UK Landlord Forum / Life

I had watched a couple of YouTube videos on this... for me, I'm thinking a little mercenary... could be opportunities to snap me up a bungalow!

But, as yet, there's no indication that prices are actually reducing... not even by a little... in fact they still appear to be rising.

But I also note that three (3) recent separate Landlord posters have indicated they're getting ready to sell... although each seemed to be struggling with how to actually go about this in the current environment. That's only a matter of time...

I thought the YouTube commentators were full of hyperbole and doom-mongering... but I don't think Governments can prop up things indefinitely.

Quote from: Hippogriff on October 24, 2020, 08:04:41 AM
But, as yet, there's no indication that prices are actually reducing... not even by a little... in fact they still appear to be rising.

I think there's a few factors holding things up at the moment. There's the stamp duty cut, of course: people like to save a bit of tax, even if they "lose" it again next year when prices drop. I think also lockdown built up a bit of pressure in the market, like a cork in a bottle. For three months nothing was happening, so a lot of that business will just have been pushed into the final two quarters of the year. Also, there's the psychological effects: after three months staring at the same four walls, some people will be fancying some new walls to stare at, they've realised that working from home means they can move further from work, and they've spend an inordinate amount of time mooching around Rightmove for want of something better to do. Finally, there's the interest rate situation. For anyone with a decent deposit, a mortgage at the moment costs sod all. Meanwhile savings rates are dire and the markets are lairy, so it's tempting to just buy a nice house with it.

How much those factors will continue onto next year, post-Brexit and up to our national eyeballs in Covid and debt, is anybody's guess, but a downturn is inevitable, sooner or later. Once enough people believe it's happening, it's happening.

I must admint I do more than my share of mooching around Rightmove and subjectively it feels like there are more ex-rental properties coming onto the market at the moment. My gut feeling is a lot of smaller landlords are just selling up as and when their properties come empty. They've got through lockdown unscathed and they're getting out while the going's good.

Landlords have carried some of the financial weight Covid has delivered & that's definitely been the last straw for most. Same with holiday homes (caravans) staycation is the buzz word it's all part of the knee jerk pandemic syndrome. Give it a few years for this to pass and they'll be a flood of properties ( caravans ) on the market.