A Property Finders auction property picks

With the buying season in full swing, we are getting several calls a day from first-time-buyers looking to engage us as Property Finders to help them make their first purchase.  With their deposits in hand, auctions are a good way for organised first time buyers to find their first property, as long as they know what they are doing are well advised and extremely well-organised.  Here is our pick of the property at Allsops sale in two weeks time. 

For first-time buyers hankering after a zone 1 pad or city workers who want a bolthole close to the office, 43 Roupell Street might be the answer.  Roupell Street is a quaint street of period cottages originally built for railway workers.  The houses are essentially 2 up 2 downs, tucked behind Waterloo East railway station and generally sell for in excess of £650,000.  Number 43 has a guide of £400 – £450,000 and presumably needs complete refurbishment.  A purchaser with change from £550,000 would have bought a bargain in our mind, although the refurbishment costs could be high – we’ve not been inside.

22 Longmoore Street in Pimlico may be a good option for those seeking an SW1 address.  This four floor 3 bedroom period home is on a quiet residential street, but this house is blighted by it’s proximity to the Prince of Wales pub, which will mean noise outside your bedroom window as smokers enjoy their pint outside.  For those who can put up with the disturbance, the guide is £700-£750,000 although we would estimate it will reach £800,000 maybe more.

Parents of first year Cambridge undergraduates may be interested in 86 Gwydir Street, another Victorian 2 up 2 down workers cottage in the centre of Cambridge.  The guide is £165+ although property here has been achieving £280,000+ for the last two years.  This house needs total refurbishment, including new windows and a new front door.  This should go for over £200,000 but anything under £250,000 wouldn’t be too bad a buy, and by the time you complete in early July – the offspring will have finished their exams and can get started honing their DIY skills ready for a paying house mate or two in late September.

For new parents keen to escape the rat race and buy more space for their buck, there is a large 4 bedroom detached 50s house on the outskirts of Pembury, between Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells.  It’s not very pretty and needs a complete facelift, but it sits on a large plot and increasingly the planners are allowing front and rear extensions which will make the house easier on the eye.    In our view a new set of Barratt style windows, a coat of coloured render and rebuilding the hideous porch would make a big difference.  The guide for this house is £225,000 – £250,000 which is about right in our view.

An alternative is Little Greystones, a new development of 5 3 bedroom town houses on the outskirts of Crowborough in deepest darkest Sussex.  The town is well known for fantastic schools in both the state and private sectors and each house is for sale with a guide of £140,000 to £150,000 although there is only one house vacant and the auctioneer will try to sell all five as one lot to an investor, before selling individually.

The next Allsops auction will be held on 2nd and 3rd of June at the Great Cumberland Hotel in Great Cumberland Place London starting at 10.30am.  If you need advice from someone who knows how to buy at auction then we are one of the few Property Finders who will be able to help you.

Technorati Tags: allsops, buying at auctions, Cambridge Property Finders, Crowborough Property Finders, First time buyers, Kent Property Finders, London Property Auctions, London property finders, property auctions, Sussex Property Finders, UK Property Finders

Tags: allsops, buying at auctions, Cambridge Property Finders, Crowborough Property Finders, First time buyers, Kent Property Finders, London Property Auctions, London property finders, property auctions, Sussex Property Finders, UK Property Finders

Property price analysis from a Property Finder

Nationwide have published their house price data which measures agreed sales figures at the point of mortgage approval and without taking into account the seasonal adjustments Nationwide’s economists make, agreed prices for the UK are up for the second month in a row.  This brings faltering house prices to par with figures from December08/January 09 at an average of £151,861.  If only, I hear those London-based first time buyers cry!

Interestingly, Nationwide would clearly anticipate higher volumes/price increases for this time of year as they have marked the figures down on the seasonally adjusted price index, which in a healthy market, compensates for the seasonal peaks and trough Property Finders and other property professionals like us have come to know and love.

So does this mean pricing has reached rock bottom in the UK?  We don’t think so.  We still think Scotland is over-priced, although we are seeing value in country estates.  London pricing particularly in prime areas has fallen swiftly in recent months, but we feel that overall London property prices are still not sustainable so we expect prices to continue to fall slightly for the rest of this year.  Ditto most of the Home Counties.

Looking at the first time buyers price: earnings ratio produced by Nationwide, only the North, Scotland, Wales and the East Midlands look sustainable, but most areas are still higher than the 3 or 4 times average earnings one would expect in a healthy market.  London and the South East are now at a more realistic 5.4 times and 4.3 times respectively which brings affordability back to levels last seen in 2003 for London and 2002 in the South East which should give further comfort to buyers new to the property market.

And the view of a UK Property Finder to all this?  We like a flat market.  It’s competitive but it separates the men, or should I say, women from the boys.  We didn’t buy much in 2007 because we felt the London market was very over-priced.  We’ve not been slow to advise Clients to walk away when vendors won’t accept reasonable offers, so for us, it’s a good thing.  This UK Property Finder thinks there is never a wrong time to buy, as long as you pay the right price.

Technorati Tags: House Prices, Nationwide House Price Index, UK Property Finders

Tags: House Prices, Nationwide House Price Index, UK Property Finders