Just wondered if anybody had seen any evidence of a slowdown in any of these areas, houses sticking, price drops etc.
Any opinions of what will happen, as some think St. Albans will be immune being a relatively desirable area
Would also be interested if anybody knows what happened in this area last time, i've heard a few anecdotals over the years but I was a bit too young to be interested at the time.
Full Version: St. Albans / Hatfield / Welwyn Gc
Last time around two bed terrace in St Albans in a probably less than average desirable road went from £90-95,000 to £60-65,000 between 1989 to 1992/3. Not sure what they are now, must be c£275,000. Maybe a fair bit more. I'm out of touch, moved out as it is now a nightmare for traffic IMO, and centre a disaster at night at w/es. I moved to East Herts and much prefer it, but depends what you want. If the City has a tough time - sorry, the City is now having a tough time - will be plenty of overstretched owners, so could even be worse than average.
Top end saw loads on the market in last downturn, so the road I bought in, having seen at most one on the market at a time, had 6 on when I bought, was able to bid the vendors off against each other.
Top end saw loads on the market in last downturn, so the road I bought in, having seen at most one on the market at a time, had 6 on when I bought, was able to bid the vendors off against each other.
Most people I have discussed it with now accept that house prices are not going up anymore.
Some even accept that there might be a crash now, but they still believe St. Albans will be immune.
I do know a couple of people trying to sell in the area at the moment without success, but they will not accept that the price is the problem.
My only real memory of the last crash was a friend some years older than myself, had to sell his flat in WGC, had been paying the mortgage for about 5 years, and still went back to his parents house at the age of 30, owing about £10k !!
I suspect Welwyn & Hatfield would be much harder hit than St. Albans, but I don't have any evidence to back this up, as I have little memory of what happened round here last time.
Some even accept that there might be a crash now, but they still believe St. Albans will be immune.
I do know a couple of people trying to sell in the area at the moment without success, but they will not accept that the price is the problem.
My only real memory of the last crash was a friend some years older than myself, had to sell his flat in WGC, had been paying the mortgage for about 5 years, and still went back to his parents house at the age of 30, owing about £10k !!
I suspect Welwyn & Hatfield would be much harder hit than St. Albans, but I don't have any evidence to back this up, as I have little memory of what happened round here last time.
I moved away from St Albans at new year, the guy I was renting with went and bought a house.
1 bed semi detached shoe box in Jersey Farm area. £185,000
Yes, you read that right.
Anyway, he seems to be of the same as opinion as 'people'... "prices wont drop in this area" and of course "anyway, it's different this time"
1 bed semi detached shoe box in Jersey Farm area. £185,000
Yes, you read that right.
Anyway, he seems to be of the same as opinion as 'people'... "prices wont drop in this area" and of course "anyway, it's different this time"
QUOTE (I_crap_in_the_woods @ Feb 11 2008, 10:34 PM) 
1 bed semi detached shoe box in Jersey Farm area. £185,000
Yes, you read that right.
Yes, you read that right.
Unfortunately, I am not suprised by that price.
I live in the area and I know how mad things have got !!
I just hope that when the market completely seizes up & nothing is selling, that prices will come tumbling down !!
BUMP
Come on people, somebody on here must have an interest in this area.
St. Albans is apparently now one of the most desirable / expensive places in the country, its even on the monopoly board now !!
How about you 'Financial Planner' ?? I know you live in E. Herts, but have you got any knowledge or opinions on the St. Albans area ?
Come on people, somebody on here must have an interest in this area.
St. Albans is apparently now one of the most desirable / expensive places in the country, its even on the monopoly board now !!
How about you 'Financial Planner' ?? I know you live in E. Herts, but have you got any knowledge or opinions on the St. Albans area ?
I've been using Property Bee on the area for a while now just out of interest. A few drops here and there, but nothing to write home about... yet 
Been monitoring the 500-900 price range in central St Albans for a few months.
Market has ground to a halt in terms of LR sales, think there were only around 3-5 sales in December LR figures.
Property bee showing quite a few 5% reductions , perhaps 5% of the total stock in this price range have now been dropped.
However a number (6ish) flipped from Available to Under Offer in the last week, Spring bounce might be having a limited effect.
We'll have to see if the chains hold up.
There is however lot of stock coming onto the market all price bands, 22 total in the last 24 hours. There were 32 on Friday.
Market has ground to a halt in terms of LR sales, think there were only around 3-5 sales in December LR figures.
