the market at various times this year. Three were withdrawn because they didn't receive any offers (hardly surprising given the silly prices they were asking). One house sold in the last month (after he knocked off about 15%) as did one flat (about 10% off original asking price). Four other places still for sale, including one that's knocked 10% off the original asking price. One of them has been through at least three agents.

[Keef]

What are 2 bed flats going for these days then?

[Cassius]

From around ?225k upwards

[Keef]

Hmmm...

[AcedOut]

I tried to buy the one-bed garden flat below my 2-bed a few months ago (view to later turn back into a house, potentially). They were asking ?300k(!), so I offered ?265. I got rejected. They had no other offers, so now it's being rented out! I'll put a lower offer forward when the market drops another 10pc! See if they bite next time ;)

Price drops are great if you're trying to move up the ladder, so bring it on I say...

[trentk69]

I bought on Barry road right as the market was exploding. Moved in beginning of Feb.

Good move - buy at the top... D'oh!

[Jeremy]

I bought earlier this year, completed in March... I could have saved money by hanging on a few months, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

AcedOut - 300k for a one bed in ED is absurd! I expect your former neighbour will live to regret his decision...

[karter]

As long as you have a good mortgage and can afford the repayments then things will be fine even if the market is going down. It is definately a buyers market now and deals are looking good. I feel sorry for people beng reposessed though. I wonder how many reposessions there have been in ED recently.

[benmorg]

The problem is that more properties are coming onto the market than coming off, so supply is rising. When I started house-hunting in SE22 last year there were 260-ish properties listed on Rightmove. The number is now up to 467 (though partially swelled by a couple of estate agents starting to list on rightmove since last year - foxtons and bushells). But some properties are definitely disappearing off the market, though I'm not sure if they are selling or being rented out after failing to sell.

House prices are determined by balance of supply and demand above all else. It's clear that the situation we had a year or two ago (limited supply and high demand) has now reversed, and that means prices will go down, though probably slowly as there aren't many "forced sellers" (respossessions etc).

[trentk69]

This website will tell you how long properties have been on the market for, and how much they have been reduced by: http://www.propertysnake.co.uk/

[benmorg]

there are some whopping reductions on propertysnake, but bear in mind these reflect silly valuations from estate agents competing for business or unrealistic expectations from vendors as much as they reflect a falling market.

Saying that, prices in East Dulwich went so ballistic in 2006 and 2007 that I think there is a lot of froth to blow off. Whether being a part of the London market protects East Dulwich from a crash or makes it worse remains to be seen. In the 1988-1995 crash, London was hit much harder than the rest of the UK, but who knows if things will be the same this time round.

[Jeremy]

I don't think propertysnake is a very good indicator, as it invariably highlights problem properties, or places which were hugely over-valued. For instance, type in SE22, and the first matches are all for Norman Court... those places have never sold well.

[We-All-Adora-Marmora]

Completely agree with Benmorg - I was in Ludlows Lordship Lane at the weekend having a nose - and the "Wisened" (all well over 17 years old) Estate Agents and I concurred that there was a considerable amount of froth a-top our East Dulwich Frappa-Cappa-Nero-Chino house prices. Problem is, like Clapham, will this froth simply remain - given East Dulwich long since "arrived".

Also, for what's it worth, re: price comparisons - I recently (3 weeks ago) remortgaged on my 2 bedroom top floor flat (avec terrace) on Marmora Road (yes it's SE22...), it was "conservatively" valued at ?280,000 - which for marmora I would say is standard, with any thing over 300,000 for a two bedder looking distinctly toppy.

ta ta.

[macroban]

I think it was Mamora Man who, in another thread, sagely advised that the only figures to be relied upon are the Land Registry ones (subject CGT and IHT fiddles). Unfortunately these have a time lag of 2-3 months.

All else is vested interest propaganda.

[Amelie]

I was doing a bit of research about prices in my end of East Dulwich on the various estate agent websites, so far it seems that the average price for a good-size 1 bed sans garden is ?250K, avec garden ?270K. So things don't seem to have changed that much, and Ludlow Thompson is sending out emails asking for properties to sell.

