Matlock And Surrounding Area

[Pennywise]

Hi all

New to posting, but been an avid HPCer for a while now and while I don't have the wit and skills to post in the main forums, I thought I'd put a feeler out for some specific help area wise. Currently renting "down south" have been for years. When houses were vaguely affordable I didn't have the money / job to "buy" and as they started to soar the thought of owing all that money just didn't make sense, so like many here I'm hoping they will adjust to sensible levels. Thinking hard about a career and life change and moving to Derbyshire. I have some cash rotting away under the low IR from an inheritance and will buy outright if possible. I know Derbyshire a little coming from South Yorks but specific town areas are an unknown. Any advice, thoughts, places to avoid, and the general flavour out there? One anecdotal from a friend of a friend says that there are a lot of repos in Matlock - but how true this is I dont know. TBH I'm pretty green to all this business - having been priced out for so long and switching off each time a friend starts rattling on about when they "bought their house" I've missed the main travails of the purchasing aspect. Needless to say such friends have now gone very quiet. Anyway, any help would be great

Pennywise

[crashmonitor]

Hi all

New to posting, but been an avid HPCer for a while now and while I don't have the wit and skills to post in the main forums, I thought I'd put a feeler out for some specific help area wise. Currently renting "down south" have been for years. When houses were vaguely affordable I didn't have the money / job to "buy" and as they started to soar the thought of owing all that money just didn't make sense, so like many here I'm hoping they will adjust to sensible levels. Thinking hard about a career and life change and moving to Derbyshire. I have some cash rotting away under the low IR from an inheritance and will buy outright if possible. I know Derbyshire a little coming from South Yorks but specific town areas are an unknown. Any advice, thoughts, places to avoid, and the general flavour out there? One anecdotal from a friend of a friend says that there are a lot of repos in Matlock - but how true this is I dont know. TBH I'm pretty green to all this business - having been priced out for so long and switching off each time a friend starts rattling on about when they "bought their house" I've missed the main travails of the purchasing aspect. Needless to say such friends have now gone very quiet. Anyway, any help would be great

Pennywise

I am living in Nottingham presently, but did own a property in the Matlock area up to March 2011.

Matlock has been one of the worst hit in the area IMO. Strangely more so than the less desirable areas to the East , Chesterfield and the Amber Valley.

I think employment may be one reason with the County Offices cutting back amongst others.

The Matlock market was particualrly hot during the early boom and probably quadrupled between 1996-2004. Indeed I bought a property in 1996 there for 77K and sold it in 2006 for 300K. Then lost 13K on my next property 2008-2011. However, 2004 was the peak, and it has been gradually correcting for the last seven years.

It represents about the best value in the area IMO. I live in Beeston at present and a good quality villa in Matlock that would set you back about 350K would be 500K in the much less desirable Beeston. But Beeston has Nottingham University and the QMC on its doorstep, public sector institutions with 6 figures salaires and a Gordon Brown style budget like there is no tomorrow.

Edited September 5, 2011 by crashmonitor

[Pennywise]

I am living in Nottingham presently, but did own a property in the Matlock area up to March 2011.

Matlock has been one of the worst hit in the area IMO. Strangely more so than the less desirable areas to the East , Chesterfield and the Amber Valley.

I think employment may be one reason with the County Offices cutting back amongst others.

The Matlock market was particualrly hot during the early boom and probably quadrupled between 1996-2004. Indeed I bought a property in 1996 there for 77K and sold it in 2006 for 300K. Then lost 13K on my next property 2008-2011. However, 2004 was the peak, and it has been gradually correcting for the last seven years.

It represents about the best value in the area IMO. I live in Beeston at present and a good quality villa in Matlock that would set you back about 350K would be 500K in the much less desirable Beeston. But Beeston has Nottingham University and the QMC on its doorstep, public sector institutions with 6 figures salaires and a Gordon Brown style budget like there is no tomorrow.

thanks for the insight, good to know opinions from folk with first hand knowledge. I have my eye on a few properties in the area and it would seem that the ones that go STC quickly are the ones that are sensibly priced. All the others have been languishing for months with only small token reductions. popped into an EA whilst there a month or so ago and spikey haired yoof was very uninterested in my interest. He was seemingly the typical youngster still clinging to the wreckage of the boom times, blissfully unaware that he may have to actually do some work to sell a property rather than it selling itself - but maybe it was just me and I didn't give off the whiff of cash enough to him, bit like julia roberts in pretty woman, maybe next time I go by I'll be able to smile sweetly and say "big mistake" Perhaps I'll have better luck with an EA who lived through the previous crashes. Anyway, not much seems to be on the market at the moment that tempts me, so I'm hoping for a september sellers panic