Property bee showing quite a few 5% reductions , perhaps 5% of the total stock in this price range have now been dropped.
However a number (6ish) flipped from Available to Under Offer in the last week, Spring bounce might be having a limited effect.
We'll have to see if the chains hold up.
There is however lot of stock coming onto the market all price bands, 22 total in the last 24 hours. There were 32 on Friday.
QUOTE (FaTB @ Feb 25 2008, 08:06 PM)
How about you 'Financial Planner' ?? I know you live in E. Herts, but have you got any knowledge or opinions on the St. Albans area ?
Its overpriced - very.
Check this out
Number of sales are down heavily since last August, so i'm guessing prices will have to follow eventually.
...and these figures are only up to January !! It can only have got worse in the last couple of months.
http://www.home.co.uk/guides/house_prices_...mp;endyear=2008
Number of sales are down heavily since last August, so i'm guessing prices will have to follow eventually.
...and these figures are only up to January !! It can only have got worse in the last couple of months.
http://www.home.co.uk/guides/house_prices_...mp;endyear=2008
I live in this area and have been watching house prices for a while. They haven't really moved for ages, up or down. The only thing that has gone up is the number of EA signs. There seems to be an oversupply of over priced housing round here atm and a distinct lack of demand. Price equilibrium must be attained somehow.
St A in particular seems vunerable to any downturn in London prices as most of the inhabitants are London commuters, who moved to the outskirts as it was too expensive. Any decrease in London prices will lead to people moving back to avoid excessive transport cost & time.
My opinion: why would you buy now? Rent, it's cheaper. Buy when prices are more realistic. I think there will be a significant reuction in prices over the next 12-18 months (c 40% - 50%).
St A in particular seems vunerable to any downturn in London prices as most of the inhabitants are London commuters, who moved to the outskirts as it was too expensive. Any decrease in London prices will lead to people moving back to avoid excessive transport cost & time.
My opinion: why would you buy now? Rent, it's cheaper. Buy when prices are more realistic. I think there will be a significant reuction in prices over the next 12-18 months (c 40% - 50%).
QUOTE (Pytyr @ Mar 21 2008, 11:25 PM)
My opinion: why would you buy now? Rent, it's cheaper. Buy when prices are more realistic. I think there will be a significant reuction in prices over the next 12-18 months (c 40% - 50%).
Don't worry matey I won't be buying anything for a good while yet.
I'm just saving, saving, saving !!
If this thing gets really bad, and alot of jobs go, I may need the money just to live, let alone buying a house.
BTW- Welcome to the forum 'Pytyr' and anything you can add to this thead would be much appreciated.
Does anyone know what their building next to the t mobile building? It looks like a huge development.
QUOTE (Kyle XY @ Mar 26 2008, 08:21 PM)
Does anyone know what their building next to the t mobile building? It looks like a huge development.
I've got no idea, but will have a look next time i'm over that way.
QUOTE (FaTB @ Feb 10 2008, 11:16 PM)
Most people I have discussed it with now accept that house prices are not going up anymore.
Some even accept that there might be a crash now, but they still believe St. Albans will be immune.
I do know a couple of people trying to sell in the area at the moment without success, but they will not accept that the price is the problem.
My only real memory of the last crash was a friend some years older than myself, had to sell his flat in WGC, had been paying the mortgage for about 5 years, and still went back to his parents house at the age of 30, owing about £10k !!
I suspect Welwyn & Hatfield would be much harder hit than St. Albans, but I don't have any evidence to back this up, as I have little memory of what happened round here last time.
Some even accept that there might be a crash now, but they still believe St. Albans will be immune.
I do know a couple of people trying to sell in the area at the moment without success, but they will not accept that the price is the problem.
My only real memory of the last crash was a friend some years older than myself, had to sell his flat in WGC, had been paying the mortgage for about 5 years, and still went back to his parents house at the age of 30, owing about £10k !!
I suspect Welwyn & Hatfield would be much harder hit than St. Albans, but I don't have any evidence to back this up, as I have little memory of what happened round here last time.
I agree about Welwyn & Hatfield. Five years ago no one wanted to live there, it had a awful reputation. Then the same people who slated it suddenly discovered "better" areas within that bracket, Old Hatfield etc because that was all they could afford. However once prices drop in other areas I am sure they won't be able to sell. It really is a crappy area, full of chavs and quite high in crime.
