no viewings in nearly 3 months

Far too many property owners are thinking with their heart rather than their heads. Thats fair enough because it dulls the pain of realism here. The facts are simple; in any housing bubble it is those who pay at the most inflated that will lose most. In this situation it is those who bought over the past 3 or 4 years. For various reasons, mainly because we are in the eurozone, their won't be a massive crash but a slower but steady fall in prices over the next few years leading to a longer period before increases return (there may be a slight bumped in a year or two).

If after, say 3 years, this country has 100,000 properties for sale, and only 10,000 people willing and able to purchase then the only way that a person can sell to one of these 10,000 is give them a better deal. If you reduce the (inflated) asking price of your home at the pace of general decline you're not going to give a buyer any reason to pick you. If you reduce the price greatly then the buyers are more likely to look at you. It is very, very simple. The person buying doesn't give a damn about the fact that you paid 550,000 because frankly they don't have to. If it wasn't for people thinking for some god awful reason that Ireland is a special country which is impenetrable to any downturn then they are in for a rude awakening.

I'm not basing my thoughts on anything other than fact. I regularly go to Finland and I have heard a few stories of people losing everything because of their housing crash on 10 years ago. Also, look at Japan or the US and countless other examples. Get with the program. Prices are dropping, nobody is buying. If you want to sell then you gotta reduce your prices drastically, and don't listen to the soon-to-be-bankrupt agent either as they just want their cut.

johnnyg said:

.. detached house is that there are few and far between .....

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johnnyg said:

...and for the quality of houses in the 60/70/80's well thats dubious to say the least in most cases as there was inferior building practices "

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This has to be a complete wind up. Detached houses few and far between ? Houses built in th 60s/70s/80s inferior to so many of the ramshackle junk thrown up over the last few years .... many of which on floodplains

There is a house near me around 2000 ft for €700K, down from €750K.

I reckon its worth €400K tops, 50K site, 250K build cost, 100K builders profit, tax. etc.

Where do people get these ridiculous valuations from?

Houses in prime location - walk to school, pubs, shopping centre, public transport are worth paying a bit more for but other than that.......

ive noticed alot from browsing daft etc, that auctioneers when they list a house dont put enough if any pictures of the interior,this helps people get an idea of the house. Just worth a thought.

standndelive said:

ive noticed alot from browsing daft etc, that auctioneers when they list a house dont put enough if any pictures of the interior,this helps people get an idea of the house. Just worth a thought.

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you'll allways notice the tiny boxroom is never in a picture.

standndelive said:

ive noticed alot from browsing daft etc, that auctioneers when they list a house dont put enough if any pictures of the interior,this helps people get an idea of the house. Just worth a thought.

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Well you would only take a picture of what was going to highlight the plus points of a house, and you might also like to show a few photos to encourage people to physically turn up and view the rest. Photos are very often misleading in that they either don't do a house great justice or they make it look better than it actually is.

you'll allways notice the tiny boxroom is never in a picture.

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Try and actually take a picture of a box room, it's not easy.

johnnyg said:

I don't think so mate, thets a way bigger % than that, i'd say more 60%

...and for the quality of houses in the 60/70/80's well thats dubious to say the least in most cases as there was inferior building practices (and that was among the competant builders following the regs at the time) and quality of materials plus the biggest factor these days is insulation, back then "what was that - oh yeah a bit of white foam thingy here and ther"

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I'd say even 20% might have been on the high side, just think about your figures another while.

MrMan said:

I'd say even 20% might have been on the high side, just think about your figures another while.

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I agree, 20% would even be pretty generous ....factor in all those people who haven't moved in decades, and have no intention to ever move.

This is probably off topic a bit. But we bought a house a year ago. We plan to be here for the next 20 or 30 years plus. I know some people are in the unfortunate situation that they MUST sell are are facing negative equity, but for people in our situation, isn't the prospect of a 'paper loss' a bit redundant? My mortgage is still less than what I was paying in rent for a 3 bedroom house in Dublin, and now we have a huge garden and privacy. I think some of the hype and doom is based on the assumption that most people who bought in the past 2 years were buying an property in a view to sell it in the short term.

