How many viewings are sellers getting?

axel rose

hi there,

Just wondering how other peoples houses sales are going? We've been (trying) to sell our house since February. Its by far the cheapest house of its type in my area and is good value. (in my opinion;)).
After a dead summer we've been getting viewings every couple of weeks since the end of the summer. We got a few mad offers that really couldn't be considered and fingers crossed we may be close to a deal.
What I really want to know is are other sellers experiencing a similar pattern? Is there a small pick up in the market?
Lets face it none of us trust our agents-mine is just sooo busy :rolleyes: every time I ask him about the general state of things he tells me that he just collected X amount of deposits that week!

Treehouse72

axel rose wrote: »

Is there a small pick up in the market?

No.

The property crash is about 2 years old now and still has another 5 or 6 to go. So the market should pick up sometime around Christmas 2014.

So at present, we are in whatever the opposite of a small pick up is.

And there's also an off-chance that the catastrophic and unprecedented meltdown of the international financial system today might make things a tad worse. As will the swinging cutbacks to be announced in the budget. Not to mention the rocketing numbers on the dole and impending flight of several multinationals. As will rising emigration (fewer people to rent those BLT's to. Yummy). As would a possible bank failure (if Fortis and Lehman can go...). As will rising general inflation and stagnant real wages.

Yeah, all in all I'd say there is more chance of a small pick up in Eamon de Valera's pecker than there is in the Irish property morkesh.

axel rose

oooookaaaaay....... just let me grab my prozac.

I havent been in a hole for the past year or so. I know all of that. however people still need to move houses and for reasons other than financial. people can downsize or move closer to work for one thing. I am aware that it is harder to get a mortage but its far from impossible... people can only put our lives on hold for so long. Ive noticed that since the schools opened again there has been increased interest in my house, and Im wondering if other sellers have noticed anything similiar?

god your post makes it sound that we've all lost our jobs and we should be sitting around a candle shivering in our winter coats.
treehouse are you a selling a house?

ronbyrne2005

If your house ain't selling it's priced too high. I'd sell for whatevr you can get before the huge stock of unsold new houses start to sell at huge reductions.

The_Conductor

axel rose wrote: »

however people still need to move houses and for reasons other than financial. people can downsize or move closer to work for one thing. I am aware that it is harder to get a mortage but its far from impossible... people can only put our lives on hold for so long. Ive noticed that since the schools opened again there has been increased interest in my house, and Im wondering if other sellers have noticed anything similiar?

I've colleagues who are resigned to weekly commutes of almost 800 miles by car because they are unable to sell their house in order to move closer to where they need to be. People may need to move houses for reasons other than financial- but it does not mean that that its feasible for them to do so. Its not impossible to get a mortgage- but its increasingly difficult- and with a severe tightening of the rules governing what institutions are willing to lend, and who they are willing to lend to, there has to be a massive further correction between what people are capable of raising and what the house they wish to purchase costs.

The biggest problem at the moment is ironically for people who purchased over the past few years totally unsuitable properties with the intention of moving to a more appropriate property presently. They are now stuck, totally stuck, they cannot sell their ridiculous property, and they cannot raise finance to purchase elsewhere in the absence of a sale. If they bit the bullet and priced the property to sell- admitting that they would have to take a significant hit on it, possibly a large loss, then they just might extricate themselves from the mess.

Regarding how deep or how long the property slump will last- I don't have a crystal ball- but sellers still have totally unreasonable and unrealistic expectations of what they are going to achieve for their property. If you want to sell- price it accordingly. Being the cheapest around is meaningless- if its still beyond the means of the limited number of people who are genuinely interested. Annoying potential buyers by disregarding what you consider to be lowball offers- isn't helpful either. Today's lowball offer, may very well seem like a reasonable target in a years time when your property is still on the market.

People are going to get badly hurt in the market- its a sad fact of life. People became used to the "only way is up" mentality of the last few years, and the stark change in sentiment has not yet made its effects felt on the property market, 9% falls year to date notwithstanding.

S.

Morrisseeee

My next door neighbour has had his house on sale for a year, he has dropped €50k from last years price & still no viewings !!! There are also loads of houses lying idle in different housing estates !!

axel rose

ok folks maybe I didnt make myself clear here. In the nicest way I didnt ask for a lecture in the current state of the economy, greed of the vendor etc etc.
I asked if other vendors have noticed an increase in viewings. I dont want to be rude but I object to the implication that my house is overpriced.
smccarrick you have absolutely no idea what offers were made to us.

I resent the implication that anyone selling a house is somehow a greedy smug profiteer. Whats the point in putting in an asking price if that is the case? Are vendors supposed to be grateful because some buyers feel entitled to buying a house at 1991 prices? and yes it in the region of some of the offers made.
maybe folks just maybe Im recieving more realistic offers bacause my house is prices accurately

The_Conductor

In response to your first question- estate agents will tell you that viewing increased slightly in July, accelerated in August with a small increase in the number of sales, but then dried up again in September when it was announced that the budget was being brought forward.