Current thoughts anyone? My perusals of Rightmove are showing a much better quality of properties in the £240 - 270k range (ie buy below £250k) in the St Albans area. I also noticed that many ads state that properties are ideal for 'first time buyers/ downshifters'. A few months ago the ads were all aimed at BTL.
Well I rent in the new build area of hatfield and I find it to be a peaceful place, I haven't experienced any crimes against me or any problems. Luckily all the low lifes are up past the asda area.
In contrast where I used to live in London my ex was mugged, my car was vandalised 3 times, my rented garage was broken into 4 times, my rented garage was vandalised, I was harrassed by police, builders also caused damage to my car, the bloke in the flat above left his bath overflowing whilst I was out and completely flooded my flat, I had two bikes stolen both had £30 locks on, the buses and tube were so damn unreliable, a gas leak outside my flat nearly killed me, the noise pollution was excessive from the cars/trains going by at night and the people over road would play music after 2am, I received 17 parking tickets, 1 NIP for dangerous driving that was not me and the list goes on. The only reason I want to move back to London is to be closer to work.
In contrast where I used to live in London my ex was mugged, my car was vandalised 3 times, my rented garage was broken into 4 times, my rented garage was vandalised, I was harrassed by police, builders also caused damage to my car, the bloke in the flat above left his bath overflowing whilst I was out and completely flooded my flat, I had two bikes stolen both had £30 locks on, the buses and tube were so damn unreliable, a gas leak outside my flat nearly killed me, the noise pollution was excessive from the cars/trains going by at night and the people over road would play music after 2am, I received 17 parking tickets, 1 NIP for dangerous driving that was not me and the list goes on. The only reason I want to move back to London is to be closer to work.
QUOTE (a j @ May 18 2008, 11:36 PM)
Current thoughts anyone? My perusals of Rightmove are showing a much better quality of properties in the £240 - 270k range (ie buy below £250k) in the St Albans area. I also noticed that many ads state that properties are ideal for 'first time buyers/ downshifters'. A few months ago the ads were all aimed at BTL.
I have Property Bee data for all property in St Albans going back to January if anyone's interested (see attached) - not had the time to analyse myself recently.
QUOTE (a j @ May 18 2008, 11:36 PM)
Current thoughts anyone?
My sister lives there and says prices have hardly moved.
She couldn't say if they were taking ages to move or anything about volumes.
QUOTE (FaTB @ Jan 20 2008, 11:44 PM)
Just wondered if anybody had seen any evidence of a slowdown in any of these areas, houses sticking, price drops etc.
Any opinions of what will happen, as some think St. Albans will be immune being a relatively desirable area
Would also be interested if anybody knows what happened in this area last time, i've heard a few anecdotals over the years but I was a bit too young to be interested at the time.
Any opinions of what will happen, as some think St. Albans will be immune being a relatively desirable area
Would also be interested if anybody knows what happened in this area last time, i've heard a few anecdotals over the years but I was a bit too young to be interested at the time.
Elderly aunt's 4-bed in Welwyn went on market in December for £425K. She's had to go into a home, sale being handled by relatives. Subsequently reduced via £399K to £365K - still no bites that I've heard of. It's a 70s house, very nice area, needs mod. and only one bathroom (though 2 basins, bath and sep. shower), but v. good space for a family, downstairs loo, big kitchen, garage, etc.
Even in current market I'd have thought a family overflowing from a smaller house might have bitten, but guess people can't sell their own.
Also avocado bathroom might be putting them off. As is well known, you can catch plague from avocado bathrooms.
Edit: sorry, this is Welwyn, not WGC. Only just realised you meant WGC.
QUOTE (Kyle XY @ May 22 2008, 12:01 AM)
Well I rent in the new build area of hatfield and I find it to be a peaceful place, I haven't experienced any crimes against me or any problems. Luckily all the low lifes are up past the asda area.
In contrast where I used to live in London my ex was mugged, my car was vandalised 3 times, my rented garage was broken into 4 times, my rented garage was vandalised, I was harrassed by police, builders also caused damage to my car, the bloke in the flat above left his bath overflowing whilst I was out and completely flooded my flat, I had two bikes stolen both had £30 locks on, the buses and tube were so damn unreliable, a gas leak outside my flat nearly killed me, the noise pollution was excessive from the cars/trains going by at night and the people over road would play music after 2am, I received 17 parking tickets, 1 NIP for dangerous driving that was not me and the list goes on. The only reason I want to move back to London is to be closer to work.
