JungleCat8 Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Hi All, After a bit of advice... I'm a FTB looking to buy in Reading (or, more accurately, Lower Earley/Earley/Woodley areas - RG6). The problem my wife and I are facing is that vendors seem to be pricing their houses very high. Take this example: 1920's semi-detached, 2 bed, 2 reception, 1 bathroom, very small kitchen that needs gutting to be fair. They bought in 2005 for £160,000, and it's now on the market for £220,000! Yes, they may have re-painted the walls and put in a new bathroom suite (which leaves a little to be desired tbh), but they've done no re-structuring or building. I went on zoopla and turns out the owner would've considered an offer of £195,000 back in Feb - so I've got no doubt the EA's are responsible for this. But considering the market and the unpredictability of what lies ahead, I still think this is too much. I've read other posts where people are facing the same problem... but I think ours might be exacerbated in that Reading might be 'recession proof'. Are there any readers that have an opinion on this? I can understand why the area might be less affected than others. So, considering the above and the example house, what would you consider a fair offer for this property? I can see a stand off developing with this house and many others in the area. Unless the vendors HAVE to move, they won't accept a realistic offer as they need that money to climb the ladder themselves as everyone else is overvaluing. It's all quite messed up! I think my question might have got lost amongst my 'vent'! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroSumGame Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 (edited) Hi All, After a bit of advice... I'm a FTB looking to buy in Reading (or, more accurately, Lower Earley/Earley/Woodley areas - RG6). The problem my wife and I are facing is that vendors seem to be pricing their houses very high. Take this example: 1920's semi-detached, 2 bed, 2 reception, 1 bathroom, very small kitchen that needs gutting to be fair. They bought in 2005 for £160,000, and it's now on the market for £220,000! Yes, they may have re-painted the walls and put in a new bathroom suite (which leaves a little to be desired tbh), but they've done no re-structuring or building. I went on zoopla and turns out the owner would've considered an offer of £195,000 back in Feb - so I've got no doubt the EA's are responsible for this. But considering the market and the unpredictability of what lies ahead, I still think this is too much. I've read other posts where people are facing the same problem... but I think ours might be exacerbated in that Reading might be 'recession proof'. Are there any readers that have an opinion on this? I can understand why the area might be less affected than others. So, considering the above and the example house, what would you consider a fair offer for this property? I can see a stand off developing with this house and many others in the area. Unless the vendors HAVE to move, they won't accept a realistic offer as they need that money to climb the ladder themselves as everyone else is overvaluing. It's all quite messed up! I think my question might have got lost amongst my 'vent'! Thanks I think therein lies your answer. You've got to find a willing seller after you've found a property. I'd try £170K. You'll get a varying set of responses with that %age. If you don't put their nose out of joint, then you've offered way too much. "Reading might be 'recession proof' ". Well you'd need to explain what exactly that means. Some of sort of superior macro-economic bubble ? "Reading might be 'recession proof". Reading is largely dependent on insurance, the university and HiTech companies. Decide for yourself the current strength of the latter. All depends on how long you can afford to low-ball continuously - in terms of your personal circumstances. Edited September 24, 2009 by RockingHorse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uitlander Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 I sold my house just outside Reading back in march, at 12% below asking, which in turn was at the lower end of the agent's estimates. The sale was caused by a job relocation to another part of the country. My impression is that Reading is not 'recession proof', but that householders are used to expecting their house prices to go in one direction only and unwilling to drop price unless they are a forced sale (like I was). Woodley has always been one of the nicer, and hence more expensive areas of Reading (having a Waitrose costs extra you know!), Earley similarly has always carried a bit of a premium, with Lower Earley lagging slightly behind the other two. Until mortgage interest rates start hurting sellers rather than working in their advantage, or unemployment starts to actually hurt in that part of the Thames Valley you will not see many forced sellers, and hence the asking prices will stay high as people feel they can sit back and wait for someone to pay their price comes along. Not what you wanted to hear I know, but that's my take FWIW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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