I think it's more a case that people moving back have an obvious choice between renting and buying on their return, i.e. they are likely selling their existing house through necessity. That typically isn't the case for an existing owner not moving location, although of course one could always bet on a downturn in prices by selling and renting local to your former house. So, the direction of prices is a more pertinent topic for returnees than it is for most.

Having said that, this is a location thread, and that side of it has provided me with some good info.

Must have missed this yesterday. I certainly like what they are doing in Todmorden, and the way they are going about it. I have to agree the downside of Transition Towns is the meetings, speakers, etc. etc.

I see the first property is rented already. Would be nice to see the inside of the second one. Flower beds are less maintenance than lawns, Pete.

That surprised me. Here they work nights, weekends, as needed but I have come across situations where the agent always seems to be going away somewhere.

I find that there is a lot of useful information posted on this thread. I haven't noticed overdue focus on falling house prices. It is natural in a property related thread, which is what I think this is, to look at property postings, discuss mortgages, discuss areas of the country, compare renting to buying and keep an eye on the housing prices.
It is quite relevant to this thread that we keep an eye on what is going on in the UK housing market. It just happens that right now, reports on house prices being disseminated by institutions such as Halifax, are pointing to a downturn. This is just the current situation and of course, as a potential buyer, I would like to see this. I can only see this as a problem to existing homeowners if there is a need to sell in the next year or so. Are you planning on selling Pete?
I believe the intent of this thread to be all property related discussions. I don't think anyone has just kept to area.

Yes, I concede it is a location thread. I just think that apart from location, having an understanding of pricing, and in particular the direction the market pricing is heading, makes for a more informed buyer. This can be especially true in the more obscure areas where values can hard to assess. Otherwise, this is how people end up buying in an inflated bubble. I would certainly say that when you get a situation like now, where it is in the interest of financial institutions to talk the market up, and some are talking it down, then it is a case of buyer beware. Two new homes, that I have been watching close to where I want to buy, have both been reduced by the builder by 10% and they are still not selling. I have no idea what the national stats are for asking prices verses sold prices.

We ended up renting on our return, not just because we expected a drop in the market but also you have to get physically out and about. What looks good on the Net, often does not look so good in reality.

No, the flower beds were supposed to be cabbages, I thought.

As I hinted before, Uk estate agent sales business must be pretty unsustainable at this point with widespread job losses. They work off much lower commissions, there is far lower property turnover than previous and properties can remain on the market for up to a year, they have many "customers" who are simply time-wasters fishing for valuations and the industry is more competitive.

So even though Saturday morning or a short Saturday is normal, I would expect them to let staff have the rest of the weekend off.

I paid 6% commission (of the value) to sell my house in Canada so the incentive to work all hours was there. I am not sure what they charge in the UK but I suspect it is much less than that.

Typically 1 1/2% is what you can negotiate for an exclusive.

At this point, even though I like my property sufficiently that I would be interested in living there maybe*, on a buy-to-let (investment) basis it is not viable bearing in mind the returns that one gets and other investment choices for me non-resident the UK for tax purposes. Plus as one gets older one has to consider inheritance tax planning. I cannot afford, nor am I free to make any move into the UK for three years or so from now.

I also provide the roof over my mother's head in Tunbridge Wells in spite of trying to get my siblings to assist in that regard, to no avail.

So yes I would be interested in selling but if I were to sell I have to exchange mostly into USD and invest and I don't like Sterling at $1.62.

*I own in Canterbury and am not absolutely sure that I want to live there in spite of the fact that I thoroughly enjoy spending time there and thereabouts as I do on a fairly regular basis. Vacation is one thing. Hence my being on Location Location Location.

Canterbury has a lot going for it, particularly as there is a fair amount that a retired person can get into but frankly I find some of UK city life quite scary, particularly as it relates to the pub culture.

Also interesting sometimes a house may not look that good on the Net but go out and see them and you can be surprised!! I recently just viewed a property on the very edge of Cannock Chase and the pictures weren't that great but the house - though small - was very nice and well proportioned and the street and small estate it was on was actally very clean and quiet with the majority of properties being well maintained!! Some (or most) agents here in the UK really don't know how best to show the properties on their books. It is certainly a huge difference to how the agents in the US work.

Very important points Lorac!

Fairly critical to what your quality of life is going to end up being like - less likely to have neighbours from hell and more likely to be able to fit into that little community in a meaningful way. Something that the Rightmove listing rarely covers even though Streetview can help somewhat visually.

The newspapers are presenting an amalgam of sentiments from building societies, banks and economic research commentators on a national average basis.

These expectations have no regard for location or region. Houses vary on a street by street basis. Clearly West Argyle Street in Helensburgh has quite different buyer demographics from say Merthyr Tydfil and even from EAST Argyle Street. In the south-east there are new commuter/commutable areas opening up on a fairly regular basis where the true local salary has no bearing on local property prices as in fact many of the locals are commuting to much higher salaries in many cases.

Some areas which saw a huge relatively recent run-up in prices (they were the laggards) are typically turning out to be the very first to fall back very fast when the going gets tough - such as Humber/Hull, Welsh Valleys and parts of the North-East. What is more, the most severe impact of future public sector job losses will only fall in certain areas where these positions are high density. The economic commentators are pointing to further pricing pressure due to these job losses down the pike which will only for the most part affect these public sector worker dense areas, even though they will also hurt the average.

Public sector job losses refer to civil servants, mainly at Whitehall, in local councils and in provincial Government departments such as the Inland Revenue in Newcastle. They do not refer to cuts being made to Ministry of Defence (Service) budgets. All three services will be making significant cuts and bases will be closed or activity reduced. Invariably these cuts will have a fairly significant impact upon local economies if only due to reduced spending power. Another reason to do localised research through local online newpapers and google.

So, individuals' buying approach, timing and decisions may vary tremendously depending upon where exactly they are looking to move to.

In passing, I will comment that so far we are only actually just over 20% below the UK peak set in mid-2007 and nowhere near 40% or more down. That said, there are areas where monthly price drops are in the 3-4% bracket. So one has to be specific when plonking stats on the uninitiated and it's very hard to get specific stats, other than from rough-and-ready Zoopla.

A very interesting article bandrui in today's paper regarding regional variations. The only trouble is that it was articles like this in the boom years which caused prospective buyers to go into new value areas as they were simply affordable. Many of the self-same areas are now falling back and then some as their discount to market was in fact justified.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...t-2283349.html

"But if you are going to move to a less prime area, pick a location where you can see that the seeds of improvement have been sown. And if you can, buy a property that has potential for adding value."

Food for the body and food for the soul.

On the positive side, in some areas, many of the pubs are closing down or at least being converted into family restaurants. One pub near me is being converted into a senior's home. I saw a townhouse in York that appealed to me. When I took a look at it on Google Maps street view, I noticed it was sandwiched between a couple of pubs. Not for me.

Here is a report on pub closures. I think that because of cheap supermarket booze, many are inclined to stay home and get pickled.

http://www.beerandpub.com/newsList_d...spx?newsId=317