blossom

hi Karen

happy for you that you have sold your house, but I cannot agree that Medici is right in his comments. I think he is ignorant and rude, anyone can drop the price of their house but that still will not guarantee a sale at the end of the day.

However, good luck to you I wish you well in Oz.

Blossom

SteveBannister

You're joking, aren't you? It went crazy after the New Year. We had 7 viewers on the 2nd Saturday and 6 on the 3rd. Then we had 3 offers for the full ammount, one of which we accepted. It's just up to the solicitors now.

The trick is to get the agents on a 'Multi Sole Contract'. That way we were able to get 5 estate agents all on a low commision, 1.25%

Good luck,

Steve.

Sue2

Good going Steve all the best with your sale. Did think about multi agents but was put off by a couple of friends....may well give it a go, I`ll see how things go with our new agents.

All the best

Sue

Sungold

For someone who is just thinking of putting the house up for sale, what is a multi sole contract? I thought that if you went for multiple agents it cost yuu more. Here in St Neots it costs 1.5% for a sole agency. Got any tips for bargaining with these guys?

Steve

marysidey

Hi there I have been following the threads about houses not selling now for months and we were dreading it being our turn
The house went on the market last week and we have 5 viewings booked this weekend probably all nosy neighbours !!

Come what may our f lights are booked for June 30th
my hopes for success are play the agents at their own game
I convinced the agent I wanted to use that his competitior was offering to sell for 0175% not 1 % and that Stuart wanted to go with him
he agreed to sell for 0.75% I have phoned him every other day to date to check on progress and say we will be changing agents at the beginning of March if not sold
I will be sending in a mystery shopper to check they are doing the marketing
so I agree its hassle hassle
and finally our flights are booked for June 30th so I have told Stu he has to come back if its not sold so i thin k he will be walking round with a sandwich board if its not go ne by April

have you tried looking on ourproprty.co.uk lnked to the land registry and tells you what all the houses sold in your area for the last 3 years actually sold for
just to answer the critics that are saying maybe the price i s pitched too high


anyway good luck to everyone Mary

Sue2

Hi Steve

I spoke to our new agent about it, we managed to get a couple of agents that would charge 1.25% each.....That was the lowest they would go for multi agent so it costs a bit more, whoever sells it get the cash. The only thing that put me off was when I spoke to a couple of friends they said that it looks like you cant sell the house.....I must admit when I`ve seen two or three boards outside a house thats what I thought. But extra boards extra advertisement.

We got our agents down to 1% we had a few around and just told them it was between them and another got them down to 1%.

Good luck

Sue

Sue2

[QUOTE=marysidey]Hi there I have been following the threads about houses not selling now for months and we were dreading it being our turn
The house went on the market last week and we have 5 viewings booked this weekend probably all nosy neighbours !!

Come what may our f lights are booked for June 30th
my hopes for success are play the agents at their own game
I convinced the agent I wanted to use that his competitior was offering to sell for 0175% not 1 % and that Stuart wanted to go with him
he agreed to sell for 0.75% I have phoned him every other day to date to check on progress and say we will be changing agents at the beginning of March if not sold
I will be sending in a mystery shopper to check they are doing the marketing
so I agree its hassle hassle
and finally our flights are booked for June 30th so I have told Stu he has to come back if its not sold so i thin k he will be walking round with a sandwich board if its not go ne by April

have you tried looking on ourproprty.co.uk lnked to the land registry and tells you what all the houses sold in your area for the last 3 years actually sold for
just to answer the critics that are saying maybe the price i s pitched too high


anyway good luck to everyone Mary



Wow 0.75% thats great all the best for selling before June 30th!!Good idea adout the sandwich board I`ll make one up for Chris

Thanks for the ourproprty link I`ll take a look


Good luck

Sue

Medici

Dear Blossom,

I think you are being a little over sensitive. If a house is not selling after quite a time, then it is a fair comment to suggest that it might be overpriced. That may be upsetting for you but what other explanation would you suggest? I note that your house (as you described it) has other aspects which might further drive the price down so in a way you are answering your own question.

