Bank Holiday Weekend Anecdotals

[JamesLondon]

Anecdotals being just that, I don't say one should read too much into this but here's my experience from this weekend, which I believe is traditionally one of the year's busier weekends.

- called three EAs during thursday and friday to view properties near me (SW London) on Sat.

- normally doing so so late in the week (even earlier this spring) results in sucking of teeth and being told all their slots are full.

- in fact I got to view all three at the times I requested, without hesitation.

Probably just random luck but perhaps the lending squeeze and buyer caution is beginning to tell a little.

[plummet expert]

Anecdotals being just that, I don't say one should read too much into this but here's my experience from this weekend, which I believe is traditionally one of the year's busier weekends.

- called three EAs during thursday and friday to view properties near me (SW London) on Sat.

- normally doing so so late in the week (even earlier this spring) results in sucking of teeth and being told all their slots are full.

- in fact I got to view all three at the times I requested, without hesitation.

Probably just random luck but perhaps the lending squeeze and buyer caution is beginning to tell a little.

There's been a change alright. It will be very evident soon. Your anecdotal experience is being replicated in many places. It's gone dead here and several homes have come back on that were under offer. Nerves are fraying as no one is quite sure or confident anymore about the future.

[Salocin]

There's been a change alright. It will be very evident soon. Your anecdotal experience is being replicated in many places. It's gone dead here and several homes have come back on that were under offer. Nerves are fraying as no one is quite sure or confident anymore about the future.

I'm finding the same thing also, in SW London too. The best being a mortgage broker calling me up recently to see whether I needed a mortgage, and when I told him I was waiting for things to unfold, he said that that was exactly what he was doing, that it was probably the wise thing to do, hang on and prices will drop.

I've seen many a property come back on the market after being 'under offer' for a while, a whole bunch of price reductions and an awful lot of places that are going nowhere fast, been on the market for months and not a single 'under offer' sign put up. Finally, there is even one property round the corner from where I live that was initially asking 450K, now down to 390K and still no interest. I was interested but there's no room to extend, the lounge was a little too small and it's on a shoddy street... it will probably go for about 300K. Right now the owner would probably take 340K, because he'd still be better off now with that than later with the hike in CGT.

I had made an offer on one place, the EA pushed me up further than what I was comfortable with, my builder advised me against it, I pulled out, and now that place has been discounted and boy am I glad I didn't go with it. The EA was a shark of the worst kind, the place needed so much work I would have been able to buy something all done up for a fraction of what it would have cost me to simply do the loft on top of the asking price. I'd have been stuck with something I'd have been sorely unhappy with.

Is the best thing to just make lots of stupidly low offers on a bunch of properties that aren't moving? That way as they come through, the owners and EA would start getting the picture...

I'm getting harrassed by EAs, surely that's got to be a sign of things changing, no?

[Pent Up]

Anecdotals being just that, I don't say one should read too much into this but here's my experience from this weekend, which I believe is traditionally one of the year's busier weekends.

- called three EAs during thursday and friday to view properties near me (SW London) on Sat.

- normally doing so so late in the week (even earlier this spring) results in sucking of teeth and being told all their slots are full.

- in fact I got to view all three at the times I requested, without hesitation.

Probably just random luck but perhaps the lending squeeze and buyer caution is beginning to tell a little.

Why on Earth are you viewing properties? Time wasting I hope?

[The Masked Tulip]

Is the best thing to just make lots of stupidly low offers on a bunch of properties that aren't moving? That way as they come through, the owners and EA would start getting the picture...

I'm getting harrassed by EAs, surely that's got to be a sign of things changing, no?

I thought of doing that but I thought that the EAs would then dismiss you as being unrealistic, in their eyes, or just a joke. EAs round my way are outwardly veryt bullish.

I have not registered with any EAs but, listening to your experience, maybe I should in order to get an idea of how desperate they are for sales by how often they call me.

[JamesLondon]

Why on Earth are you viewing properties? Time wasting I hope?