Ps- I wasn't suggesting that vendors are smug profiteers by any means. I'm in the same boat as you are- the biggest problem that I see is the massive overhang of property, both new and secondhand, on the market- rather than price per se (though obviously supply and demand have to be in kilter with each other- which plainly is not the case).

axel rose

Thanks smccarrick that was more like the info I was looking for. It kind of gets my back up when Im accused of being unrealistic about my asking price when no one here has seen either my house or my price- I just want to cut my commute not move into a mansion......yet

I agree that the massive stock is a huge problem in getting the turnover of houses moving again.
how is your sale going?

The_Conductor

axel rose wrote: »

Thanks smccarrick that was more like the info I was looking for. It kind of gets my back up when Im accused of being unrealistic about my asking price when no one here has seen either my house or my price- I just want to cut my commute not move into a mansion......yet

Ditto.
Driving for 12-14 hours a week without any public transport options are my reason for wanting to move.

Re: prices- where I am there are 23 units, of which 5 are for sale. They range in price from 360 up to 460 and 2 of the 5 have been on the market for almost 18 months. None have had any viewings whatsoever since May (and prior to May a lot of the viewings were by other owners trying to sell and interested in seeing what people were doing to their properties to make them more presentable).

axel rose

ouch! well best of luck in the quest.

punchestown

axel rose wrote: »

Thanks smccarrick that was more like the info I was looking for. It kind of gets my back up when Im accused of being unrealistic about my asking price when no one here has seen either my house or my price- I just want to cut my commute not move into a mansion......yet

I agree that the massive stock is a huge problem in getting the turnover of houses moving again.
how is your sale going?

Is it up on any of the websites? Stick it up here so and people can tell you if the price is right. Might even get yourself a buyer out of it aswell!

the_syco

Get a mate to ring up and enquire about the hose, to see what the estate agent says. They may be trying to sell another (mates) property nearby.

mrgaa1

it would seem that people may take their savings and buy a cheap house - in this way at least you can see your money rather then letting the banks do away with it.
Viewings, from my own experience, are very slow. People seem to want more for their money due to public perception. House prices will not nose dive - a 500k house will not become 200k - maybe 380k or something like that. There are an awful lot of buyers out there at the moment waiting to jump on. When the signal comes to buy I just hope the banks will lend.
If the banks won't lend the money - will the government?

Weyhey

House on market for 3 months. One price drop, one viewing, one offer which I accepted and currently waiting on contracts to be signed. House was cheapest house of its type in the area. With 2 out of 3 house sales falling through I won't believe house is sold until deal is fully closed. Then I will start looking for a house to buy nearer to work and family/friends.

As far as i can remember according to the Sunday Times property market review sales and viewings over the summer were non-existent (my estate agent agrees). The Dublin estate agents they interviewed said viewings were great after summer and then took a battering again when the bank issue arose. They also reckon no one esp FTB's are is doing anything until after the Budget.

axel rose

hi punchestown
The house is on daft but I dont want to post the link as my mammy tells me that I shouldnt put my address out there for the big wierdos to kill me in my bed!:D
mr gaa-thats exactly the problem! some buyers out there seem to think that we should be grateful for really off the wall offers. I spent the flipping day scrubbing the house at least give me something realistic!

weyhey congrats
I dont want to hex things but there has been 'serious interest'....fingers crossed

Tigger

mrgaa1 wrote: »

it would seem that people may take their savings and buy a cheap house - in this way at least you can see your money rather then letting the banks do away with it.
Viewings, from my own experience, are very slow. People seem to want more for their money due to public perception. House prices will not nose dive - a 500k house will not become 200k - maybe 380k or something like that. There are an awful lot of buyers out there at the moment waiting to jump on. When the signal comes to buy I just hope the banks will lend.
If the banks won't lend the money - will the government?

if i bought something for €500,000 and suddenly it was only worth €380,000
then i would call it a nosedive

what would you call it
a bit unfortunate

20goto10

Tigger wrote: »

if i bought something for €500,000 and suddenly it was only worth €380,000
then i would call it a nosedive

what would you call it
a bit unfortunate

A nose dive of what? Imaginary profit printed on Celtic Tiger patterned paper? If you had bought a house for 500K and sold it for 380K then it would be a nose dive. I don't think anyone in the country is willingly selling their homes for less than they paid for them.

As people like Axel are looking for a home for the long term its not really a deciding factor.

20goto10

ronbyrne2005 wrote: »

If your house ain't selling it's priced too high. I'd sell for whatevr you can get before the huge stock of unsold new houses start to sell at huge reductions.

Advice like that deserves a banning imo. If not it certainly deserves a beating :mad:

I'm sure you don't need me pointing this out but beware the would be first time buyers with a vested interest in driving prices down.

bangersandmash

axel rose wrote: »

mr gaa-thats exactly the problem! some buyers out there seem to think that we should be grateful for really off the wall offers. I spent the flipping day scrubbing the house at least give me something realistic!

Given the current state of the market and the events of the last three months, it's quite possible that your buyers consider their offers to be realistic. Have you considered the possibility that your asking price is unrealistic?

