or does there seem to be quite a lot more on the market and at a reduced price now.
Compared with the back end of last year i.e Pre-Covid.
I haven’t done any detailed investigation but just going by rightmove alerts I’ve been getting.

Noticed loads round fort bill at 20k under valuation.
But no idea if that is standard for the area or Covid related.

That would logically be the case. Isn’t the golden rule to get house on the market by the spring? There’s been a 3M pause in the market so loads have gone on/coming on now, but not much sold. I’ve seen a fair few (including mine) come back on as sales fell through.

Depends where you are I suppose. Doesn’t seem to be the case in the SE (I’ve been watching for the past year at least 😂)

I’m seeing lots come on but at the same or higher prices than before where I am

I started the slow process in March and only now the conveyancer has sent me the documentation today. Quite a few places have gone up somewhat cheaper and I’m starting to get very cold feet. Plus my job is not so certain.

I’m seeing lots come on but at the same or higher prices than before where I am

I’d say exactly the same here in South West London, in terms of asking price at least. Whether they’re still selling at the same levels as before is another question, but we’ll need a couple more months to get any handle on that.

There’s a few come on the market in my area but they don’t seem any cheaper than they were pre covid.

The market has been virtually stagnant for 3 months. And now a lot of people have very real job uncertainty. EAs look to have put new properties on at the same prices as 3 months ago in my area; I suspect as less people are looking to buy / move (see job uncertainty + hassle of moving during potential re-lockdown though I think that very unlikely in the UK) the lower number of buyers will lead to some people who need to move having to drop their prices. So there is always a bit of a lag and it seems to me to be driven by the sellers not the EAs.

Bad news for the proles.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/jun/05/uk-house-prices-fall-for-third-month-in-a-row-as-covid-19-stifles-market-halifax

Good news for the bourgeoisie

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/uk/property-hotspots-coronavirus-boosting-demand/

I read that it will be very area specific. Rural places you can get into London from or work from home might fair best.

But this might be just rubbish

But with less money sloshing around it would be hard to imagine prices going up overall

I guess it will be very regional, the financial effects of CV-19 will barely touch knowledge workers who are just sat at home with their laptops, whereas areas relying on manufacturing / toruism are going to be suffering….

Certainly initial reports suggested a 10% drop in values in April/May.

A lot of people plan to move in Spring and will have stalled. How many are confident in their income to take the plunge now is another matter.

The weekend property pages are talking up places where you get more space for your money so could work from home, yet still get the train to the London office one or two days a week. Usually on the same page as ads by agents in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Wiltshire, etc

Two friends of mine put up there 3 bed houses in the last two weeks and got asking, both were priced at the high end of the scale according to the agents, both had good increases over the purchase price too. This is the SW were property prices and the market are quite bonkers sometimes!

EDIT: Both properties where on the market for less than a week with a good amount of viewings booked in before offers accepted

I don’t think so. We were planning on selling just before covid really hit. Had all the valuations done, ready to choose the estate agent and put the house on the market. I’d been watching for houses since probably mid July last year.

Think it was March when houses stopped coming up for sale on rightmove/zoopla, they’ve just started coming back on at near enough the exact same prices they were on at.

Noticed no difference in price at all, in fact in York some seem to be higher than they should be.

We are looking at the moment and an agent said (yes, I know…) that they are rushed off their feet. A lot of people have spent the last 2 months stuck in a house that is too small, they don’t like, no garden, fallen out with husband etc and want to move ASAP and are happy to take a price reduction to do it.

There is a theory too that things are going to go downhill later this year when people are back from furlough and some businesses do or don’t survive so people want to be moved and done before all of that.

I can see some truth to it but it still makes me nervous.

an agent said (yes, I know…) that they are rushed off their feet.

Told us the same thing (selling Dad’s house). Both valuations came out a good bit more than he paid 18mths ago, but I’d be happy if it went for less if it meant we got shut quickly.

Depends where you are. We’re in south Halifax and we put our house on the market on Friday. Had 3 viewings already this morning – apparently demand is far outstripping supply around here and we’ve marketed the house for what I think is a really good amount, definitely not under what I think the market value us and judging by the 2 other houses for sale on our street and the one thats just sold, I’d say the market is pretty strong around here.

that they are rushed off their feet. A lot of people have spent the last 2 months stuck in a house that is too small, they don’t like, no garden

The Mrs’ best friend is an estate agent in Norwich, she has said exactly the same thing. Almost everyone that has wanted to buy a house with her have said they would like a garden or outside space.

My work is based on properties coming on the market. I’ve made about 300 quid since march. Hasn’t started back up yet far as I can see.

I’d have a guess what you are seeing is maybe reduced prices on existing stoc becasue the market went into hibernation mid march. Not much new happening I think. Hopefully not long till it kicks back into some degree.

Either that or i’ll be in the job market soon enough.

