Local house prices

Just been looking at our house value estimated by Zoopla and going by what they say
is really hard to believe in the 6/7 years we have been here what they have come up with
Of course they have not actually done a proper valuation as estate agent do so can only guess they give a rough estimate. Needless to say the value has gone up considerably and now we could not anywhere near afford to buy it. Best investment one could make is buying your own home

I remember the good old days, prices doubling every 6/7 years. Yay.

We seem to have had one setback after another since the 2008 crunch. :neutral_face:

No it is not. Buying a second house is a good investment but buying your own house is only a good investment for your children when you die.

Buying your own house is somewhere secure to live (the first level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs) but it will cost the same to buy another and you will have to spend money on legal and transfer fees so it is a zero sum gain (or even a loss).

My house cost $47000 when I bought it now it is valued at $780000 BUT it will cost me that to move/buy to another house so I am no better off than when I bought the house. I am not $733000 better off.

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Ah but what better security investment is there? I had a second house as well inherited. The problem was the upkeep or alternatively renting it out and having bad tennants. So sold it. Not a good idea in my book

remember the old mantra "location ; location ; location?? - second homes in choice english holiday spots like devon and cornwall can earn a steady income and a place to stay yourself occasionally?

Over the years I have had several investment properties which were rented out, you can employ an agent to manage the properties, costs very little - from memory they charged 8% of the rental, they also weed out bad tenants, handle repairs, evictions, bonds, inspections, lease agreements etc. Well worth the money.

The properties were negatively geared as I was relying on the capital gain but in the event they soon became positively geared as rents rocketed and I paid tax on the income (a good accountant reduced that tax burden but making a profit is always a good thing). When I sold them prior to retirement I made a substantial gain on the capital invested (there is a 50% discount in tax here) as well as a very satisfactory income.

I was able to divorce my wife, give her a house and still end up well ahead. Property is a good investment but not the house you live in, as I say only your kids will benefit from that.

Yep RS, I’m afraid Bruce is correct, what happens to the value of your own home is speculative and relative so, it don’t really matter.

might have been ok back then but now to get a tennent out could take months even after a high court order. We have programs here on TV about High court sherrifs trying to remove people who have not paid rent and and unfortunately the law seems to be on the tennets side. If they have nowhere to go then the landlord looses out all round

Gumbud
Or holiday are either on a cruise or hotel never ever stayed in a holiday home. I can think of nothing worse than renting someone elses house and doing the same as if in your own.

And ultimately bring about the collapse of the local community, as more and more people are unable to afford to live in their own home town/village, and are forced to move elsewhere. Employees to keep the local pubs/shops/hotels/restaurants/caravan sites etc going are also priced out of the market, so staff are difficult if not impossible to find. So gradually all these services disappear. What you are left with is a shell of the original community, filled with properties that are empty most of the year, with no amenities. All so that the well heeled from elsewhere can have a ‘nice little earner’.

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Moved into our house last September and its gone up another £100K since then.

The great thing about the house going up in value is that if your pension is crap, then you can equity release some of the value of the house.

Are Zoopla valuations accurate?

No! Zoopla valuations can range from wildly inaccurate to uncannily on the money (and everything in-between). Never rely on what Zoopla says a property is worth. Always get several proper valuations.

Equity release is fine for you but not for anyone who inherits as the interest rates are high.

I’ll ask Mrs Bread then - she was a financial adviser, see what she says.

Thanks for the tip :023:

My cousin borrowed £60 against my advise as she really didn’t need the money and the house was gifted to her in a will. When she died some years later there was 93 K owing .

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Tbh,your house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it.

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She may not have needed the money, but perhaps she just wanted it, wanted to have a spending spree in her old age, maybe after being careful all her life?

Did she have children relying on their inheritance, or were they already financially secure in their own right? If so, then I’m sure she once she was dead she didn’t give a hoot about what was owing :wink:

I don’t see how they can be.
You only have to put your postcode in and they give a valuation! Surely that must be based upon area, not a property.
For example, almost every property in my road is different. Some are bungalows, some are houses, detached, semi-detached, with or without annexe’s and loft conversions etc.
So this says to me, that Zoopla cannot be even near accurate without visiting and doing a proper individual valuation.

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Around here houses sell so quickly they are generally only on the market for a week or so before sold. There are exceptions of course such as overpriced- location- condition etc. Ours was only up for sale the same week we saw it and grabbed before it was sold. Several people booked that weekend to view but we went mid week. I suppose if something happens to either of us the other can sell and have somewhere smaller and money to live on
of course Zoopla can only make a wild guess on house prices based on property similar sold and area. Looking at the top price they quote for mine it is well under market value in my opinion compaired with what is being sold around here

Thats same as my Road Mups , Id only trust a EA visiting and giving a Valuation .

Property prices have soared in my road , my new neighbour moved in July last year , he paid 219K
he put it back on the market a couple of months ago, after he saw what his neighbours went for .
Its been sold for £250.000.

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You’re right of course but I don’t think the house affects prices that much, it is the location and the land value that matters.

When I was divorcing my wife I had proper valuations done on all my properties, two of them were next door to each other. One was an old fibro cottage with two bedrooms, the neighbour was a four bedroom house with living and dining area double garage, car port and more, both were on a 615 sq m blocks (the old quarter acre block). The difference in the valuation was less than $10,000 all the value was in the land. location is everything.