YOYO Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Hello folks, I have been watching this site for 6 months and this is my first post. After looking through my property section in the local rag I was amazed at the amount of new property advertised this week being offered with ' no upward chain '. The places advertised range from 1 and 2 bed flats - virtually every new one to market - and a strange amount of 3 - 4 bed detached. I live on the Herts/ Essex border. Is there evidence of this elsewhere ? The numbers involved are shocking and , as I say , I have not witnessed anything on this scale before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Hello folks, I have been watching this site for 6 months and this is my first post. After looking through my property section in the local rag I was amazed at the amount of new property advertised this week being offered with ' no upward chain '. The places advertised range from 1 and 2 bed flats - virtually every new one to market - and a strange amount of 3 - 4 bed detached. I live on the Herts/ Essex border. Is there evidence of this elsewhere ? The numbers involved are shocking and , as I say , I have not witnessed anything on this scale before. Yes...exactly the same near me. My area is full of empty houses being sold off with 'no chain'. Most of them look like family homes where the owners have moved on before selling the original. They all follow the same pattern - up for sale - sit there for 6 months unsold - get put up for rent - sit there for six months empty - go back up for sale.....and so it goes on. What surprised me was that as soon as the new year was over a flood of large 4/5/6 bed detached houses have come on the market. Another observation I have made as I trawl the local housing market is the creeping in on forced sellers. There are a number of properties that have come up for sale that look like the owner has passed away or gone into a nursing home. They all need renovating so they can not be put of for rent unless the relatives want to spend a few K getting the house up to standard. These houses are going a lot cheaper than similar houses in the area - £20 - £30K cheaper. Are they setting a new price level in the area - we'll have to wait and see. Of course there are still some numpties around playing 'pantomime property price' - and some numpties still buying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Charlie The Tramp Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 What surprised me was that as soon as the new year was over a flood of large 4/5/6 bed detached houses have come on the market. Could be excessive MEWing trying to downsize in the Spring Bounce to clear the debt. Or for some, selling to avoid bankruptcy, you never know. Also drive by valuations for bankruptcy cases, often of larger £500,000 plus houses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ril Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Yes...exactly the same near me. My area is full of empty houses being sold off with 'no chain'. Most of them look like family homes where the owners have moved on before selling the original. They all follow the same pattern - up for sale - sit there for 6 months unsold - get put up for rent - sit there for six months empty - go back up for sale.....and so it goes on. What surprised me was that as soon as the new year was over a flood of large 4/5/6 bed detached houses have come on the market. Another observation I have made as I trawl the local housing market is the creeping in on forced sellers. There are a number of properties that have come up for sale that look like the owner has passed away or gone into a nursing home. They all need renovating so they can not be put of for rent unless the relatives want to spend a few K getting the house up to standard. These houses are going a lot cheaper than similar houses in the area - £20 - £30K cheaper. Are they setting a new price level in the area - we'll have to wait and see. Of course there are still some numpties around playing 'pantomime property price' - and some numpties still buying Its all the people from the expats forum leaving for AUS, lots of them go and hope they will sell the house in UK once they get there, if the don't they will be in trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockdoctor Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 The response to an advertised 'pantomime property price', is surely (altogether now); "Oh no it isn't!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOYO Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 Its all the people from the expats forum leaving for AUS, lots of them go and hope they will sell the house in UK once they get there, if the don't they will be in trouble. I know what you are saying, but surely there can't be that many going out of the country. I looks to me like the bigger places are possibly repos and the smaller are BTL boys heading for the door ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp1 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 The places advertised range from 1 and 2 bed flats - virtually every new one to market - and a strange amount of 3 - 4 bed detached. I live on the Herts/ Essex border. Is there evidence of this elsewhere ? The numbers involved are shocking and , as I say , I have not witnessed anything on this scale before. In East Susex the rental market is nearly all 3-4 bed houses [no flats]. We moved to a new rental in December, so have had