With so many people currently being furloughed (figures differ wildly in the press, but at the least it seems to be 20%) I can’t imagine there’s much sense in the market at the moment.

If Estate Agents are really busy (ever met an honest one?) then it’s because 3 months worth of buyers/sellers have come knocking on their door pretty much the same day.

Halifax / Nationwide (who seem to enjoy **** with everyone’s heads when it comes to house prices) giving values for March / April is about as meaningful as a Haddock’s appraisal of the state of the ISS. A value of something is only certain when two people agree it and buy/sell, if you can’t buy something by law and there isn’t a black market then there is no value.

We won’t really know the state of the economy or the housing market until the furlough scheme ends. Nationally I think it’ll will be at most, the same level as pre-covid, or some way lower. (good / bad depends on your point of view).

Some (very) optimistic people are now saying that we might just ‘do a New Zealand’ and eradicate Covid, or at least knock it down to very low levels, or this new anti-body treatment will make it all but non-fatal, we’ll return to the ‘old normal’ as early as August, if that happens the fell-good factor alone might mean the economy actually bounces back higher than before. I really doubt that will happen, I think the travel and tourism industry will sadly take a battering and we’ll all suffer to various degrees from that.

I don’t think it’s going to be Great Recession bad though, well unless Boris and Cummings pull a ‘No Deal’ shit storm which they seem to be quietly doing whilst everyone is busy looking at Covid.

I think it’s just that pjay.

Folk trying to get to where they want to be before the music stops – if I was a betting man I’ll bet on it stoping for at least a while post no deal brexit)

Might also be good time to start a gardening business.

So many folk have realised that actually your own piece of space is actually a. Good/essential thing now if this is new normal….how ever one of the most common questions I get is- how can you be arsed cutting all that grass weekly…..(we don’t even have a lot….UST more than your average 3 bed semi as it’s a post war council house )

Strange market uk housing, the govt know it pretty much underpins the whole economy as if prices start declining there’s little incentive to buy one now. So whether this recession is v or L shaped it’s going to hurt.

I am looking to buy but not prepared this level, I even heard yesterday talk of a potential stamp duty holiday to stimulate the market. Help to buy, zero interest rate,stamp duty holiday I fear the underlying market is poor.

well unless Boris and Cummings pull a ‘No Deal’ shit storm which they seem to be quietly doing whilst everyone is busy looking at Covid.

I’d wager a fair sum that is their plan.

Cummings just wants to set fire to things and watch them burn.

Strange market uk housing, the govt know it pretty much underpins the whole economy as if prices start declining there’s little incentive to buy one now.

The question is how many people would feel they could enter the market if only it would fall 20%

The question is how many people would feel they could enter the market if only it would fall 20%

Significantly fewer than 6 months ago, I would suggest.

All this ‘offers accepted’ stuff is 6 months premature. Wait till the chains start collapsing as weak links (those who lose jobs, have mortgage offers withdrawn etc.) are weeded out to see the real impact.

The question is how many people would feel they could enter the market if only it would fall 20%

I was in that boat for 10 years.

I missed bankruptcy by the skin of my nuts in 2009, took a while to get back on my feet when we started to look we had a theoretical budget of £160k, we saved towards a deposit for that, by the time we reached that point the house that was £160k was now £180k, and it was cat an mouse until last year when we bought at £235k for a ‘fixer upper’.

With a combined income of £80k a year, we just about managed to buy a near identical house to the one my parents bought in the mid-80s when my Dad worked a semi-skilled job in a factory and my Mum worked Saturday mornings in an Estate Agency for “pin money”.

Sadly it doesn’t seem to work that way the game is rigged. Even now, in light of lock downs most of the banks have pulled all their 95% LTV First Time Buyer deals and are really firming up on the criteria for that 90% ones they have.

All the years I was saving I was very vocally hoping for a house market correction. When they announced they were going to start large scale building again I was pleased, even though I didn’t want a new house.

I won’t be hypocritical and cry and moan if they take a plunge now, younger people and people like me who missed the boat in their 20s for whatever reason need a chance too, but fundamentally the market seems to self regulate to maintain values. When they fall, so does supply and so do opportunities for first time buyers.

There is a theory too that things are going to go downhill later this year when people are back from furlough and some businesses do or don’t survive so people want to be moved and done before all of that.

I think we’ll see a short term tick upwards and then sadly reality will bite for some by the autumn.

Letting agents I deal with are their usual contradictory selves, the big players are saying how great and busy they have been, the small independents are sayings its quiet or just ticking along. Six months ago they were all saying how busy they were and how rents were on the up, which to be fair, I could see for myself

We’re at the point of about to exchange in the next few days, our pre-CoVid plan was moving out of a town to a more rural locatiOn as we can both work remotely, means for a small increase on the mortgage, we can double the size of our house in the Forest of Dean, with a big wedge of land.

