It’s a strange housing market. A combination of downward pressure on prices plus a lack of places coming to market is producing some odd blips both up and down in prices. New to market asking prices for houses we’re interested in have actually risen 10% over Nov/Dec compared with the summer. Agents claim they don’t want to take on overpriced places but are being forced to do so just to fill their window space.
These asking prices contrast with actual sale prices of places that completed in the summer being a good 15%-20% lower. Due to the scarcity of property all agents are lettering popular roads. Amusingly we have become aware four different agents have all lettered an area we’ve expressed interest in saying they have a Mr & Mrs X who wish to buy there. Two houses have come on in these areas at inflated prices as the owners have misread the situation and think there is a surge in demand.
Some agents are frustrated we've set requirements and will not have our arms twisted to consider that “nice house by the sewage works”. Others are being downright deceitful offering us places “so new to market the details haven’t been printed yet”. In the last three cases these have turned out to be places already on the market with other agents where they are trying to muscle in hoping to temp the seller with “their buyer”.
Thankfully these days the power of having the Rightmove sales lists and their sold prices record (albeit 3mths behind) at your fingertips puts much of the power back in the hands of the buyer.
The real point of this post is to mention the Property Bee app for Firefox. It piggy backs onto Rightmove and inserts a box into each property listing giving the date first listed plus detailing every change to price, wording and sold status. This is a very powerful tool which exposes agents who are being economical with the truth. I discovered it a couple of months ago and it’s been very useful.
www.property-bee.com/
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You make it all sound so difficult Fenderlander, but it doesn't have to be,
I've bought n' sold 9 properties over the years inc. London, Sussex, Tenerife, 5 in Cornwall,
Of course, if y'all looking for a particular house in a particular road with kerbs on both sides, then you may have to cough up, as it were,
I used to play with the property-bee, but I gave Firefox the elbow, and that went with it.
Good luck anyway, me ole son :)
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...You make it all sound so difficult Fenderlander...
Definite danger of drowning in a sea of information.
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When we were looking for a place in 2009/2010 we knew we'd have to compromise and nearly went for a few houses that would have been okay but no 100% what we wanted. But as look would have it, something came up that was exactly what we wanted and in the area we wanted.
But sometimes you can be looking for something that may never come up in the timescales you have set. Best of luck Fenlander!
Interesting post... might check it out. I know the agents play these games. And some houses I've seen still on the market.... and they were for sale when we put ours on the market in 2009!
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Property bee is a great add on. I've used it for years.
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>>>if y'all looking for a particular house in a particular road with kerbs on both sides, then you may have to cough up....
Very perceptive Dog... after 20+yrs in a minimal kerb rural situation we are looking forward to kerbs both sides... and in a large(ish) village of 50+ roads there are only a handful that have house types to suit us.
It's meeting this tight requirement without coughing up too much that makes it difficult.
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Something will turn up eventually F/l, always does, but you may have to widen your scope a tad,
I used to use mouseprice & zoopla as well as property-bee BTW.
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>> after 20+yrs in a minimal kerb rural situation we are looking forward
>> to kerbs both sides...
>>
Looking foward to your future thread on wheel, tyre and suspension damage after a parking misjudgement...
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Property-bee app & property market Dec 2011 - Dog
