Property Pricing?
Discussion
What's the general concensus on current property prices, and how much to chip off?
When we last bought in France (Dordogne), we offered 15% below asking, and then knocked another €4k off because we were going to have to connect to the commune's fosse in the following three months. This was accepted, and all was well (our seller was what you might call 'motivated').
I've been looking at another place (Charente Maritime), which has come down by 10% in the year. I would probably go in with an offer of 15-20% off, but I'm interested in whether that's still realistic in today's market. If it's unlikely that I'd get that much off, it will affect the decision as to whether I continue to look at it at all.
I know it has almost everything to do with the seller, and their attitude, but the market in general still has an impact. It's in a small town, near a larger town, within a hour of an airport, and fully renovated. Mid-six figures.
When we last bought in France (Dordogne), we offered 15% below asking, and then knocked another €4k off because we were going to have to connect to the commune's fosse in the following three months. This was accepted, and all was well (our seller was what you might call 'motivated').
I've been looking at another place (Charente Maritime), which has come down by 10% in the year. I would probably go in with an offer of 15-20% off, but I'm interested in whether that's still realistic in today's market. If it's unlikely that I'd get that much off, it will affect the decision as to whether I continue to look at it at all.
I know it has almost everything to do with the seller, and their attitude, but the market in general still has an impact. It's in a small town, near a larger town, within a hour of an airport, and fully renovated. Mid-six figures.
I hope it's not our place you're looking at! Small town near to large town - tick, 30 mins to airport - tick!
We did drop the price 10% after a year in order to generate it a bit more interest but the potential buyers seem to fall into the "Chancers" (low-offer) and "Dreamers" (can't raise the finance) and we've had two "chancers" and one "dreamer" in the last month alone, the "Chancers" were told in no uncertain terms that they should go and find something more attuned to their budget and not waste my time as they knew what the asking price was before coming and offering 15% below was just insulting us, it was just not going to happen.
We are in no hurry to sell but will if the right buyer comes along we will, I just can't stand time wasters.
We did drop the price 10% after a year in order to generate it a bit more interest but the potential buyers seem to fall into the "Chancers" (low-offer) and "Dreamers" (can't raise the finance) and we've had two "chancers" and one "dreamer" in the last month alone, the "Chancers" were told in no uncertain terms that they should go and find something more attuned to their budget and not waste my time as they knew what the asking price was before coming and offering 15% below was just insulting us, it was just not going to happen.
We are in no hurry to sell but will if the right buyer comes along we will, I just can't stand time wasters.
Perik Omo said:
I hope it's not our place you're looking at! Small town near to large town - tick, 30 mins to airport - tick!
We did drop the price 10% after a year in order to generate it a bit more interest but the potential buyers seem to fall into the "Chancers" (low-offer) and "Dreamers" (can't raise the finance) and we've had two "chancers" and one "dreamer" in the last month alone, the "Chancers" were told in no uncertain terms that they should go and find something more attuned to their budget and not waste my time as they knew what the asking price was before coming and offering 15% below was just insulting us, it was just not going to happen.
We are in no hurry to sell but will if the right buyer comes along we will, I just can't stand time wasters.
If you're in 87, then it's not you We did drop the price 10% after a year in order to generate it a bit more interest but the potential buyers seem to fall into the "Chancers" (low-offer) and "Dreamers" (can't raise the finance) and we've had two "chancers" and one "dreamer" in the last month alone, the "Chancers" were told in no uncertain terms that they should go and find something more attuned to their budget and not waste my time as they knew what the asking price was before coming and offering 15% below was just insulting us, it was just not going to happen.
We are in no hurry to sell but will if the right buyer comes along we will, I just can't stand time wasters.
Your answer is kind of what I expected, and I think it reflects the owners of the house I'm talking about, because I suspect they're prepared/able to wait. I do think it's overpriced though, and just wanted a gauge as to whether that''s the norm. I've not been in the market in France for ten years, and I'm confident, for instance, that our place is worth less than we paid, and would probably take years to sell...Yes, it's 87 and yes it's probably a bit overpriced for the area but it's high quality and everybody who sees it say that it's defo the best they've seen by a long way and the "dreamers" were prepared to pay the asking but couldn't raise the finance and the wife was in tears as she really wanted it. The problem was that they were going to sell their house in the UK to finance the purchase and have cash left over to re-arrange the driveway, build an additional small barn and a few other things that they wanted to do but they were advised not to sell their place in the UK "just in case" so that was that as the other option was to raise a mortgage (they were mortgage free) but that wasn't a goer either in France or the UK for some reason, probably as they'd both left their jobs to start a small business working from home which they could also do from France without problems.