In contrast where I used to live in London my ex was mugged, my car was vandalised 3 times, my rented garage was broken into 4 times, my rented garage was vandalised, I was harrassed by police, builders also caused damage to my car, the bloke in the flat above left his bath overflowing whilst I was out and completely flooded my flat, I had two bikes stolen both had £30 locks on, the buses and tube were so damn unreliable, a gas leak outside my flat nearly killed me, the noise pollution was excessive from the cars/trains going by at night and the people over road would play music after 2am, I received 17 parking tickets, 1 NIP for dangerous driving that was not me and the list goes on. The only reason I want to move back to London is to be closer to work.
Is that why your nickname is 'Lucky'?
QUOTE (juvenal @ May 28 2008, 01:15 PM)
Is that why your nickname is 'Lucky'?
Those things happened over a span of 6 years, I had a lot of luck elsewhere
with regular clubbing, a decent wage and good eating & drinking. QUOTE (mjdazeley @ May 27 2008, 12:00 AM)
I have Property Bee data for all property in St Albans going back to January if anyone's interested (see attached) - not had the time to analyse myself recently.
Quick pass through the data:-
Summary
Charts
St Albans faired pretty well in the last crash, though tbh who would want to live their parking & traffic is a nightmare, it's just like London
QUOTE (MattFC @ Jun 2 2008, 04:04 PM)
Quick pass through the data:-
Summary
Summary
Interesting plots MattFC (Excel 2007?); thanks.
Is the summary correct?
The Min value shows a reduction from 104500 to 99950, but a 0% change.
And the Max number shows no reduction (999950) by a 12% change.
RW
QUOTE (RandomWalk @ Jun 3 2008, 07:25 AM)
Interesting plots MattFC (Excel 2007?); thanks.
Is the summary correct?
The Min value shows a reduction from 104500 to 99950, but a 0% change.
And the Max number shows no reduction (999950) by a 12% change.
RW
Is the summary correct?
The Min value shows a reduction from 104500 to 99950, but a 0% change.
And the Max number shows no reduction (999950) by a 12% change.
RW
Yes Excel 2007.
Re your question... the lines aren't correlated if that makes sense.. in that they are just there to give an overview of the data, i.e. the cheapest house was 104k, most expensive £999k (I did trim the couple of >1m houses out).. and for those houses, min reduction was 0%, max was 12% etc..
make sense?
Bump.
Having had my bi-weekly flick through PropertyBee last night, my overall impression was one of more downward movement, both in number and magnitude, though I don't have any data to back this up.
Anyone got this feeling?
Having had my bi-weekly flick through PropertyBee last night, my overall impression was one of more downward movement, both in number and magnitude, though I don't have any data to back this up.
Anyone got this feeling?
Definately agree. Drop from £1.25M to £1.0 on one property I spotted....
QUOTE (Live_in_hope @ Jun 2 2008, 09:37 PM)
St Albans faired pretty well in the last crash,
Untrue. £100k flats went for £70k
QUOTE (Financial Planner @ Jun 12 2008, 08:51 AM)
Untrue. £100k flats went for £70k
Can confirm - the road in St Albans I lived in, two bed terraces went from £95k in Sept 1987 to £58k in around 1992.
Studios and one bedders were the most difficult to shift.
Thats good to know, as I really don't remember what happened round here last time other than a couple of anecdotal stories.
But most people I know still seem to think that we'll be somehow immune round here.....Hope not !!
There does seem to be a bit of a stand off at the moment, asking prices still very high, but very little seems to be moving.
I know one couple had thier place on the market now for about 7months, they've dropped the price 75k odd but still no interest, it was from a ridiculous starting point mind you.
Another freind was told he'd have to move out of his rental property as it was being sold, I asked him the other day when he was moving on, and he said they can't sell the place so he's staying put for the moment.
Somethings got to give soon !!
But most people I know still seem to think that we'll be somehow immune round here.....Hope not !!
There does seem to be a bit of a stand off at the moment, asking prices still very high, but very little seems to be moving.
I know one couple had thier place on the market now for about 7months, they've dropped the price 75k odd but still no interest, it was from a ridiculous starting point mind you.
Another freind was told he'd have to move out of his rental property as it was being sold, I asked him the other day when he was moving on, and he said they can't sell the place so he's staying put for the moment.
Somethings got to give soon !!
BTW - FP glad to see you are taking an interest in this thread !!