Your house may indeed be offered at a substantially lower price than those which you assess as being similar, but I would suggest that those other houses too are probably way over their true current value if they are not selling either.

I don't think it is a personal insult or rude to suggest houses mentioned on this thread are probably too expensive. Please don't take it personally. This IS a forum and I expressed a general view.

Unfortunately, many property professionals are currently talking up the market for purely selfish reasons and they seem to have spread the illusion that houses are still maintaining values which were prevalent in 2004. In fact the market is now manifestly falling to more realistic levels and you should not believe what Estate Agents and others are saying before looking at the obvious evidence. We're on the way down and if a house is failing to sell the solution is, I suggest, lowering the price. So I stand by the previous post.

Medici

odaat

Ask yourself - Will the house price cream keep rising?

The most bullish forecast we can find is from the Council of Mortgage Lenders who see prices rising 4% in 2005.

Knight Frank warned that the housing market faces two years of virtual stagnation although fortunately for the good people of KF the market they specialise in, top-end central London property, is expected to enjoy further price gains [What a coincidence. Ed.]


Each month, we ask Mervyn King, Bank of England Governor, and Mervyn King, International Darts Champion about a major economic issue.

“Mervyns, what are your exchange rate predictions for 2005?�

“I predict 2005 will be even stevens all the way, ending with a tiebreak situation.�.
Mervyn King - Governor of Bank of England

"I have no intention of ever starting to forecast exchange rates. That's a mug's game."
Mervyn King - World Darts Champion

The Knight Frank forecast for 2005 is 1% across the UK and slightly higher for prime properties.

The biggest are the softest

Nationwide, the UK’s biggest mortgage provider, believes the market is on course for a soft, pillowy landing after the double digit price rises of recent years.

Alex Bannister, Nationwide’s top economist, said: “A sharp downturn in prices cannot be completely ruled out, but while the economic outlook remains positive it looks unlikely. Importantly, we do not foresee a reoccurrence of the sharp increases in interest rates and large-scale joblessness that resulted in house price falls in the early nineties.�

Nationwide sees UK house prices rising 2% in 2005.

Good news and a good tip

Halifax have demonstrated that population levels and house prices are related [Shock horror. Ed.]. Conclusions were drawn from this that John Prescott’s plans for 128,000 new homes in the Thames Gateway by 2016 would mean continuing house price rises for the South East.

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More interestingly, if you look at the Office of National Statistics figures you will find that over the last decade, house prices have increased by an average 238% in the 10 local authorities with the fastest growing populations. In the same period, prices rose by an average of 195% across the country. Even more dramatically the 10 areas that have seen the greatest exodus of people have seen more sluggish growth of 123%.

The Halifax forecast for 2005 is that house prices will drop nationally by 2%.

Hometrack call "lunar-tics" bluff

John Wriglesworth, of Hometrack, famously said: “The idea that house prices will fall by 45% is absolutely ridiculous. There is more chance of finding Elvis on the moon than house prices falling by anywhere near that this decade.�

The consultancy sees national house prices stagnating in 2005 :scared: with London prices falling 5%. Earnings growth, higher employment and a rising population will all support demand beyond 2005 and the good news is Wriglesworth sees the long-term trend for house prices to rise in real terms is set to resume.

Government encourages widespread property investment with changes to SIPPS

Joined up government - Pensions
FSA warn people not to rely on property for their pension

Double-digit doom-mongers

Predicting a 20% fall we have Roger Bootle and Ed Stansfield of Capital Economics. This pair have been heralding a fall in house prices since I was in short trousers. In my view they are right in everything they say, just wrong for trying to put a timescale on it. There is no doubt the market is over-valued but buy-to-let, relaxed lending, low interest rates and government schemes are all responsible for supporting the market to a greater degree than Capital Economics can have predicted.