A number of reasons:

1. I want to buy a house

2. I am on a bear on balance but for the right property (i.e. one that ticks all our checklist and is therefore one we want to live in for 10+ years) will consider buying.

3. You never know what people will be prepared to accept until you've made an offer. If we make offers they will likely all be ones that border on the offensive, but we have a firm mortgage offer, cash in the bank and no chain and therefore have power.

4. Interior design ideas. (Her )

[JamesLondon]

I'm getting harrassed by EAs, surely that's got to be a sign of things changing, no?

I take about 5 calls a day from the same guys. I have no idea how this compares to the boom days as I wasn't looking then, but they are all over me like a rash.

[Mrs Bear]

I'm getting harrassed by EAs, surely that's got to be a sign of things changing, no?

I've been harassed by a blasted Foxton's mortgage person.

On behalf of daughter I went to initial viewing of a couple of properties with Foxton's. As I then told the EA, neither ticked all the right boxes.

That didn't stop their mortgage bloke ringing me, asking whether my own house was on the market (irrelevant), how much my daughter would want to borrow, and pushing seriously hard for her to come and talk to them.

He went on and on - I had to be very plain-spoken to get rid of him.

[Mrs Bear]

Anecdotals being just that, I don't say one should read too much into this but here's my experience from this weekend, which I believe is traditionally one of the year's busier weekends.

- called three EAs during thursday and friday to view properties near me (SW London) on Sat.

- normally doing so so late in the week (even earlier this spring) results in sucking of teeth and being told all their slots are full.

- in fact I got to view all three at the times I requested, without hesitation.

Probably just random luck but perhaps the lending squeeze and buyer caution is beginning to tell a little.

Two weeks ago I phoned on a Friday for a Sat. appt. in Tooting - we were already viewing one in the same road at 11 - could we possibly see the other at around 11.30?

Couldn't believe it when she said yes.

Edit: she also said, 'Ah, yes, that one's unexpectedly re-available, but it's really lovely and will go very quickly.'

It's still not U/O.

Edited June 2, 2010 by Mrs Bear

[The Masked Tulip]

Two weeks ago I phoned on a Friday for a Sat. appt. in Tooting - we were already viewing one in the same road at 11 - could we possibly see the other at around 11.30?

Couldn't believe it when she said yes.

Edit: she also said, 'Ah, yes, that one's unexpectedly re-available, but it's really lovely and will go very quickly.'

It's still not U/O.

Was it really lovely?

[Mrs Bear]

Was it really lovely?

It was OK if you like big shiny maroon kitchens with however nowhere to put a table and no space in the living room, either.

The other was much nicer, but 2 of the bedrooms were too small.

Which I knew already. It was basically an exercise in daughter taking a good look at the area and seeing roughly what was available in the 3-bed period maisonette line.

Very nice road, though. Earmarked for future ref. - say in November, when half the current U/Os are also 'unexpectedly re-available' and vendors are getting desperate.

Fingers Xed.

[JamesLondon]

I've been harassed by a blasted Foxton's mortgage person.

Everything one needs to know about Foxton's mortgage brokers is in this BBC article here.

I post it in case they get onto your daughter and she is less successful at beating them off, because based on this even to have a brief conversation about your earnings etc. with them could lead to that information finding its way back to your agent.

(I have elsewhere posted my view that independent mortgage brokers can be a good thing, but I would not go near an affiliated one.)

[DabHand]

I post it in case they get onto your daughter and she is less successful at beating them off..

fnar

[Mrs Bear]

Everything one needs to know about Foxton's mortgage brokers is in this BBC article here.

I post it in case they get onto your daughter and she is less successful at beating them off, because based on this even to have a brief conversation about your earnings etc. with them could lead to that information finding its way back to your agent.

(I have elsewhere posted my view that independent mortgage brokers can be a good thing, but I would not go near an affiliated one.)

Thanks. As it happens she worked a few months of Saturdays for an EA during the boom, so I hope that was enough of an education.

But I'll fwd the link, in case.