Gazumping and sealed bids, described as “the worst symptoms of an overheating property market”, are radiating out of central London.
According to a report in the London Evening Standard, the property market is now red hot in the “far-flung fringes”.
One in five sales now involves a bidding war or going to sealed bids, and meeting the asking price is only the first step in the process, according to frustrated buyers.
The report quotes one buyer who has missed out on two properties in the Crystal Palace area despite offering over £25,000 above the asking price, and despite not being in a chain.
Last week, the NAEA released advice to buyers who find themselves in a sealed bid situation.
More here:
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/gazumping-and-sealed-bids-spread-to-suburbs-as-house-prices-rocket-8951223.html
Comments
@IO
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I can tell you exactly what happened as I was lending bucket loads of money because of the stupidity of Norman Lamont was it announcing it in an April Budget but closing it off I think end of September.
The rush there was to complete in time, I don't recall it having any dramatic impact on prices as it was known normal service would be resumed within 6 months, and it had nothing to do with interest rates or any other facotrs.
Completions jumped during that period but that's all - not house prices though obviously sellers were able to be a little more ambitious.
But her's some inside information for you. The Treasury circulated all lenders via the BSC and instructed them to instruct their valuers, many of them staff valuers not independents at that stage, to ensure they valued at the end March valuation levels as evidenced by the then statistics.
Next point?!!
What happened in the August of that year when the Miras deadline came into force? The market stopped dead in its tracks and the builders would have been delighted for you to complete at the original asking price.
This lunacy will pass once interest rates hop up by 1, 2 or 3 %
In the 1988 crash I was twice gazumped by the seller raising the asking price £30K despite working for a building society and being a cash buyer with them dictating completion dates. Until you have experienced this you have no idea how bad it feels especially if, as in my case, one of them was a new build where your wife has designed the kitchen and chosen all colours throughout!!
If sealed bids etc leads to the lunacy seen on Panorama of a 2 bed flat in Islington(?) selling for £75K more than the asking price then the sooner it joins PayDay loans and is made illegal the better.
By the way when an agent is so ludicrously out on valuation (even allowing for the usual agent optimism and "let's test the market fully" do they only take a fee based on their original valuation?