Their time may have come and Capital Economics are leaders in the pack of those expecting price falls in double figures over the next few years. They also believe interest rates will fall to 4% later in the year.

“I see your 20% and raise you another 10%�

Dr Doom himself, respected fund manager Tony Dye, foresees a 30% fall over five years. He has recently been joined by John Calverly, of American Express, in predicting a housing market crash. Calverly, who, in true ‘Richard & Judy’ style, has a book out in shops near you. “Bubbles and how to survive them� is actually very interesting and lays out his theory that modern economies are dominated by bubbles in asset prices. If you hang on for two weeks you will be able to buy it from In2Perspective’s new shop… Amazon will give us 70p if anyone buys it through us so please wait if you can help yourself. [Then we might make enough to buy the latest Sarah Beeney book! Ed.]

“30%. Pah! House prices will crash 40% and more!�

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Neil Woodford of Invesco Perpetual has made headlines with his ‘30-40% fall in 4 years’ prediction. As has David Pannell of Durlacher, the oh-so-trendy investment bank worth considerably less than 40% of the value it was a few years ago. We can also include the great Professor Andrew “Property prices will fall over 30% but I won’t be selling cos my wife won’t let me� Osmond of Warwick University in this bracket.

King Mervyn and the Knights of the Round Monetary Policy Committee

At the court of the Bank of England, Mervyn and his Merry Men [Please excuse the mixed myths, Ed.] are holding the cards when it comes to house prices. Never before has the power balance seemed so delicate. When interest rates are low and interest levels high a quarter percent move in rates, whether up or down, can seem extremely dramatic. Recent inflation and employment data would indicate a rate cut in the near future is unlikely.

Governor Mervyn and his sidekick, Mr Bean, [No jokes please, this is the serious bit. Ed] have been careful to warn the British public that house prices may be in for a rocky ride. They have also tried really hard to show that consumer prices are no longer as related to confidence in the housing market as previously thought. I think this may be because they believe house prices will fall and they don’t want to be pushed into lower interest rates in order to sustain an overvalued housing market. In other words, despite what some may say, the Bank of England has already factored a correction of prices into its policy and probably has a level (say 10-15%) that is prepared to take – as long as it doesn’t precipitate a sharp decrease in confidence in the rest of the economy.

Prescott unveils affordable homes costing £60,000

Home Truths

Another crucial event on the horizon takes place in April 2006 when an estimated £4bn - £11bn cash will be invested in residential property as a result of changes to self-invested pension policies. This will have significant effects on the market, some of which I will be exploring in a talk at the London School of Economics towards the end of February. If you are interested in coming along, the talk is entitled “Home Truths�. The principle topic will be why only the smartest and luckiest people, in my opinion, will really profit from property. Tickets are £20 and must be booked in advance.

sPIN SPIN SPIN .... odaat

blossom

As you say, perhaps I am being overly sensitive, however, the fact is that each area is predominently different and the housing market is always linked to other external and environmental factors, so to generalise that all houses are overpriced is not a qualified statement.

It is not necessarily your thoughts that are the problem, perhaps it is in the delivery !

Blossom

Medici

Good post. For those optimists out there, please note well that all the UP predictions are from vested interests, the most notable being the Council of Mortage lenders, a self regarding lot if ever there were.

Most of the DOWN predictions are from more independent thinkers.

Conclusion, it seems to me that almost the entire UK property owning population is still in serious denial of the facts. Prices are responding to gravity, not levity.

Medici

bert-doozer

Steve,
Whats a 'Multi Sole Contract' please

Stu

Papillon1

Go away TROLL

eatstatic

My, thats a constructive post, what an insight into the housing market you possess. Maybe the truth hurts some, head in the sand time?

Papillon1

The guy has specifically joined this forum with the intent of being critical of people trying to sell their houses, gloating at the misfortune of others is highly amusing to some and deeply offensive to others.