Comment: Forget Brexit, bidding wars are happening regardless of political uncertainty
Back-to-back viewings can stir up a sense of urgency among buyers. Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto - Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Forget Brexit – the local property market is booming, at least where houses I want to buy are concerned.
Yes, while some homes are hanging around for months and having huge chunks shaved off their asking prices, others - the ones I like - are being snapped up within 48 hours of their first viewing.
The writing was on the lovely, perfectly plastered wall for us this weekend, as our tour of what turned out to be absolutely everyone's dream home overlapped with two of the dozen or so other interested parties. One of them muttered about the living space being a bit on the small side and the other was in and out in five minutes, but that could all have been tactics. It's a game, after all, albeit a very expensive, stressful and unenjoyable one.
Having no idea of what was to come, we spent the rest of the weekend dithering over how to proceed. There wasn't as much space as we ideally wanted - maybe we could convert the loft? And the price seemed a good deal higher than the last similarly-sized home to sell on the road - perhaps they'd accept an offer? It seemed, briefly, as if there were loads of options. Apart from, as it turned out, there were none.
By the time we spoke to the estate agent on Monday morning there were already two offers on the table, one of which was from a chain-free buyer.
You may also want to watch:
When he called back a little later, having presumably reached the end of his list of weekend viewers, it was to tell us that there was no need to make an offer after all - only those coming from chain-free buyers would be considered. The dreaded sealed bids were also mentioned.
Having been caught up in a similar scenario with our last house move, I'm familiar with the emotions it stirs - and, thanks to being renters, we ended up winning that one. This time, with a house still to sell, we were out at the first hurdle.
Most Read
- 1 St Albans violent crime: 'Intervention needed to break the cycle of grooming'
- 2 St Albans violent crime: Teen drugs gang behind spate of attacks on rivals found guilty
- 3 Man given Criminal Behaviour Order for being drunk in St Albans
- 4 Harpenden arrest in connection with St Albans council fraud probe
- 5 £36 million loan to refinance Maltings Shopping Centre
- 6 What are the outstanding schools in Hertfordshire?
- 7 Area Guide: The popular Marshalswick area of St Albans
- 8 'State-sanctioned abuse' - why the family court system is failing
- 9 Ticket holders need to provide their COVID status for entry to this year's Slam Dunk Festival in Hatfield
- 10 7 of the prettiest villages to visit in Hertfordshire
If there's one silver lining to all of this it's that, Brexit or no Brexit, people are still prepared to pull out all the stops to buy the 'right' house. It's just a shame their right house is the same as mine.
