The Knimbies who say No Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Thanks for all the nice comments . One of the things I love (and hate in equal measure) about my job is that everybody we deal with are different - sorry if that sounds corny. Vendors will act in many different ways to the price reduction call. One extreme is outright aggression and anger that we are trying to somehow con them out of their "hard earned" home/money, that we don't know what we are talking about and are good for nothing robbing [insert favourite expletive] - often followed by a dis-instruction letter. At the other end of the spectrum is "Oh I was talking to my husband/friend/nieghbour/looking on Rightmove last night and we were going to call you later and ask you to reduce the price by £40k as we think it might be a bit expensive." Somewhere in the middle is the vendor who understands what we are saying and our motivation to offer the best advice for the market conditions and either doesn't want to drop, wants to wait a bit longer, will drop a little but not enough or simply can't afford to drop any further. Some vendors actively communicate with us, we understand their motivations for selling and can often build a friendly and trusting relationship with them. Unsurprisingly these vendors houses are the ones we sell. Vendors who are cagey, think we have an ulterior motive and won't trust us as far as they can throw us, generally don't listen to advice and either go off to try other agents at their unrealistic price, or stay put and don't move at all. Of course there are many exceptions to every rule... hmm, thanks for that, very interesting. It must be a tricky subject to broach with some. All the best and hope you shift a few in 2011! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzardo Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I suppose, you're paying someone else for the privilage of using their property as well then. Given the implied bitterness there's obviously a few decisions you reget, did you miss the boat by much ? I have a wee flat in Aberdeen bought outright from a pressed seller a few months ago using cash that was effectively costing me money to bank. My main home is in the SE bought nearly 25 years ago with less than a year to run on a 270 quid a month mortgage. Yes, I'll take any financial advice you'd care to offer. There I was, thinking Squibley was back....what with all the hubris about "not having the wherewithal" and "missing the boat..." But no, it looks like it's another McTwatish sockpuppet. Now, where's that "Ignore" button again B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzardo Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Thanks for that. Very interesting. Post more often. +1 Albeit anecdotal, it's interesting to hear what might be going on at the front line - and it's certainly in line with what pretty much the only non-hubristic-total-c*ck EA in Farnham was saying, just before Christmas. Please tell us more, as and when you can. It would be good to get a bit more corroboration of some of the details if you can (although I appreciate the potential commercial sensitivity there,) just so we know it's not one of the HPC Massive pretending to be an EA and counter-trolling B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonb Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 With the arrival of the first working week of 2011 does anyone here expect to see siizeable reductions in asking prices this month? Do we anticipate / hope that EAs will return from Christmas with the intent of getting their vendors to reduce asking prices by chunky amounts? I doubt it as I think that denial is still here big time with many sellers and with many EAs. No. I think sellers will be waiting for the spring bounce. When it doesn't happen, they will blame it on the Royal Wedding, or maybe the weather. Then they will wait a bit more. For most people, I don't think asking prices will fall until interest rates go up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PbroAgent Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Thanks for all of your insights. It is very easy to make money in a bubble and much harder to make money in a bust. My expectation is that you will be one of the few who is able to make money in a bust which is laudable despite any flak that you might take. Good luck. Except of course that I work in a commission based industry and sales are down 80%, meaning that my wages have been hit massively in recent years. Makes me angry when public sector workers bleat about not getting a pay rise this year. Grrr - better leave that for another thread... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash4781 Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Over in maidstone the agents are saying there are lots of desperate sellers. Lots going for bargain purchases. I am sure others are getting their strategies in place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Banner Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I cant see that there will be any spectacular falls regardless of wishes of the life renters on here, the government policy is clear that the housing market will be allowed to correct slowly to do otherwise would not be in anyones interest in the short term. Many public sector, soon to be unemployed/unemployable will have been renting anyway due to the low wages their non-productive jobs command. Stagnation and a slow real term decline due to inflation is my bet. What is a "life renter"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Banner Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Sell, why ? Theres absolutely no driver for me personally to sell which at a national level is why massive drops in value in the short term are unlikely. The maths are straightforward for a cash buyer and mortgage free owners, I paid 70k for the flat, orignally on for offers over 80k with a home report valuation of 85k, I've spent 5k to freshen it up and brought up surplus furniture from down south so fit out has cost say another grand, if I rented a similar 2 bed for a year it would cost me around 7 or 8k, so even accounting for maint and insurance etc, I'd have to see year on year falls of near 10% to come out even. We all need somewhere to live even if its paying to use someone elses roof. I prefer to have my place as I want it, to my taste and for me personally in my own particular circumstances it made sense give the current low interest rates on savings. Who is Hamish ? Yes, I agree, the maths are straightforward for a cash buyer. If I were to draw £350K out of the bank and buy the house I'm currently renting for £11K a year, I'd lose more than £11K a year in bank interest. Not to mention exposing myself to capital losses in a falling market. For the record, I expect house prices to fall by 30% to 40%, in nominal terms, over the next few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazuya Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 What is a "life renter"? Perhaps it is some lower form of life whom aspires to own their own home but cannot due to being born at the wrong time (1980 onwards) or funding their landlords lavishing lifestyle and properties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 What is a "life renter"? Or rent forever looosers. They are young people who buy Ipods. This limits their deposit saving ability. If they don't buy an Ipod they can reduce the time saved for a deposit from 17 years (according to Halifax) to 2 years. Not to mention other barriers, landlords, NIMBYS, people born in the right years, VI media, people living longer, immigration, 10 years of New Labour fiscal policy etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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