Seems we have a big increase in sales and prices everywhere. The press are merrily pushing out the stories about it.

Most seems to be driven by folk looking for garden, garage and work from home space. The wealthy being able to pay more for the choices they want to make.

One of my local staff has been told that all successful offers are +20% at the moment. Looking at asking Vs sale price for earlier this year, that seems about right.

My view is that the worst financial impacts of the pandemic are not yet upon us, and this is going to be boom and bust (again).

As ever the real impact is on first time buyers, not those of us who own already.

Another relatively big development has just been put in for the next village along the coast.

Lots of 3/4 bed houses with garages and something resembling gardens. Not seeing a lot of 1st time buyer houses go up.

I’ve also been keeping an eye on houses in places I like the look of and property I really like the look of disappears awfy quick

It’s frighteningly mad at the moment. I’m selling my late parents’ house. It’s a nice detached house in a popular road but nothing that I’d particularly want. The listing went live yesterday afternoon. 9 viewings are already booked and the agent thinks we’ll go to “Best and Final Offer” next week at well over asking price.
Now, who’s got Santa Cruzs in stock?

In some ways I’m glad I sold-up last year and having a house built with an agreed price.

There’s also a big shortage of property for sale in the west highlands and on the islands – what does come up goes quickly as asking price plus. There really needs to be something done about second homes and absentee landlords as its having a real effect on the availability of people prepared to work in these areas.

There are huge material and labour shortages across the building trade, as well as significant price increases – concrete and timber up 40% – plus lots of folks wanting extensions and house modifications – everyone is busy which means upward increase in prices.

I often feel there aren’t proper options for downsizing once children have left home, I think a lot of adults might be happy to have fewer bedrooms but still want a nice garden and premium features that often only seem to come with bigger family size homes. There must be plenty of 4/5 bedroom homes with only an older couple in it, there might be a housing shortage but I wonder if there is a bedroom shortage.

Now, who’s got Santa Cruzs in stock?

Start Fitness last time I looked, even have a discounted large Blur

not those of us who own already.

Kind of. I live in a flat. I would have to double if not triple my mortgage to move into a house in the neighbourhood. Houses in my street have smashed through the 500k barrier and show no sign of slowing down. A family member just sold their house for 740k to a cash buyer a week after they put it on the market. Colleague and her partner have been looking for their first house together (they have both sold their flats) and are being outbid by people who don’t need a mortgage – again in the 500k bracket.

I can’t compete with that, and I’m ‘on the ladder’ so to speak.

Housing in the UK is just a massive ponzi scheme designed to keep Tory voters happy.

Yes blame the govt, stamp duty holiday cost c 2bn and just stoked up the market. If interest rates go -ve it will get worse.

Too much money chasing too few goods so houses, classic cars, boom time.

Flats in London peaked in 2015 and have been falling ever since.

37, wife 38 and 3 month old son. Renting near Cambridge. Few tens of thousands saved. Genuinely think buying won’t happen for us. It worries me on a daily basis, if either of us lose our jobs we’ll be staring homelessness in the face. All the while a massive new town is being built with 300k boxes being sold at an alarming rate. I’ve no idea where the money comes from.

I’ve no idea where the money comes from.

According to neighbour who moved up from London, it’s a combination of equity, a 30 year mortgage and surprising numbers on interest / partially interest only… This from the financial advisor they had who was surprised to find someone buying within reach of full repayment and less than 25 year mortgage.

Mates daughter and partner bid on Glasgow west end property last month…. bid 40k over the asking and were 9th out of 14 bidders… Mental pricing.

My son and girlfriend put an offer in on a 3 bed semi in Milngavie. Offers over £220k. Offered £265. Didn’t get it.

Haven’t found out final price yet but were told they were 26th of 27 offers.

Renting near Cambridge.

Always been expensive for houses, less than 50 mins to London via direct train line means weire more accessible than some London suburbs. Eg I can get to the City quicker than my Brother in Law who lives in Wimbledon. Hence London pricing for houses.

It’s one of the reasons we went for a new build. The market here in Glasgow is insane. Our typical target property is going for 20% over the valuation, meaning we’d need 60k on top of the deposit, which we have but I didn’t want to sink into a house that probably needed a new kitchen, new bathroom or totally decorated etc. Found a small new build development near us. Only 2 small streets so not a huge sprawling development. Managed to get a detached 4 bed with garage and huge garden for much less than we’d have spent if we were bidding on older properties.

House on my street sold in less than a week for £865k. Was brand new 5 years ago and £580k, so that’s getting on for a 50% rise in 5 years..

