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Quick rant, which I’m sure many can relate to, either currently or in the past.
I don’t know if anyone else is in a similar situation, but I’m getting a little irritable about the severe lack of properties on the market. I’m a rabid user of property portals like Rightmove, Primelocation and Zoopla, and between them, there’s usually an abundance of choice to suit everyone’s needs, or at least mine. But for the last few months I’ve been trawling through those sites, logging off bitterly disappointed by the lack of interest they’ve managed to provide.
Not only are options limited, but the market seems to be at a halt, because I’m not seeing much change. It’s not like I’m looking for an obscure property hidden away amongst the highlands in Scotland. I have a particular location in mind; it’s an extremely popular town in Essex. A few years ago, when I was looking in the same area, I was spoilt for choice. My agent would call me up with at least 15 viewings a week, which would all meet the specification of my requirements.
Don’t get me wrong, there are a few properties ready for the taking, but they’re not ideal. Either they’re highly overpriced and/or they look like a squatters paradise.
Maybe the problem is I have the ‘ideal’ property in mind; ‘ideal’ being the type of property that is highly sought after in my local rental market, consequently generates a good rental yield. I get the impression that people don’t want to buy or sell right now because they’re too scared to make any rash decisions in such an uncertain period. And although a lot of people are getting repossessed, I’m not getting to see those properties because, for the most part, they’re getting sold at auctions. As for auctions, not for me at this moment of time.
Perhaps I should prevent further debt for now and take a holiday to recover…
Oh well, I’ll keep my eyes peeled, I’m sure something will surface eventually.
Disclaimer: I'm just a landlord blogger; I'm 100% not qualified to give legal or financial advice. I'm a doofus. Any information I share is my unqualified opinion, and should never be construed as professional legal or financial advice. You should definitely get advice from a qualified professional for any legal or financial matters. For more information, please read my full disclaimer.
I'm in a similar position looking for development properties to renovate and sell on.
There are plenty of properties that make virtually no economic sense to renovate unless you are interested in taking it back to the brickwork and starting again.
Likewise, there are plenty of hideously over priced properties attempting to sucker in someone for the same price tag as other properties in much better condition - often in the same street.
I think there may be a couple of factors at work here:
Firstly, with the slowdown in the market, the business case for developing properties that worked in the past involved factoring in an increase in the value of the property to offset
cost of purchase / cost of sale - as well as a nice bit of profit too. This doesn't exist any more, but the market has not adjusted what will inevitably be a fall off in developer activity.
Secondly, with the fantastic range of information out there on house prices (like housepricemaps) people are getting more nouse - but are failing to take into account the differences in properties that such figures fail to show. The house might be on the same street as one that sold for £200K, but is might not have such a favorable aspect, the loft conversion or the huge garden plot. I wonder if this expectation has an upward pressure on estate agent estimates. I couldn't believe that estate agents are just doing a quick internet search to set their asking prices. Their profession is too honourable for that.
Thirdly, I wonder if the effect of all the home improvement programs that have been popular over the past decade or so are having a distinct impact. I expect that being house proud is nothing new, but the use of more costly materials and the overall level of expectation has been set far higher. I am inclined to almost talk myself out of this one though because of the number of DIY disasters I have come across must form some kind of counter balance for this effect.
Anyway - there are some ideas. Back to the property search pages...