eye on market for a few months. Letting Agents were saying [in Oct/Nov] that there are no 2 bed flats as investors weren't buying anymore, just [unsold] houses that were up for a 6 month let till owners put them back on market in spring. Agent said that no-one was touching these places with a barge-pole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Converted Lurker Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Could be excessive MEWing trying to downsize in the Spring Bounce to clear the debt. Or for some, selling to avoid bankruptcy, you never know. Delicious thought, but what if having recently mewed (in late 2004) for an extra 80K to buy those 2 irresistable investment flats, they have found that they cannot rent the flats for enough to cover the 75% mortgages. Both investment properties are falling in value quickly, as is their main residence. So, they have to sell one flat, their main residence and find themselves worse off than when they first mewed and having to live in one of the 2 bed boxes....just re-read this, I likes it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 In East Susex the rental market is nearly all 3-4 bed houses [no flats]. We moved to a new rental in December, so have had eye on market for a few months. Letting Agents were saying [in Oct/Nov] that there are no 2 bed flats as investors weren't buying anymore, just [unsold] houses that were up for a 6 month let till owners put them back on market in spring. Agent said that no-one was touching these places with a barge-pole This is exactly what I am seeing. Lots and lots of family homes up for rent because they can't sell at the price but who is going to rent them if they know the owners are just biding there time until they sell. And why aren't the EA's doing their job and advising their clients that the house is too expensive? Instead they seem to keep stringing the clients along with promises of another 'spring bounce' and 'things will be better next year - have you thought about renting until then?' These are the people who will panic and sell as soon as they think house prices may fall. They are currently servicing two mortgages and are forced landlords. The current mortgage was probably dependent on the equity in the original house but that equity hasn't been released yet. I can see a price war going on with these types of properties if the owners start to think house prices may fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biriani Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 (edited) Yes...exactly the same near me. My area is full of empty houses being sold off with 'no chain'. Most of them look like family homes where the owners have moved on before selling the original. They all follow the same pattern - up for sale - sit there for 6 months unsold - get put up for rent - sit there for six months empty - go back up for sale.....and so it goes on. What we really need are statistics on the volume of bridging loans being taken out. These are used by people who buy a new place without having yet sold their old house, and if they were rising fast I'd say it was a sure sign of trouble. It would also explain how the property market can keep aloft despite the absence of new blood. Trouble is, I've been digging around and I can't find any useful statistics on bridging loans. Anyone got ideas on how to find some? To back up my point about bridging finance being an important indicator, here are the figures for the last crash from the BoE website. Series ends in 1996 unfortunately £m 31-Dec-86 922 31-Dec-87 1318 31-Dec-88 1905 31-Dec-89 2242 31-Dec-90 1831 31-Dec-91 1372 31-Dec-92 1006 31-Dec-93 704 31-Dec-94 614 31-Dec-95 547 31-Dec-96 431 Edited January 20, 2006 by Biriani Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp1 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 They are currently servicing two mortgages and are forced landlords. The current mortgage was probably dependent on the equity in the original house but that equity hasn't been released yet. Could this partially explain the rise in mortgages [number and value] in last 6 months, while the number of properties being sold is not inceasing by similar amounts - ie many people are taking out a 2nd mortgage to cover the unsold property? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalista Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Hello folks, I have been watching this site for 6 months and this is my first post. After looking through my property section in the local rag I was amazed at the amount of new property advertised this week being offered with ' no upward chain '. The places advertised range from 1 and 2 bed flats - virtually every new one to market - and a strange amount of 3 - 4 bed detached. I live on the Herts/ Essex border. Is there evidence of this elsewhere ? The numbers involved are shocking and , as I say , I have not witnessed anything on this scale before. 1-2 bed flats with no chain -- spooked BTLers selling up. 3-4 bed detached with no chain -- baby boomers selling up to fund their retirement. frugalista Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Could this partially explain the rise in mortgages [number and value] in last 6 months, while the number of properties being sold is not inceasing by similar amounts - ie many people are taking out a 2nd mortgage to cover the unsold property? Good point Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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