Sorry if a stupid thought/question but…

Do the lenders not reject the mortgage if its too far over valuation/market value?

Or are people going in with huge deposits/hoping to knock the price down a bit near the end?

I seriously wonder how my kids will get on the property ladder without me croaking it. The way the rental market is around us we have said our eldest might be better staying home and saving for now to build a deposit but stuff like this makes you wonder how a lot stand any chance.

The thing about it is that, because so much of our perceived “wealth” is based around a house being an increasing asset investment that once prices go up, it’s culturally unpalatable for the prices to go down. So if it looks like happening, the government will step in o help he “homeowners”.

RDL – lots in Sheffield seem to be going to cash buyers With no mortgage so valuation not an issue.

We have tried to view some houses and been refused as already 40+ viewings booked. Just bonkers.

Loads of houses empty due to owners being in care homes. MILs 4 bed is empty, been empty 2 years. Why, if we sell, the nursing costs jump 20k a year for a direct contract with the nursing home, rather than via the Local Authority. Madness. SIL wanted it cheap, but my wife (POA) has in no uncertain terms that it has to be market rate as the LA has a charge on it, and selling cheap is not in MIL’s financial interests.

Do the lenders not reject the mortgage if its too far over valuation/market value?

Depends on the mortgage percentage. If you’re selling your existing house and making money on that, then your next mortgage may only be 60%, in which case the bank are less fussed about exact valuation as the new house can fall 40% before its worth less than the mortgage.

I live in a flat. I would have to double if not triple my mortgage to move into a house in the neighbourhood.

you have my sympathies! Had a flat since bought at the top of the market 2007 ish, value had increased but nowhere near compared to houses locally. Had an offer accepted on a house before COVID hit, fortunately the seller didn’t dick us about and we bought for the agreed price last summer. It’s already increased in value as much as my flat did in the last 13 years.

I can’t begin to understand how people can afford these sorts of house prices. What do you all do for a living? A mate of mine moved recently into a million pound house, but he’s the CIO of a FTSE 100 company, so there’s that.

I moved house recently. I got £60k for the old one. Y’all live in a different world from me.

I’ve little sympathy with the downsizers. We are currently selling a small-med 3 bed bungalow in good condition and the majority of that market have been unrealistic time wasters. They want to get rid of their huge gardens and pocket a wodge of cash, but not get rid of any clutter, or furniture, or scale back their triple garage contents, or lose their current open countryside views or whatever. Nutters!

We’ve hopefully got a sale to a nice couple combining from two terrace houses – so “just” a single garage and parking for 3 cars is bliss to them 🙂

Quite glad we agreed our new build price in September….

Cash buyers really are king at the moment. Doesn’t matter if it really is cash or cash+mortgage. The key thing is not having a chain. So many sales are falling through at the moment especially as the latest stamp duty deadline approaches. Around here a true cash buyer will often trump someone who makes a higher offer but has somewhere to sell first.

Absolutely reminds me of the late 80s early 90s crash.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2003/feb/18/housingmarket.houseprices
^^^ for those too young to remember!

The “must buy now or will never be able to afford to buy” cries make me wince – that was a (very young and naïve) me in ’89.

We sold it six years later for about 3/4 of what we paid for it, and could only do that because we’d been paying extra on the mortgage and taking in lodgers to do it. I didn’t even put money into my workpension which I now hugely regret as it was a good DB scheme (hey ho). Neighbours from hell. Awful time.

***If nobody can afford to buy then prices come down***. There are always some people who can sell – people who’ve lived there a long time/died and the life insurance pays off the mortgage.

In the early 2000s house prices were stagnant and not a lot of houses sold, but there wasn’t a big drop.

This feels like a feverish game of musical chairs and heaven help people when the music stops.

I bought my first house in 1989 when govt scrapped Miras so created a mini boom, took about 5 years to get back to price paid. It’s a horrible feeling knowing your debt exceeds your home value.

Current market just feels like a repeat, stamp duty holiday and threat of -ve interest rates just makes it worse.

Problem is when prices are low and stable no one wants them.

Mate sold his house in 4 days. Brothers listed one on Friday 3 bed semi, drive and garden £150k. 10 viewings arranged and one offer of £145 without a viewing.

I can’t begin to understand how people can afford these sorts of house prices.

Me neither – my immediate neighbour has just sold and his 2 bed semi and is moving further up the road to a large 5 bed detached house. His has sold for £275,000 house he’s bought is £575,000 – so a £300,000 jump in mortgage + tens of thousands that he needs to do the new house up. Which he will as no-stone was left unturned in his current house!

