Is there ANY point in putting our house on the market now?

D

Deb___

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We've wanted to move for a long time now and finally decided we would go for it so the plan is to put the house on the market in the coming weeks. It would be a sideways move (in terms of house-type) but a very positive upward move in terms of our happiness. We've never been happy here where we live and we know where we want to go (our children are already enrolled in the schools there), the facilities are better, good sense of community, better public transport etc. etc. So that decision is made.

BUT of course, just as we're about to put the house on the market, the economy is gone crazy and house prices are crashing. Our plan is to rent for a while (maybe a year or two) until we find our feet and get settled in and then perhaps buy again in a few years (though I have no problem with longer term renting either). None of these decisions has anything to do with the insane rise in house prices in recent years and nothing to do with the rapid decline in prices this year. We just want to move, that's all.

But after that long-winded post, my question is, is anyone actually buying houses these days? Would it be a waste of time to even put it on the market? Surely people are holding off now as the decline doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon?

We will market it realistically of course and not at 2006 prices (or anything close to it).

Thanks for reading.
 
Hi Deb,

People have said on this forum if the price is right it will sell. It does depend on location etc and you seem to be very realistic on prices from what you say. I had mine on market for 1 year and couple of months - we were happy where we lived but wanted to do a few bits to house and have more land. We dropped our price by E100,000 had it in ship shape, lovely gardens - people seemed to really like it but the problem was they were either in a chain or couldn't raise money from the banks. I found the whole experience very stressful and didn't contemplate how stressful it would be - to me how I would discribe it, it was like living out of a suitcase for a year - maybe that is an exageration but to be honest I'm very relieved now that I didn't go and build another house. To answer your question because you don't seem happy where you are - give it a try if you feel you're up to it and if you are prepared to drop your price. Any of the houses that went up for sale around where I am around where I am and I am rural none of them sold and have all dropped very significantly in price. But this could be very different in other parts of the country. It is worth a try and I wish you the very best of luck and happiness in your new venture.

Angela59
 
I would put it on the market if I were you.....there might be people like me out there waiting to buy it! We are in a 2-bed apartment signed for waaaay before our babs was even thought of, but the with completion delays, etc, by the time we moved in our lives had changed and we were 3. We both work a lot from home and enjoy spending time at home. With two work stations and a lively 18 month old, space is very limited in an apartment (alebit it a large apartment). Fortunately at the time we bought what we felt we needed (instead of at the max the bank would give us..) and so have not overextended ourselves. (Unfortunately we bought as the prices were on the up). We would love to move if the price is right and already have approval in principal for a second place (without having to sell the first). It would be tight running 2 mortgages (taking into account the fact that rent would be far below actual monthly mortgage for the apartment). But, as the previous posted said...what price is happiness? We are prepared to stretch ourselves (fortunately both in secure jobs and I am also in a position to do lucrative part-time work in my field if the need arises - although not doing it currently, as I concentrated on completing part-time studies until recently) and would definitely do so for a place that we felt we could call home. The reason I have given you my life history here is that I wanted to give you an idea of the kinds of circumstances that may urge a person to buy, even in such uncertain times.....so, go for it! You never know until you try...it could be someone's dream home.
 
If you are going to rent in your new location, why not match that process by renting out your own house? Look at buying and selling at the same time, in my view as this takes the dynamics of the market out of the equation.
 
You should view a few similar houses in your area, then look at the price of them and work out what you might get for yours. If there is a similar house that hasn't sold, knock off 20% of it price. Would you be happy selling your house for this amount?

This is just a generalisation, but there are quite a few buyers out there but only for houses have really cut the price.
 
Deb___ said:
is anyone actually buying houses these days? Would it be a waste of time to even put it on the market? Surely people are holding off now as the decline doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon?
We will market it realistically of course and not at 2006 prices (or anything close to it)..
Click to expand...

Hi Deb
Read the above quote again. I think you have answered your own question!. Yes, people are holding off and the advice from all the financial people is that this trend is going to continue for a long time.
My suggestion would be to rent out your present home. Move to the location of your choice and rent. Wait, and, ride out the storm.
Good luck whatever your decision.
IrishAussie
 
IrishAussie said:
My suggestion would be to rent out your present home. Move to the location of your choice and rent. Wait, and, ride out the storm.
Click to expand...

I think this 'solution' is just storing up problems for the future. The decision to rent out a property should be based solely on the returns it will generate, not because you cannot get the price you want when you try to sell it.

If renting your property makes sense then why are no property investors looking at it? If the professionals are not interested then why would you wish to become a landlord?

