the woodys

Hi All

I was wondering if anyone out there is in a similar position to us ? We have taken the decision to migrate some while ago now and we have a visa. However, a real sense of frustration is creeping in as it seems to be taking forever to sell the house. We have had our place on the market since May now but despite dropping the asking price significantly, there is still no sign of an offer, I know this may be partly seasonal but I think that there is now real nervousness amongst buyers to commit. I know its not the house itself, most of the properties in our area (Essex) have been for sale for months too.

We will consider reducing the price to attract buyers but it would be comforting to know that we may be able to recoup some of the losses if we could take advantage of a soft housing market in the Sunshine coast, but from what I can gather there is no sign of a slow down in Oz.
I would asume that things in Oz begin to cool down too at some point, but I was wondering if someone out there can give us any insight into the current property climate.

Cheers

The Woodys

benlast

From The Western Australian: Perth home prices ‘set to drop up to 10pc’

Bloomberg report: Australian 2008 House Affordability to Worsen on Rising Rates

Brisbane Courier Mail: Brisbane house prices jump 20%

The Briefing: Property: Prices will rise in 2008

I would say that's a mixed bag

verystormy

You are in a similar position to me. We are being sponcered to go to Aus and they want us out there asap. While i am hoping to have found a buyer at a reduced rate, have you considered any of the companies that specialise in buying houses? They dont pay full market value, but will usuall make a "reasoable" offer - one offered me £105k against a value of £125k. But they are very fast. Some will have the money to you in a couple of weeks.
I have attached a couple of web sites
http://www.sell-quick.co.uk/?gclid=C...FQYWEAodHxr5Nw
http://www.nationalhomebuyers.co.uk/
http://www.a-quick-sale.co.uk/getsta...FRdJEgodXSxCWQ
There are lots more, just put "buy my house" in google

benlast

Whilst it's a bit old (2004), this story in the Telegraph about NHB is interesting, also this one in the Guardian. I guess a useful thing to do might be to get your own valuation done (by a surveyor, not an estate agent), then you have a better idea of how much NHB (or any of the others) are offering under the market value.

Both of those links came from a thread from 2005 on MoneySavingExpert with varying opinions (some good, some bad). It looks like the main gamble is whether it's worth paying the upfront survey fee, since if their offer isn't acceptable you won't get that money back.