The latest "Chancer" was a farmer who'd sold his largish farm in Kent (according to our agent for a substantial amount) was renting a place in the midlands but was bored and wanted to start a smaller farm here and it was perfect for him but again would need another small barn to be built and additional land renting which wouldn't be a problem as there is a substantial amount of land adjacent to us belonging to the Parisian daughter of our deceased neighbour. Lord knows why he thought a low offer would be accepted and was quite affronted when he was turned down as again he knew what the asking was and what prices were in the area, why bother even coming. I'm afraid I lost it with the agent when she trotted out his reasons like he needed to spend money doing this and that so I told her that I wasn't interested in his problems least of all pay to sort them out with a lower price and he could just f*ck off, I got blasted by the mrs for doing that but I was mightily p*ssed off.
The latest "Chancer" was a farmer who'd sold his largish farm in Kent (according to our agent for a substantial amount) was renting a place in the midlands but was bored and wanted to start a smaller farm here and it was perfect for him but again would need another small barn to be built and additional land renting which wouldn't be a problem as there is a substantial amount of land adjacent to us belonging to the Parisian daughter of our deceased neighbour. Lord knows why he thought a low offer would be accepted and was quite affronted when he was turned down as again he knew what the asking was and what prices were in the area, why bother even coming. I'm afraid I lost it with the agent when she trotted out his reasons like he needed to spend money doing this and that so I told her that I wasn't interested in his problems least of all pay to sort them out with a lower price and he could just f*ck off, I got blasted by the mrs for doing that but I was mightily p*ssed off.
No, mrs wants to go back to the UK and we'll split our time between NZ (6 months) and UK (6 months) as we already spend 2-3 months in NZ every year between Jan and April. We have one daughter and two grandchildren in the UK and the other daughter is in Auckland with three grandchildren, the plan is UK April-Oct UK and Nov-Mar NZ. We intend to build a smallish house in the UK if we can get the right piece of land in the right area and hopefully our daughter in NZ will be moving to a new place with a granny annex sometime next year. We'd almost certainly move to NZ permanently but they've made that very difficult for people our age without a substantial amount of disposable cash.
I really like the peace and quiet here and we really do have a beautiful property with great views and have really enjoyed turning a derelict barn and cottage into two high quality places over the last 13-14 years, it has cost an eye watering amount of money but we knew that would be the case before we started but I needed something entirely different to do after retiring early from a career in IT so it's no use looking at what it's cost, it's something we will never get back.
I really like the peace and quiet here and we really do have a beautiful property with great views and have really enjoyed turning a derelict barn and cottage into two high quality places over the last 13-14 years, it has cost an eye watering amount of money but we knew that would be the case before we started but I needed something entirely different to do after retiring early from a career in IT so it's no use looking at what it's cost, it's something we will never get back.
Funny you mention the money Perik.We have spent a small fortune in the last 8 years,not just on property but holidays etc.
I know the money has gone but so what,it's there to be spent.I know in future years I may regret what this French adventure has cost but on the other hand we had the balls to move out with 2 small children and we have all had an experience,good and bad over the years that won't be repeated.
I know the money has gone but so what,it's there to be spent.I know in future years I may regret what this French adventure has cost but on the other hand we had the balls to move out with 2 small children and we have all had an experience,good and bad over the years that won't be repeated.
Smiffy, I entirely agree. We haven't regretted it for a minute and it's all been a great experience and more than worth the cost and I've learned a whole new lot of trades on the way. We came here with our newly married daughter and son-in-law who had his own building business in the UK and I went from being an IT specialist to builders labourer overnight, it was bloomin' hard work as he took no prisoners and was a perfectionist, it taught me an awful lot from the ground up. My daughter had the three grandchildren here and they all went to the local French school until they moved to NZ three years ago so are bi-lingual. The son-in-law was fluent in French and had his own registered building and renovation business (even featured in a magazine for one particular renovation) but couldn't make it pay. He got lured over to NZ just after the earthquake to do some civil engineering stuff and ended up staying there and now has a very successful civil engineering set up in Auckland and employs 10 people and is growing rapidly (doing water, drainage, electricity and gas infrastructure pipework and trenchless water and sewage pipe repairs/relining).
PS it looks like our "dreamers" are going to come good after all as we've just had a call from the agent with an offer that is within 5k of what would be acceptable (below the asking but near to our minimum floor price) and the icing on the cake is that they don't want to move until next July which suits us down to the ground as we're not back from NZ until early April, it's also dependent on them getting a suitable offer on their house which the've decided they want to sell after all. Not counting our chickens just yet as there's an awful lot of discussion over the details still to happen.
