pablopatito

Why? Isn't better to pay yourself a fortune, run up a huge tax bill, go bust leaving taxpayers and customers out of pocket, sit on a beach somewhere for a few years, then open up a new agency when the next house price boom comes along?

How were they greedy? Estate agency is like any other industry, when demand is high new agencies open up to meet demand. When demand is low, agencies close. My only wish is that the agencies that treated me with arrogant contempt when the market was booming are the ones who go to the wall, though I suspect the world isn't always that just.

Man, you get some nice houses in NN14 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-199...1&tr_t=rent http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-185...1&tr_t=rent All for about what a pokey 2-bed flat in Northampton would cost you to buy and service on a 100% mortgage!

Sorry to change the subject, but do any of you know much about renting in Northampton? We're hoping to STR soon, and are looking to rent in Wootton or Hardingstone so that our kid can get into a really good Primary school. However, rents seem to be going up in Wootton, and supply seems to be falling. When I looked in January there were tons of available houses in Wootton Fields, but now there's hardly any. There's a few more in Grange Park, but I hate Grange Park. I think a lot of people must be taking on short-term rents in Wootton Fields to try and con the school system. This is keeping prices high. For example, compare these two rentals: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-171...7&tr_t=rent http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-170...1&tr_t=rent Now I would guess that that Little Houghton house is worth considerably more than the Grange Park terrace - yet rents are the same. I think I might need to pursuade my wife that we should live in Little Houghton. Any views on renting in Northampton would me much appreciated.

Me too, but I just don't see it happening in Northampton. I predict -10% this year, followed by 0% for the following couple of years. Its going to be fascinating to watch though. Its becoming like a hobby for me now (I'm sad)!

I wouldn't call it a crash, but I dunno, is there a technical definition of housing crash? Plus, I think rents will rise, which will offset some of the advantage renters currently hold over owners. I think there will be FTBers who buy despite know their house may fall in value. After all, look at how many people buy new cars each year, despite them knowing perfectly well that their cars will depreciate by thousands of pounds in the few seconds it takes them to drive off the forecourt. As a former economics student, I don't understand why people would buy new cars, but as a human being I can understand it.

I'm not convinced. At the moment, I reckon prices have fallen by 5%, and I predict they will fall by another 5% over the summer, giving an annual rate of -10%, which I wouldn't call a crash. I still think it will be a soft landing in Northampton. And if there is a soft landing, then confidence is likely to return in 2009, and we could actually see prices rise. Its all dependent on the economy. EDIT: I reckon the majority of those propertysnake drops are a result of what my estate agent calls "unrealistic vendor expectations", rather than values actually falling.

I've been using Property Bee for the past six weeks and keeping an eye on postcode NN4, which is my interest. I don't see any big price reductions yet. Certainly nothing that you could describe as a crash. And new houses are appearing on Rightmove for about the same price as they were in January, so EAs don't seem to be valuing property any lower. And 'Sold' signs are appearing around here. Things are slow, but I'm not witnessing a crash (yet).

When you say its the worst downtown since the 1990s, erm, isn't it the only downturn since the 1990s? I can't remember another one.

True, but if I'm going to be a failure in life, I'd rather be one in the sunshine than in the rain.

I would imagine the same bloke who is trying to sell it for £225k now!

This is an interesting one: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-200...=1&tr_t=buy I'm interested partly because I used to live in a flat on this estate, partly because another 3 bed flat is for sale at 50 grand less (I'm not sure what the differences are) http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-169...=1&tr_t=buy A flat did go in Johnson Court for 200k in 2005, though nothing has been sold for anywhere near that since.

Not necessarily at the height. I had 5 estate agents value my house recently and their valuations differed by £45k, this is for a fairly normal house around the £200k mark. Wildly differing valuations. I came to the conclusion that many estate agents are either stupid, or are trying to flatter me into giving them the gig. I suspect its a combination of the two. In the end I did my own research and came up with my own valuation. And guess what, my valuation was very close to the lowest valuation from any of the agents. I'm sure the expats on that forum all had at least 3 agents round. I'd love to know what proportion of them put their house on the market at the lowest valuation. I only learn't recently that many estate agents get commissions based on the number of instructions they get. How can you rely on a 'professional valuer' that works under those circumstances?

As the house price crash hots up, this forum has gone from laughing at BTLers, to laughing at FTBers, to laughing at people wanting to move to Australia, and now to laughing at people killing themselves. And the crash has only just begun. What next, I wonder?

That's what I said in 1996. I remember saying "There will never be a another house price boom, not after this crash. The myth has been broken". Now the only thing I'm certain of is there WILL be another house price boom in a few years time.

Hang on a minute. The reader asked the question "As a 20-year old first-time buyer, can you still get onto the property ladder without a deposit?". This question was answered fairly well. At no point did Ajay recommend buying a property and neither did he suggest doing anything illegal. I don't see what the problem is. Someone asked a question, and someone answered it.

Another way of looking at that Expat thread is to say that if you find a desperate enough seller, then you can buy a house for a knockdown price. Find someone desperate enough, offer them 70% of the asking price, and even in a crash you might come out on top.

Good point. It must be very stressful. I had mates in this situation during the last crash and it did take its toll on them. For me, I have 100k equity in the house I'm currently trying to sell that has appeared as if, like you say, by magic. But I've never spent any of that 100k, and because I didn't earn it, I've never really considered it mine. It just sits there, somewhere, on a bit of paper. So if I was to buy now, and lost 40% of it, I wouldn't feel too bad, because I never really felt I had it in the first place - it has never been real to me. But for those without any equity, their £27k is real. They earned it. They worked hard for it. And it will be gone.

They're like the flat I used to live in in Hong Kong. Really tiny, but it was one of the happiest times of my life. But, you survive a small flat in Hong Kong by eating out every night and working at the office for 60 hours a week. Home is really just where you lay your head each night, knackered.

Me too. And it always makes my blood boil when the media begin every piece with "Bad news for homeowners today, as prices have fallen". I'd love it if just once, the BBC started a piece by saying "Great news for pretty much anybody under the age of 40 who haven't been stupid with their finances, as prices have fallen". I'd love to read some research into who gains and who loses in a crash. Even mortgage free sixty year olds with a 500k house could gain if it means that their 30 year old children finally move out of the family home.

There's chavs everywhere Count. I have friends who live in much posher parts of Northampton than me, but they get more problems with chavs than I do.

Its smacks of EAs actually having to put a bit of effort in to get their 2%, which makes me happy.

A couple sold on St Leonard's Rd for £147k and £142 last year. Like I've said before, the terraces around Far Cotton have "benefited" from HPI far more than the semis, so it makes sense that they'll fall further. Unless they were undervalued in the years following the flood when everybody feared a repeat. Now they look safe from floods, prices have risen. Its a bit rough and rowdy on Friday and Saturday nights along St Leonard's Rd, I wouldn't want to live there. Some of the back roads (away from the kebab shops) are alright though. EDIT: Similar property round there: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-9879909.rsp?tr_t=buy Is this a developer as well? Its like a study in magnolia and wood laminate. I'm not sure about the kitchen!

What's similar? Do you know what his offer is? Or could the developer's offer be 10% below yours? Have you actually had your original offer turned down?

Who says they're looking for sympathy from you?