20goto10 wrote: »

Advice like that deserves a banning imo. If not it certainly deserves a beating :mad:.

Apparently the property is not selling. Suggesting a price decrease is not unreasonable advice if the OP wants to increase the number of viewings and potentially achieve a sale.

gurramok

20goto10 wrote: »

A nose dive of what? Imaginary profit printed on Celtic Tiger patterned paper? If you had bought a house for 500K and sold it for 380K then it would be a nose dive. I don't think anyone in the country is willingly selling their homes for less than they paid for them.

A myth. The market decides the price, the seller can decide if they want to sell or not at that price. Unless the country's sellers all joined a cartel, your dreaming.

20goto10 wrote: »

Advice like that deserves a banning imo. If not it certainly deserves a beating :mad:

I'm sure you don't need me pointing this out but beware the would be first time buyers with a vested interest in driving prices down.

No it doesn't. Ronbyrne speaks the truth and you say its a banning!:rolleyes:

FTB's are the bad boys now, a vested interest in not overpaying, thats new!

Tigger

20goto10 wrote: »

A nose dive of what? Imaginary profit printed on Celtic Tiger patterned paper? If you had bought a house for 500K and sold it for 380K then it would be a nose dive. I don't think anyone in the country is willingly selling their homes for less than they paid for them.

As people like Axel are looking for a home for the long term its not really a deciding factor.

it is if they want to move

i assume you own yer own home?

Tigger

20goto10 wrote: »

Advice like that deserves a banning imo. If not it certainly deserves a beating :mad:

I'm sure you don't need me pointing this out but beware the would be first time buyers with a vested interest in driving prices down.

market forces are vested intrests

you should not be advocating violence (a beating) in either a public forum or in the real world

1st time buyers didn't cause the issues here

The_Conductor

Behave guys......

Any personal comments or advice such as 20goto10's above will result in a banning.

Official warning to 20goto10.

Please be civil to each other.

Tigger

i had gone sale agreed on a house deposit paid waiting for contracts
but due to some of the things that teh ea said being either lies or severe miscommunications between him and the seller (a builder pretending to be not a builder by using his mother as a seller it turmns out) we decided not to go ahead

now the price i saw was 275k the price i offered was 210k take it or leave it and they jumped at it

got the brief to ask for everything back yesterday and the ea hasn't stopped ringing all day

dollars to doughnuts they'll offer a dscount

Weyhey

axel rose wrote: »

weyhey congrats
I dont want to hex things but there has been 'serious interest'....fingers crossed

Thanks and fingers crossed for you.
I reckon very few sellers or hopeful buyers come any way near boards anymore due the amount of negative comments or comments not directly related to questions asked, it's just not worth the hassle.

jetski

at the end of the day, someone who bought a house for 500k at the height of the boom will loose some money..... those amounts are varied but wages wont go down. Some people might loose their jobs but not everyone. so i think there will be some horror stories but most people will be quietly content.

axel rose

bangers and mash , Do you own a house? If you do I doubt its for sale. As I run the risk of repeating myself Im not interested in ignorant speculation about my house price or the offers made.
My question was directed at people in my situation-and to make it clear to you I mean vendors. How do you know that my house is overpriced? How do you know that previous offers were reasonable? please explain how I have been getting viewings if the price is so unrealistic?

I cant understand why people on this site are so quick to make assumptions and be so negative toward people trying to sell their home.

Thanks to all the other contributers that stayed on topic

Senna

Axel Rose, try not to take comments too personal, but the advice that has been given to you is probably relevent to 95% of sellers out there, even through you didn't ask for most of the advise.

As for viewing, we have viewed a few more houses this month than last month, but thats just because i have more free time in sept rather than aug. But most of the EA's are saying they are quite and are blaming the budget for no FTB acitivity.

Climate Expert

Your house is overpriced.

If a house doesn't sell in 2 months then it is overpriced. Price is dictated by supply and demand. If there is very little demand then your price has to match this.

Obviously there is a price which you will not sell below which is whats happening here. Therefore you will not sell your house unless
a. price gets lower
b. supply decreases and/or demand increases.

bangersandmash

axel rose wrote: »

How do you know that my house is overpriced? How do you know that previous offers were reasonable? please explain how I have been getting viewings if the price is so unrealistic?

No need to go on the offensive Axel. The fact your house is still for sale suggests you might want to consider the possibility. You complain about viewers making low offers in one comment. Yet in the next you use these viewers as evidence that your pricing is realistic? That's unusual logic.

I was simply suggesting that perhaps those offers you previously received might not have been as unreasonable as you believe. I know several acquaintances currently trying to sell who rejected apparently unrealistic offers in 2007 and early 2008 who would now be very glad of those offers. Many people seem to be reacting to changes in the market too slowly.

Houses are selling (or were until the last two weeks of turmoil) if they're keenly priced. But if a house is lingering on the market for any significant amount of time that indicates a price cut may be in order. If yours is priced as keenly as you say, I'm sure you'll get a realistic offer soon.