LadyJane said:

This is probably off topic a bit. But we bought a house a year ago. We plan to be here for the next 20 or 30 years plus. I know some people are in the unfortunate situation that they MUST sell are are facing negative equity, but for people in our situation, isn't the prospect of a 'paper loss' a bit redundant? My mortgage is still less than what I was paying in rent for a 3 bedroom house in Dublin, and now we have a huge garden and privacy. I think some of the hype and doom is based on the assumption that most people who bought in the past 2 years were buying an property in a view to sell it in the short term.

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it's completely redundant for someone in your situation

although, if you think of it in terms of market timing, you may have overpaid in six figures for both interest and principal, compared to a not too distant future entry point. Food for thought, eh?

LadyJane said:

This is probably off topic a bit. But we bought a house a year ago. We plan to be here for the next 20 or 30 years plus. I know some people are in the unfortunate situation that they MUST sell are are facing negative equity, but for people in our situation, isn't the prospect of a 'paper loss' a bit redundant? My mortgage is still less than what I was paying in rent for a 3 bedroom house in Dublin, and now we have a huge garden and privacy. I think some of the hype and doom is based on the assumption that most people who bought in the past 2 years were buying an property in a view to sell it in the short term.

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I would be in the same boat as you; we plan on staying in our house for a very long time. I think in general house prices do rise but I’m talking over 20-30 years you may get lucky in a short term boom just as easily as you can get burnt. I just feel sorry for those that bought in starter estates in areas that were grossly inappropriate for housing as they were near nothing. Sometimes the best option is to sit tight and wait it out. I would only be buying / selling a property in the current climate if I really had no other option.

LadyJane said:

This is probably off topic a bit. But we bought a house a year ago. We plan to be here for the next 20 or 30 years plus. I know some people are in the unfortunate situation that they MUST sell are are facing negative equity, but for people in our situation, isn't the prospect of a 'paper loss' a bit redundant? My mortgage is still less than what I was paying in rent for a 3 bedroom house in Dublin, and now we have a huge garden and privacy. I think some of the hype and doom is based on the assumption that most people who bought in the past 2 years were buying an property in a view to sell it in the short term.

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and should you or your spouse be unfortunate to be laid off?

LadyJane said:

My mortgage is still less than what I was paying in rent for a 3 bedroom house in Dublin, and now we have a huge garden and privacy.

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Is you house in Dublin?

How much would it be to rent where you are if you are not in Dublin?

This happened us a good few years back in the height of the boom - change the agents - fresh sign up will do the world of difference.

and should you or your spouse be unfortunate to be laid off?

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Does that not go for everyone? Should people not buy a property because they might be let go in the future, thats a bit like saying buy a house thats out of your reach because you might get your dream job in the future, we can only deal with the here and now.

jenzz said:

This happened us a good few years back in the height of the boom - change the agents - fresh sign up will do the world of difference.

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things in the height of the boom were a lot different from now..houses nearly sold themselves!.....its going to take way more than a new sign to sell a house in the present climate.

Clown said:

and should you or your spouse be unfortunate to be laid off?

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We got a mortgage based on one income although it is possible for my spouse to go back to work if necessary. I would assume we are in the minority in this fact. And I am self employed so I don't forsee being laid off unless I really fall out with the boss.

try listing the price at 100k less and see if you get viewings, if you do then the original asking price was too high. you don't have to sell if an offer is made, but you do need to know what's acceptable to the buyer and if the price is too high they won't ring and ask you they just won't view the place

The key thing is really that the owner of the house in question doesn't seem overly worried so no need for drastic measures.

house prices near enough doubled during the boom...so take the price at the height of the boom and half it...thats your real price.