[SCSB79]

We bought in October 07. Probably the worst time to buy. Ignored a few things on the survey which in hindsight we should have raised with the vendor back then... god knows how much has come off our value. Not worth thinking about!!

Plus, we've now just spotted some penetrating damp in the bedroom. Not happy.

[benmorg]

Amelie Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I was doing a bit of research about prices in my

> end of East Dulwich on the various estate agent

> websites, so far it seems that the average price

> for a good-size 1 bed sans garden is ?250K, avec

> garden ?270K. So things don't seem to have

> changed that much, and Ludlow Thompson is sending

> out emails asking for properties to sell.

Bear in mind you're just looking at asking prices and that final agreed sale prices will be significantly lower - nobody is paying full asking at the moment, except in very rare cases. 270,000 effectively means 249950 as nobody wants to go over the stamp duty threshhold.

[benmorg]

SCSB79 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> We bought in October 07. Probably the worst time

> to buy. Ignored a few things on the survey which

> in hindsight we should have raised with the vendor

> back then... god knows how much has come off our

> value. Not worth thinking about!!

>

> Plus, we've now just spotted some penetrating damp

> in the bedroom. Not happy.

doesn't really matter if you take a long-term view. You're in a good area and that won't change - east dulwich has transformed so much that it's extremely unlikely to become down at heels again for a long time.

as for your damp - can have many causes, most of then trivial. Have a look at your gutters when it's raining.

[Sonners]

We also bought in October 07 but I am with benmorg on this - we are probably going to be in this house for the next 5 years and so any dips in the near future aren't worrying me. We may have paid a higher price than we would now but now we would probably not be able to sell my two bed in Brixton at all, let alone for the price I got it, so it's all swings and roundabouts if you're already on the ladder.

[Emma]

I put my house on the market about 5 weeks ago. I have had about 7 viewings. Pretty much all of them came back and said they were unprocedable as they had a property to sell. Estate agents then said I should lower the price after about a week!! But I am not sure whether it is a bit early to do that, especially as I went with the price they said initially. I totally accept that I won't get my full asking price and am happy to lower if necessary but can't keep lowering every few weeks. Also I think if people are interetsed they will try their luck at a cheeky offer and then I can take a view. Not stupid know I need to be flexible. Getting a bit disheartened with the estate agents as I think they are so unused to this market they don't seem to know whether they are coming or going!.

[benmorg]

Emma Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I put my house on the market about 5 weeks ago. I

> have had about 7 viewings. Pretty much all of them

> came back and said they were unprocedable as they

> had a property to sell. Estate agents then said I

> should lower the price after about a week!! But I

> am not sure whether it is a bit early to do that,

> especially as I went with the price they said

> initially. I totally accept that I won't get my

> full asking price and am happy to lower if

> necessary but can't keep lowering every few weeks.

> Also I think if people are interetsed they will

> try their luck at a cheeky offer and then I can

> take a view. Not stupid know I need to be

> flexible. Getting a bit disheartened with the

> estate agents as I think they are so unused to

> this market they don't seem to know whether they

> are coming or going!.

i think you'd get more interest if you priced low but then held out for nearer the asking price and ignored the cheeky offers. The challenge is to get enough people through the door to have a good chance of finding a serious buyer, but that's very difficult if you start with price well above what you're actually hoping for. The main danger at the moment is getting stuck on the market, which could be an expensive mistake.

I sold two flats in the last year and in both cases priced low in order to attract buyers who were sure they had a bargain and would hold on through thick and thin while lease extensions etc were done. I didnt regret it as I got out of the market quickly, while the buyers got good deals - so seemed liked a win-win situation.

[ratty]

I have a 2 bed in St Francis Place that I will be looking to sell in the near future. Gutted at dip cos they were worth just over 300k not long ago. Dunno how much now but my dream of a 3 bed in Sevenoaks is looking a long way off now! :(

[benmorg]

ratty Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I have a 2 bed in St Francis Place that I will be

> looking to sell in the near future. Gutted at dip

> cos they were worth just over 300k not long ago.

> Dunno how much now but my dream of a 3 bed in

> Sevenoaks is looking a long way off now! :(

though 3-beds in Sevenoaks will have fallen in value as well, maybe more, so you could be a net gainer.