Another friend of mine was saying last night he's looking to buy in the Ware / Chesunt area.
I couldn't be bothered to try and talk him out of it, i'm not as articulate as yourself.
I just explained why there was no way I would buy now and left it at that, hopefully he'll have a think about it and work it out for himself.
Another friend of mine was saying last night he's looking to buy in the Ware / Chesunt area.
I couldn't be bothered to try and talk him out of it, i'm not as articulate as yourself.
I just explained why there was no way I would buy now and left it at that, hopefully he'll have a think about it and work it out for himself.
Here are a few selected recent PeeBee price drops of ~30k plus in the £350-400k range:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-101...=4&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-103...=6&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-190...=7&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-167...10&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-210...10&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-191...12&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-103...12&tr_t=buy
RW
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-101...=4&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-103...=6&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-190...=7&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-167...10&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-210...10&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-191...12&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-103...12&tr_t=buy
RW
QUOTE (RandomWalk @ Jun 12 2008, 11:13 PM)
Here are a few selected recent PeeBee price drops of ~30k plus in the £350-400k range:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-101...=4&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-103...=6&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-190...=7&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-167...10&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-210...10&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-191...12&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-103...12&tr_t=buy
RW
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-101...=4&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-103...=6&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-190...=7&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-167...10&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-210...10&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-191...12&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-103...12&tr_t=buy
RW
That is still some pretty mental money, especially as some of those are just old terraced houses with no parking !!
QUOTE (FaTB @ Jun 13 2008, 06:54 PM)
That is still some pretty mental money, especially as some of those are just old terraced houses with no parking !!
Amazing isn't it. All look lovely inside, but have poor parking and most are a fair treck from the Thameslink. Who do you think the core buyer for such places is? I'd suspect these houses are a trade up from a two bed London flat. Will St Albans house prices only go down when London does?
I hope St Albans isn't immune as I plan on moving there as soon as I get the London flat sold!
Am planning on renting for a while to see what's happening with property prices and figure out which area to live in. On that note I wondered if anyone could give me some advice on where to rent/buy?
To buy I'm looking for a 3 bed house, with garden, preferably not new build and joy of joys... parking space. After London I'm sick of parking miles from my home and dream of having a drive (or at least a road where you can generally get a space!). I hear traffic is a nightmare so don't fancy living right in the centre. Also want to be accessible for the Thameslink (15-20 min walk or on bus route - is there a good bus service??). Not interested in being near schools and don't want a modern housing estate. Budget circa £400k.
Any thoughts and advice would be greatfully received!
cheers
Achillea
Am planning on renting for a while to see what's happening with property prices and figure out which area to live in. On that note I wondered if anyone could give me some advice on where to rent/buy?
To buy I'm looking for a 3 bed house, with garden, preferably not new build and joy of joys... parking space. After London I'm sick of parking miles from my home and dream of having a drive (or at least a road where you can generally get a space!). I hear traffic is a nightmare so don't fancy living right in the centre. Also want to be accessible for the Thameslink (15-20 min walk or on bus route - is there a good bus service??). Not interested in being near schools and don't want a modern housing estate. Budget circa £400k.
Any thoughts and advice would be greatfully received!
cheers
Achillea
Can't really suggest a particular road but you should have a good choice for £400k even round here !!
I'll warn you though the parking near the centre if you haven't got your own drive, is a NIGHTMARE !!
The nazi like traffic wardens walk round together in 3's until 8pm, not to keep the flow of traffic moving but purely as a revenue earner.
I'll warn you though the parking near the centre if you haven't got your own drive, is a NIGHTMARE !!
The nazi like traffic wardens walk round together in 3's until 8pm, not to keep the flow of traffic moving but purely as a revenue earner.
QUOTE (FaTB @ Jul 4 2008, 09:43 PM)
Can't really suggest a particular road but you should have a good choice for £400k even round here !!
I'll warn you though the parking near the centre if you haven't got your own drive, is a NIGHTMARE !!
The nazi like traffic wardens walk round together in 3's until 8pm, not to keep the flow of traffic moving but purely as a revenue earner.
I'll warn you though the parking near the centre if you haven't got your own drive, is a NIGHTMARE !!
The nazi like traffic wardens walk round together in 3's until 8pm, not to keep the flow of traffic moving but purely as a revenue earner.
FaTB are their many buy to letters in St Albans? and what are the rental prices for the average 3 bed terrace.
