Do you while away your time scrolling on various house-selling sites? I know plenty of people who do it just for fun, to see what houses are about. But what about when you actually decide to sell your home?
During the pandemic and for a long time afterwards, house sales went crazy. People decided they wanted to have more green space, realised they needed space for a home office and decided to re-locate with their new job requirements.
With everyone moving home, house prices went through the roof and people were offering way over the asking price just to get their dream home. It was a seller’s dream market!
Buying and selling in 2022
The housing market wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down, even 2 years on from lockdown life. That was until the government made several changes that would cause a monumental shift.
And at that precise moment, our dream house came on the market.
We hadn’t necessarily been looking to move but we had been keeping an eye on the houses that were coming on the market for the past 2 years. We are in an unfortunate position of not being able to afford to upsize in the area we live in so we need to find a property that has potential to extend.
But there it was, in my app feed, a bigger house that was within our budget.
Our house wasn’t on the market but we quickly had an estate agent come value it and then all we had to do was double check our finances.
We used a mortgage checker first, just to see a guide figure that we’d be paying each month for the amount we would need, and also an estimate loan amount that we would be given based on our two wages.
With everything looking good financially and our estimated value for our home being great, we listed our property and made an offer on the other house. It was accepted and all was looking well.
Except with the mini budget being announced and the banks tightening credit conditions, nobody is looking to buy now. Our target buyer is the first time buyer, and they have been hardest hit by the interest rate changes – meaning less people looking to buy our sized home.
Buying and selling in 2023
I don’t know what will happen with our move, but I do know that now is not the best time to be buying or selling. People are worried and are holding off for now.
More than likely we will lose out on the other house and we will take our house off the market over Christmas.
Looking to 2023, I think house prices will begin to fall and fewer houses will come on the market as a result. And unless banks start to lift their restrictions, nobody will be looking to buy either. It is a really difficult situation to be in if you are wanting to move.
Make the most of your home
If you had wanted to move but now find yourself unable to, for whatever reason, then it may be worth looking at other options.
- Could you extend to make more space?
- Could you redefine the spaces in your home?
- Could you redecorate to your taste?
- Could you remove clutter to create more space?
Eventually everything will level out and the market will start to lift. In the meantime, save more money to contribute to a deposit and make the most of the home you have. That is what I am going to focus on until we get our happy ending!
Are you looking to move at the moment? How are you finding the current climate?