Property prices heating up again

[andyc.]

I tend to be a house price hawk,at least in the south near M25.It seems to be
getting silly again,Asking prices for certain houses are back to where they were!Flats are till the same.
The estate agents seem to be collectively stalling the market,and if people buy at these levels, I believe they are in cloud cuckoo.

Small 3 bed detached bungalows and rabbit hutches at £550k
3 bed council semi at £250k...in need of modernisation...........you sure?

[Jasandjules]

It's sort of called a free market.

[GreenV8S]

andyc. said:

The estate agents seem to be collectively stalling the market

Yes, I'm sure that's what they're doing. After all, they have a vested interest in keeping volumes low.

[andyc.]

Why?

[JagLover]

A bubble caused by excess liquidity has been met by a desperate policy response to try and pump air back in the bubble. At some point interest rates will have to rise, the printing presses stopped, and the governments books balanced. We shall see at that point if house prices are rising in real terms.

[esselte]

andyc. said:

Why?

Whoosh...?

[fido]

GreenV8S said:

andyc. said:

The estate agents seem to be collectively stalling the market

Yes, I'm sure that's what they're doing. After all, they have a vested interest in keeping volumes low.

Not to mention private property websites, adverts, auctions etc. If there was a conspiracy it wouldn't work. I'll put forward a better explanation a. low liquidity - wide spreads between asking prices and offers (maybe the OP should try putting in a few bids to gauge this?) b. low supply - sellers can ask for what they like - they may not get the price - but why should they sell at price X when they couldn't purchase a similar property for X? (again going back to point a.)

[andyc.]

esselte said:

andyc. said:

Why?

Whoosh...?

completely

[Jasandjules]

andyc. said:

completely

Think about it. An estate agent makes money from selling houses. Therefore, the faster property sells, the more money they make........

Make sense now?

[RonnieP]

Jasandjules said:

andyc. said:

completely

Think about it. An estate agent makes money from selling houses. Therefore, the faster property sells, the more money they make........

Make sense now?

Nope, no sense, no sense at all, price high = no sale unless an idiot passes by, EA (acronym for scumbag profession) only make money if it actually sells - HTH

[Jasandjules]

RonnieP said:

Nope, no sense, no sense at all, price high = no sale unless an idiot passes by, EA (acronym for scumbag profession) only make money if it actually sells - HTH

But that's the thing, houses ARE selling, even at the preposterous prices that they currently are at. Supple and demand at the end of the day. The issue was, as I read it, that Estate Agents are stalling the market, and the irony of the comment made about that.... That's what I addressed...............

[esselte]

RonnieP said:

Jasandjules said:

andyc. said:

completely

Think about it. An estate agent makes money from selling houses. Therefore, the faster property sells, the more money they make........

Make sense now?

Nope, no sense, no sense at all, price high = no sale unless an idiot passes by, EA (acronym for scumbag profession) only make money if it actually sells - HTH

So why would the estate agent value them at unrealistic prices...?

[cs02rm0]

esselte said:

RonnieP said:

Jasandjules said:

andyc. said:

completely

Think about it. An estate agent makes money from selling houses. Therefore, the faster property sells, the more money they make........

Make sense now?

Nope, no sense, no sense at all, price high = no sale unless an idiot passes by, EA (acronym for scumbag profession) only make money if it actually sells - HTH

So why would the estate agent value them at unrealistic prices...?

Greed.

[esselte]

cs02rm0 said:

esselte said:

RonnieP said:

Jasandjules said:

andyc. said:

completely

Think about it. An estate agent makes money from selling houses. Therefore, the faster property sells, the more money they make........

Make sense now?

Nope, no sense, no sense at all, price high = no sale unless an idiot passes by, EA (acronym for scumbag profession) only make money if it actually sells - HTH

So why would the estate agent value them at unrealistic prices...?

Greed.

But if they price them too high they won't sell any...a bit counterproductive?

[sjn2004]

Jasandjules said:

andyc. said:

completely

Think about it. An estate agent makes money from selling houses. Therefore, the faster property sells, the more money they make........

Make sense now?

That does make sense but doesn't explain why some agents put houses up for 20-30% more than they were for the same house 2 years ago. Could it be that many people tend to put their house on the market with the agent with the highest valuation therefore agents overvalue to keep their front window full?

[esselte]

sjn2004 said:

Jasandjules said:

andyc. said:

completely

Think about it. An estate agent makes money from selling houses. Therefore, the faster property sells, the more money they make........

Make sense now?

That does make sense but doesn't explain why some agents put houses up for 20-30% more than they were for the same house 2 years ago. Could it be that many people tend to put their house on the market with the agent with the highest valuation therefore agents overvalue to keep their front window full?

A full front window is no good unless the stock is moving?

[Digga]

sjn2004 said:

Jasandjules said:

andyc. said:

completely

Think about it. An estate agent makes money from selling houses. Therefore, the faster property sells, the more money they make........

Make sense now?

That does make sense but doesn't explain why some agents put houses up for 20-30% more than they were for the same house 2 years ago. Could it be that many people tend to put their house on the market with the agent with the highest valuation therefore agents overvalue to keep their front window full?

That is an impossibly circular argument. If properties were 'overvalued' (in the true meaning) but a particualr estate agent, then surely market forces would dictate that they would sell fewer if any (compared to other agents) and they and their clients would be considerably worse off for it.

What has happened is far more simple - supply and demand.

At present there are far fewer pople able and willing to sell. Job insecurity menas that, repossession aside, people are more intransigent than in recent years. Add to this the fact that new house builds plummeted from autumn 2007 and you have a very constricted market. For those who have a strong desire or necessity to move, there is less choice and this, combined with unprecidentedly low interest rates, strengthens the market.

Note that many elements could easily change during 2010 to cause a second dip in prices;
1. Interest could rates rise.
2. Housebuilders could resume building (they need to sell to survive).
3. Unemployment could jump again.
4. Repossesion rates may increase.