QUOTE (yield @ Jul 7 2008, 06:38 PM)
FaTB are their many buy to letters in St Albans? and what are the rental prices for the average 3 bed terrace.
Well there's certainly no shortage of those crappy new build flats !!
I'm guessing a 3 bed terraced house would rent out for between £900 & £1100 per month depending on the area.
Just happened to be passing today, and I noticed one of the local independant EA's in Marshalswick Francis Rose seems to have shut up shop.
Wonder if they've moved or gone bust ?
Think its more likely its gone bust, as I don't think they'd find a smaller premises if they tried !!
Wonder if they've moved or gone bust ?
Think its more likely its gone bust, as I don't think they'd find a smaller premises if they tried !!
ive just been searching rightmove/property bee in st albans near the thameslink
a lot of places have now become STC or under offer
in the past i've seen them going from STC back to available
but so many seem to have sold lately. some due to reductions... others haven't had prices changed
has there been some bargains struck there? or are people still paying 2006/07 prices rather than 2003/04 which is around fair value now?
a lot of places have now become STC or under offer
in the past i've seen them going from STC back to available
but so many seem to have sold lately. some due to reductions... others haven't had prices changed
has there been some bargains struck there? or are people still paying 2006/07 prices rather than 2003/04 which is around fair value now?
Evening
This is the biggest drop I've seen on a newish 2-bed flat in St Albans to date:
This originally sold for £211,000 in December 2005. That's down 24%. Add another 10% for an offer price and that'll be 31%.
There's some comedy on the PDF particulars too:
ERROR: stackunderflow
OFFENDING COMMAND: ~
This may be a subliminal message for the prospective punters, but the price is still offending me
.
This is the biggest drop I've seen on a newish 2-bed flat in St Albans to date:
This originally sold for £211,000 in December 2005. That's down 24%. Add another 10% for an offer price and that'll be 31%.
There's some comedy on the PDF particulars too:
ERROR: stackunderflow
OFFENDING COMMAND: ~
This may be a subliminal message for the prospective punters, but the price is still offending me
.
QUOTE (a j @ Jun 15 2008, 04:21 PM)
Amazing isn't it. All look lovely inside, but have poor parking and most are a fair treck from the Thameslink. Who do you think the core buyer for such places is? I'd suspect these houses are a trade up from a two bed London flat. Will St Albans house prices only go down when London does?
This thread is quite interesting. The St Albans area seems to have a number of similarities to Surbiton/Kingston, which is my area of interest. St Albans is much further out of London, but the super-quick Thameslink service more than compensates.
The list of properties that RandomWalk has linked to is quite similar - 2/3 bed terraces in sought after part of town cost as much or more than 3 bed semi/detached places not much further out. It is exactly the same around here. The price difference between the good and bad parts of town is 60%+, in most areas it seems to be more like 20-30%.
Certainly, the house prices in this area are totally driven by what is happening in London zones 2-3. Those prices have started to drop, and that has had an immediate downward effect on Surbiton/Kingston prices.
This may make it easier to call the bottom of the market as I guess London is likely to recover first. Places like St Albans and Kingston should not be far behind.
QUOTE (achillea @ Jun 29 2008, 11:35 AM)
To buy I'm looking for a 3 bed house, with garden, preferably not new build and joy of joys... parking space. After London I'm sick of parking miles from my home and dream of having a drive (or at least a road where you can generally get a space!). I hear traffic is a nightmare so don't fancy living right in the centre. Also want to be accessible for the Thameslink (15-20 min walk or on bus route - is there a good bus service??). Not interested in being near schools and don't want a modern housing estate. Budget circa £400k.
The bus services are pretty poor so I'd focus on looking for places within walking distance of the Thameslink if you are going to commute each day. The traffic around the station is really heavy in the mornings so driving isn't much fun. If you can find somewhere suitable its well worth being within walking distance of the city centre to avoid having to drive in.
The latest local rag has a repossessions story on page 3.
"Repossessions in St Albans are rising faster than anywhere else in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire or Essex with the rate accelerating in the second quarter of this year"
"Repossessions in St Albans are rising faster than anywhere else in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire or Essex with the rate accelerating in the second quarter of this year"
Sunday Times:
In due course, I'll have what's currently in the red drawer once the vendors have capitulated and moved to the green drawer, by which time the market will have moved further on down.