I can’t begin to understand how people can afford these sorts of house prices. What do you all do for a living? A mate of mine moved recently into a million pound house, but he’s the CIO of a FTSE 100 company, so there’s that.

I moved house recently. I got £60k for the old one. Y’all live in a different world from me.

This. I think most people get help from parents, or do it as a couple. I’ve never got any help from my parents and I’m kind of an eternal bachelor, not bothered about kids and certainly not marriage… So I rent. I’m very lucky in that I pay below market rate in a nice area and have a relatively secure tenancy. I’ve often thought it would be nice to buy somewhere, but if I’m honest, I’d have to downgrade to a crapper area as I’d struggle to buy on my own here. And by the time I’d have paid it off after working every hour under the sun for the rest of my life I’d be dead. Can’t take it with me so what’s the bloody point. I’d rather spend the time on my hobbies.

First time buyers wanting to start a family really do have my sympathies though. There needs to be more affordable or secure social housing built. But that’s another thread.

I can’t begin to understand how people can afford these sorts of house prices.

If you’ve been in the market for 10 or so years you’ll be sitting on several £100k of equity (in the South East). Then it’s quite possible to get a mortgage of 4.5x salary, which in the SE could easily be another £300-£500k.

Seeing a lot of people moving up here from the south, as they can get a much bigger house and be mortgage or have a very small mortgage. Good for my kids as our house value goes up but not for when they come to buy themselves.

I’ve just checked estimates for houses in our street. Yeah they’ve some what jumped in the last couple of years, actually quite shocked by how much.

The listing went live yesterday afternoon. 9 viewings are already booked and the agent thinks we’ll go to “Best and Final Offer” next week at well over asking price.

This was like buying our house in 2015. The listing never even ‘went live’ – the estate agents held an open house one saturday afternoon, and put the word out to a few people they knew were looking. Final offers due by Monday morning. Our offer (fortunately only 1% over asking price) accepted Monday 11am.

The housing market in this country is mad!

Seeing a lot of people moving up here from the south, as they can get a much bigger house and be mortgage or have a very small mortgage. Good for my kids as our house value goes up but not for when they come to buy themselves.

Eh, in what way is it good for your kids. Do they both own multiple houses?

Sorry if a stupid thought/question but…

Do the lenders not reject the mortgage if its too far over valuation/market value?

In theory yes. Even if you have a large deposit the bank won’t overinflated housing stock on their books because it causes havoc if they have to write down the value (see the Credit Crunch) but everyone involved with the UK housing market is in on the swindle, sellers, estate agents, surveyors, banks and building societies – they know from experience it’s all a confidence game so no one wants to do anything to cool the market unless it’s crazily over valued, verging on fraud. Estate Agents, and I doubt anyone is under any illusions in regards to them are predicting another rise way over inflation of wages this year because it’s good business for them to say that.

As for this recent boom.

It would make sense to me if it was a case of inner City values falling and moving to the berbs and smaller towns and villages but it doesn’t seem the case, they say people are deserting London to WFH in the shires, but London prices are rising too.

I saw prices flatten for less than a year after the Credit Crunch, then rise again.

The only thing that’s going to stop it is house building, and that’s happening at last, but I worry for people who haven’t got on yet, it was a nightmare for us, but we managed it and it’s only got harder.

I’d advise anyone who’s got tens of thousands saved and they’re trying to save more to avoid having to get a 5% first time buyers mortgage to change plans, you’ll never out pace inflation. It sucks for a year, but even at 3.7% (what we’re paying) you at least get to reduce you balance by half you payment each month rather than lay someone else’s.

We’re about to go back on the market after our house falling through last year. I’m seeing houses all around go up in value but there is no way I can see ours having gone up despite the work I’ve put into it over the past 6 months. If we get what we got last time I’d be happy.

I wouldn’t believe an estate agent if they told me our house had gone up in value and people were willing to pay over what we sold it for last time.

To the above long term renter, the UK model is terrible for long term renters, I have had the same tenant for 10 years now, we get on well with both his and my hands off approach. Sadly he has no security of tenure beyond 1 months notice, well the 6 months govt eviction ban I suppose, and I could serve notice for no reason at all.

High house prices don’t help anyone but the govt in their tax take. Homeowners my be celebrating their new found wealth but in reality you never see it.

Seeing a lot of people moving up here from the south, as they can get a much bigger house and be mortgage or have a very small mortgage. Good for my kids as our house value goes up but not for when they come to buy themselves.

Eh, in what way is it good for your kids. Do they both own multiple houses?

He means when they inherit his house, I think.