PS it looks like our "dreamers" are going to come good after all as we've just had a call from the agent with an offer that is within 5k of what would be acceptable (below the asking but near to our minimum floor price) and the icing on the cake is that they don't want to move until next July which suits us down to the ground as we're not back from NZ until early April, it's also dependent on them getting a suitable offer on their house which the've decided they want to sell after all. Not counting our chickens just yet as there's an awful lot of discussion over the details still to happen.
My understanding is that the local value can be easily found by dividing the price by the sq. m. And comparing it with similar sized properties in the are. Obviously local buyers are not too concerned about the proximity to a local airport.
A couple near to my home moved for work 2-years ago for work. Their house is about €80,000 over the market rate per m sq and what little interest they have had have made a reduced offer that puts them well into negative equity, so they cannot afford to sell.
So to get someone to take the sort of hit you are looking for they obviously need to have a big surplus of equity in the property, or be another Brit desperate to return to Blighty.
A couple near to my home moved for work 2-years ago for work. Their house is about €80,000 over the market rate per m sq and what little interest they have had have made a reduced offer that puts them well into negative equity, so they cannot afford to sell.
So to get someone to take the sort of hit you are looking for they obviously need to have a big surplus of equity in the property, or be another Brit desperate to return to Blighty.
rdjohn said:
My understanding is that the local value can be easily found by dividing the price by the sq. m. And comparing it with similar sized properties in the are. Obviously local buyers are not too concerned about the proximity to a local airport.
A couple near to my home moved for work 2-years ago for work. Their house is about €80,000 over the market rate per m sq and what little interest they have had have made a reduced offer that puts them well into negative equity, so they cannot afford to sell.
So to get someone to take the sort of hit you are looking for they obviously need to have a big surplus of equity in the property, or be another Brit desperate to return to Blighty.
Is suspect there's a fair amout of equity in it, as it's been renovated. I don't know what nationality they are, or how motivated they are to sell. As I said, I'm just doing sums at the moment, and not planning on being back in France in any event until the new year (partly because I've been banned from driving until Christmas eve A couple near to my home moved for work 2-years ago for work. Their house is about €80,000 over the market rate per m sq and what little interest they have had have made a reduced offer that puts them well into negative equity, so they cannot afford to sell.
So to get someone to take the sort of hit you are looking for they obviously need to have a big surplus of equity in the property, or be another Brit desperate to return to Blighty.
)By coincidence, this arrived in my inbox yesterday.
https://www.french-property.com/news/french_proper...
This should certainly help the OP find the right ball park figure to begin negotiations
https://www.french-property.com/news/french_proper...
This should certainly help the OP find the right ball park figure to begin negotiations
The rates given for our department (79) are somewhat adrift from what the local houses actually sell for.
The critical aspect is more the age and size of the property rather than many of these postings suggest. The local market prefers family sized modern homes. Most Brits buy and often refurbish larger and older properties. It is rather telling that many of these postings talk about non-French buyers. Obviously if you are dependent upon the foreign buyer market then selling will be protracted.
In 87 older properties will barely make the minimum prices. Significant refurbishment will not significantly increase the valuation, it will probably speed the sale, and if you held out for the foreign market it might make the average figure - selling into the local market - forget it.
The French housing market is significantly different from the British one. Trying to impose British practices simply means you become dependent upon the foreign buyers - who currently are pretty few and far between. If you can wait then the dreamers may be your answer. The 'chancers' may be locals who understand what the local market will support!
The critical aspect is more the age and size of the property rather than many of these postings suggest. The local market prefers family sized modern homes. Most Brits buy and often refurbish larger and older properties. It is rather telling that many of these postings talk about non-French buyers. Obviously if you are dependent upon the foreign buyer market then selling will be protracted.
In 87 older properties will barely make the minimum prices. Significant refurbishment will not significantly increase the valuation, it will probably speed the sale, and if you held out for the foreign market it might make the average figure - selling into the local market - forget it.
The French housing market is significantly different from the British one. Trying to impose British practices simply means you become dependent upon the foreign buyers - who currently are pretty few and far between. If you can wait then the dreamers may be your answer. The 'chancers' may be locals who understand what the local market will support!
Edited by Pete54 on Wednesday 8th November 20:10
Doofus said:
Interesting, thanks. That suggests its over-valued by 30%, but the table takes no account of the lot size, which can make a difference...
Plot size has very little impact on price. Agricultural land with potential to build will be about €10,000 / Ha, while a decent out-of-town building plot near mains water / drainage and utilities is typically €40/m sq. but once it’s built upon, it has very little further impact. Certainly not 10’s of thousands.
As others have said, better to think rural Scotland, rather than southern England.
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