QUOTE
"The situation is no better in the affluent commuter town of St Albans, 30 minutes away. Nick Salmon, commercial director of Harrison Murray, expects the town’s 21 agents to be halved in the coming year. By Christmas, he predicts a quarter will be out of business.
Salmon, who has more than 30 years’ experience, compares the current crisis with 1974, when the building societies restricted lending. He does not expect the government’s one-year stamp-duty “holiday” on properties worth up to £175,000 to make any difference.
“This is in effect a £1,750 cash windfall for the buyer and if that makes a difference between buying and not buying, then they shouldn’t be buying,” he said. He views the government’s efforts to help first-time buyers into new developments as nothing more than a way “to keep builders off the dole queue” .
Although transactions are down 20% in Harrison Murray’s St Albans branch, Salmon is still busy. With double the number of properties on his books, buyers are viewing more houses while sellers are demanding more advice.
Salmon has become ruthless about which sellers he takes on. “When somebody comes to me and says they want to sell, my first words are ‘Why on earth do you want to sell in this market?’ I will only take on a property when the vendor has a real reason to sell,” he said. He lists debt, death and divorce as “real reasons”.
“We have two drawers,” he added. “One is green and the other is red. The green one is for vendors who are on the market at the right price. Those in the red drawer are on the market for too much money and we’re not even advertising them. We are telling them the market is falling by the week and unless they drop the price they are not going to move.”
The latest figures from Nationwide show an average 10.5% fall in house prices in the past 12 months. In hard cash, this means the average home is £19,000 cheaper than it was a year ago.
Property analyst Henry Pryor said it was wrong to blame agents for stoking up the boom in the first place. Mortgage providers caused a lot of the problem by dishing out huge loans. “The problem today is with financing,” he said. “There were 12,000 mortgage products on the market a year ago. Now there are 4,500.”
For this reason, Salmon will not have a serious conversation with buyers unless they can show him proof of a secured mortgage. If they are in a chain, he will proceed only when an offer has been made."
Salmon, who has more than 30 years’ experience, compares the current crisis with 1974, when the building societies restricted lending. He does not expect the government’s one-year stamp-duty “holiday” on properties worth up to £175,000 to make any difference.
“This is in effect a £1,750 cash windfall for the buyer and if that makes a difference between buying and not buying, then they shouldn’t be buying,” he said. He views the government’s efforts to help first-time buyers into new developments as nothing more than a way “to keep builders off the dole queue” .
Although transactions are down 20% in Harrison Murray’s St Albans branch, Salmon is still busy. With double the number of properties on his books, buyers are viewing more houses while sellers are demanding more advice.
Salmon has become ruthless about which sellers he takes on. “When somebody comes to me and says they want to sell, my first words are ‘Why on earth do you want to sell in this market?’ I will only take on a property when the vendor has a real reason to sell,” he said. He lists debt, death and divorce as “real reasons”.
“We have two drawers,” he added. “One is green and the other is red. The green one is for vendors who are on the market at the right price. Those in the red drawer are on the market for too much money and we’re not even advertising them. We are telling them the market is falling by the week and unless they drop the price they are not going to move.”
The latest figures from Nationwide show an average 10.5% fall in house prices in the past 12 months. In hard cash, this means the average home is £19,000 cheaper than it was a year ago.
Property analyst Henry Pryor said it was wrong to blame agents for stoking up the boom in the first place. Mortgage providers caused a lot of the problem by dishing out huge loans. “The problem today is with financing,” he said. “There were 12,000 mortgage products on the market a year ago. Now there are 4,500.”
For this reason, Salmon will not have a serious conversation with buyers unless they can show him proof of a secured mortgage. If they are in a chain, he will proceed only when an offer has been made."
In due course, I'll have what's currently in the red drawer once the vendors have capitulated and moved to the green drawer, by which time the market will have moved further on down.
Out of interest, does anyone follow Tewin and/or Tewin Wood (near Welwyn)? Prices seem high but is it one of those well-to-do areas which will be somewhat protected in a crash (relatively at least)?
QUOTE (Alfie Bear @ Sep 11 2008, 02:34 PM)
Out of interest, does anyone follow Tewin and/or Tewin Wood (near Welwyn)? Prices seem high but is it one of those well-to-do areas which will be somewhat protected in a crash (relatively at least)?
Has had a premium, but is targetted for a lot of new build, so supply will increase over time. There is a lot more big stuff on the market generally, little or none is shifting, and asking prices are coming off £110-200k at a time.
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