You will be taking on all the headaches of being a landlord, keeping a house that is declining in value and trying to rent in a very uncertain environment. Some people have the notion that after a couple of years downturn, properties will miraclously return to their boom prices and you should take this notion with a pinch of salt.

Just price your house to sell and remember that the next house you buy will have declined to the new market level also, so you are not losing out (I'm assuming no negative equity).
 
If you can afford the cut in the asking price then sell. We sold in May, sale agreed in a few weeks. We priced pretty low and I would recommend doing that as the stress of selling means you want it over with quickly as possible.
 
Thanks everyone. Ye're brilliant. It helped a lot of put it in writing as my head is just swirling these days from news of the economy crashing and prices dropping etc. I need to get back to basics i.e. we need to move.

Thanks for the idea about renting but we wouldn't go for that. For one thing, I want to offload some short-term loans when we sell the house. Maybe not the best idea to pay short-term loans from house sale but I hate them and want rid of them as they're a huge burden. The plan is to start fresh with no loans (ever again, short of an emergency loan for emergency health care or something) and our only outlay would be rent each month (plus obviously lifestyle costs like petrol, food, bus fares and the other thousand more). Hopefully we'll have something left from the sale to put towards a future house purchase if we do buy again. The idea of renting until the kids are grown and then heading off to a little studio apartment in Greece for our old age seems very appealing right now (but that's for another board entirely!!).

In any case I'd hate to be a landlord. I'd be upset if things weren't going great for the tenants. Not to mention the fact that my husband and I have zero DIY skills so we'd probably be calling in professionals every time the light bulbs went! Seriously, I'd always worry that the tenants would move out and the house would sit vacant for months on end.

We'll go for it and see what happens. It was valued at 350k in 2006 (I know I know that means diddleysquat now! Bear with me!!!) so we're hoping to get 260ish. I think that's realistic. If it's not we'll come down to 250 or 245. I think if there are buyers out there that's still a good deal (detached, 3 bed, v quiet area, big gardens etc).

Worst case scenario, it doesn't sell. We keep living here. Not ideal and very disappointing but sure, I can always say when I'm older that we tried!!

Thanks guys, ye're great.

angela59 said:
people seemed to really like it but the problem was they were either in a chain or couldn't raise money from the banks.
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Yes, that's definitely something we must be aware of. The banks are keeping a tight grip on whatever money they have left these days.

angela59 said:
to me how I would discribe it, it was like living out of a suitcase for a year
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I'm dreading that and I know exactly what you mean. honestly, I can't keep the place tidy for 5 minutes, I can't imagine the stress of viewers (and yet I hope we get some!). I'm going to de-clutter big time so there's less stuff to cause a mess!

"It is worth a try and I wish you the very best of luck and happiness in your new venture."

Thanks a million :)


geld,
Thanks for the great post. I smiled at this:
"We are in a 2-bed apartment signed for waaaay before our babs was even thought......... We both work a lot from home and enjoy spending time at home. With two work stations and a lively 18 month old, space is very limited in an apartment"
Click to expand...

I work from home too and I know what you mean. :) Best of luck to you in buying a new home. I think you're right to look for more space. We had a very small house when my 2 eldest children were babies. I just adored the house - very cosy open plan but one room downstairs (!) and we moved here and never liked it. Just be sure to pick somewhere you really love and not just somewhere with more space like we did!!
 
just one thing, pick a minimum price that you would accept for your house, dont tell anyone it and always aim higher, but have a price and if you get an offer at or above it, just take it. Over the last two years a lot of people have refused offers and kicked themselves a few months down the road when the finally accept an even smaller offer.
 
I just bought a house in Cork because the sellers accepted a drop from their original asking price that I considered acceptable (375 - 305). I had been renting for 7 years and was quite happy to continue renting but I twigged that the owners were desperate to sell and was able to beat them down accordingly.

Y'see part of the problem at the minute with 2nd hand houses is that people are being stubborn and keeping the asking prices high because they believe they'd be 'losing' money having bought into the nonsense that was 2005/2006.

The fact is that if your location is attractive and a prospective buyer senses a discount to the market they might make a move, especially if they are FTBs that have been waiting for this crash like I was. Just make your house more attractive than the competition.

I admire your intention to rent long-term. I bet when you tell people that they're horrified! Assuming you have a reasonable rainy day fund when you clear the debts, and with the right location and a landlord who actually lets you treat the house like its yours (a rarity in this country), it could work out very well for you.
 
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