room305 said:
As a counterpoint to the bearish sentiment being espoused here, when I arrived home from work today there was one of those "this house has recently been sold for a record price in your area, we have numerous potential buyers for a property such as yours, please call etc. etc." awaiting me on the mat.
Presumably the REA (representing one of the big firms) wouldn't have paid someone to deliver these if they had a glut of unsold properties sitting on their books.
Also while I like my little house, I am forced to concede that it is probably closer to the bottom of the market than the top.
I thought it was interesting anyway.
Hi Room, all
Why do you think the Estate Agents need to whip up interest by junk-mailing exercises (at the cost of a couple of hours @ minimum-wage rate to some unemployed chisler) if business is booming?
Where I live (just outside Greater London boundary) I have these shoved through my letter-box regularly. However the market locally has moved from stagnant (which it was for a couple of years) to frankly depressed in the wake of the government's commitment to increasing the housing stocks to resolve the alleged 'shortage' in the south-east. This strategy has meant that this desirable stable environment within commute of London (tens of thousands of people used to take the train into the city to work every day) has in 10 years become a concrete jungle with little open space or amenity. Houses nearby have been on the market up to 2 years (and that is AFTER price-reduction of - in one case - £30,000 on an already-knock-down price. Ten years ago when I purchased my
home in a prestigious street (quiet Victorian terrace in a conservation area adjacent to high-street, station and bus-services) it was all owner-occupied. Now
most of the houses are rented out...........at least that is the plan! The local university - which like all learning-establishments these days must organise itself as a hard-nosed business - recognised a decade ago the potential income from rental of student accommodation. They built 20,000 units on the university campus. So for the amateur landlords/risk-takers who 'bought to let' when it was 'a sure thing' and 'money for old rope - you can't go wrong' hold property which they can't get rid of (there are no buyers) and they can't rent out (there is no market).
It was only at that stage I began to get estate agents' leaflets thrust through my door telling me my property was 'needed' as they had 'buyers waiting'.
By the way did anyone see 'Property Ladder' on Channel 4 last night? I caught the last few minutes of it. A couple (she was Irish, with a bank-manager hubby) were endeavouring to resettle in Ireland for quality-of-life considerations, settle for a property in Newtownmountkennedy (I think?) and our intrepid PL team 'make the phone call' only to be told the price has gone up Euro50,000 since they viewed the previous day........The last shots are the couple back in the good old UK saying sadly 'It was only a dream.........we've got it out of our system now
as there's no way we're doing that! (bidding war). I found the difference in attitude very interesting. Not only were they not prepared to get into the b.w. nonsense but they had put an offer under the asking-price. The E.A.s telephone response was described by the PL team as "fierce".
. That program was made during the 'top of the market' this spring no doubt.