Things were looking iffy for a while with our seller getting twitchy, so we started to hedge our bets and look out for other property, just in case. They were being snaffled up at a crazy fast rate, even now keeping a watchful eye on the market, stuff is going quickly.

It’s the age old thing, if it’s the right price in the right area, it will sell. The stuff that’s not moving here is either silly money or disgusting.

Few friends also just going through the process. Also sold super fast and in both cases well over asking price too. These arnt cheap houses either, in the 400-600k bracket, which is the bit that I thought would be squeezed the most right now.

For us it’s a home, not an investment. We can pay the mortgage, have good savings & our outgoings are staying consistent with jobs about as secure as they can be, but we’re probably the lucky ones right now.

Property. Weird.

April Exchanges Were 68% Compared To 2019 Figures

Interesting to see what the trend will be for May and June.

All this ‘offers accepted’ stuff is 6 months premature. Wait till the chains start collapsing as weak links (those who lose jobs, have mortgage offers withdrawn etc.) are weeded out to see the real impact.

My friends who have sold and agreed this week within a week had the agents not arrange viewings for anyone in a chain to not slow down the sales. I assume this approach also puts money in their pocket quicker.

Our chain that was established pre Covid collapsed last week due to someone lower down losing their job.

Put our place back on the market this week for same price and already have 10+ viewings booked in for this weekend. According to the agent they are filtering buyers at this stage and are only wanting to show people who are in a position to proceed (first time buyers, cash buyers or those with an established sale with evidence of a planned completion date).

Agents are suggesting that lots of young couples who have been living in flats in London are now wanting to move out ASAP. Anecdotally we have friends trying to do the same thing.

2/3 bed house in Surrey Hills town, home office space, garden, 10 minutes walk to train station to London.

2/3 bed house in Surrey Hills town, home office space, garden, 10 minutes walk to train station to London.

Only £3.2m 😉

No Doubt there will be a massive baby boom in six to nine months time ,what else was there to do during the lockdown lol expanding families means people will have to move .
Then there’s all the people who have realised that flats and apartments in cities are probably not the best place to be in the new covid world.
A lot of House builders been shut down for a few months so supply is reduced further.
Governments will prop up the market at all costs particularly ours.
I wouldn’t bet on big falls anytime soon but then again I wouldn’t have dreamt that we would be locked down for a big part of the year either .

Postman told me this morning that a lot HMOs are going for sale as people return to Europe. More an inner city affect but still may cause a market correction. I’m now thinking of leaving the UK.

Prices for flats are probably going to tank – there’s huge over-supply (in excess of 150 flats for sale locally) and I expect a few BTL owners will be selling-up to release equity. People want space, gardens etc.

What few houses that have come on the market in my area have already sold. One that was sold, came back on the market and re-sold at £20k more.

We’re due to exchange contracts this Friday, we’re off to Scotland and renting for a year. Market appears more stagnant, stuff not moving. Expecting a few holiday rentals will come onto the market if they’re not generating income.

No Doubt there will be a massive baby boom in six to nine months time ,what else was there to do during the lockdown lol expanding families means people will have to move .

That was discussed (I think on more or less, but probably not as it’s not a statistic yet).

Conclusion was actually that there might be a significant dip in births.

* Health worries (no one wants to go to a hospital, so less will be planning multiple trips over 9 months)
* Finance worries
* No going out, not dating, fewer casual relationships
* Not going out, not drinking, fewer accidents
* Stress levels and disrupted routines mean people are probably actually at it less often

It’s not like a 3 month power cut, or sports tournament.

With a combined income of £80k a year, we just about managed to buy a near identical house to the one my parents bought in the mid-80s when my Dad worked a semi-skilled job in a factory and my Mum worked Saturday mornings in an Estate Agency for “pin money”.

The UK is fundamentally broken at the moment.

If a couple both have a full time job then they should reasonably expect to buy a family house. It just doesn’t add up at the moment. The biggest reason we moved abroad.

Affordable housing and homeownership should be a massive election issue, but people are more concerned about immigration.

that’s because people who don’t own houses tend not to vote, and people who do own houses tend not to want them to become more affordable.

Houses will always be expensive. They appear more expensive now than they did in (say) the mid-70s, but there’s a few factors at play

1) role inflation – far more of the country is now in service jobs (or IT) that we like to think of as more skilled than jobs our parents had – but the average skill level of an individual in the UK hasn’t grown, so its probably not.

2) women work far more than they used to

3) interest rates are far, far lower

4) the cost of nearly all staples (food, clothes) has dropped dramatically, so people have far more money left over

the fact is that if you’re the 50th richest person in your village, you’ll only be able to buy the 50th best house. If prices were lower, the thing that drove them to be lower would probably also impact your affordability (ie interest rates, or women no longer working as much, or basic living costs rising), so you’d spend less money on purchasing a house, more money on other crap and end up in the same place