Viewers begin to see reasons to buy, says ISABEL MORTON
LAST SATURDAY, despite the blustery weather, I set off in search of property viewers. Fancying myself as the intrepid reporter, I had done my research, drawn up my schedule and planned my route.
These days, if you want to view property, you have to be up bright and early. Some Saturday viewings start promptly at 10.30am and some are only open for 30 minutes, so you have to be at the door, in order to have time to get your bearings, let alone examine in detail, what is likely to be the largest single investment you will ever make in your life.
(I have visions of Mad Hatter-style scenarios: the vendor, wrapped in his duvet, mug of tea in hand and slice of toast in mouth, runs out past viewers, jumps into his car and snuggles down for half an hour before going back to bed when the last viewer leaves.)
All rather different from the days of yore, when vendors spend hours making up beds with new bed linen, changing towels from well-worn grey to fluffy white, fresh flowers and lighting scented candles.
Of course, back then, Saturdays were the boom-time serial viewer’s favourite day of the week, when they snooped around homes and met up with like-minded property-obsessed lunatics to gossip about interior design details and speculate about sky-high selling prices.
Now that property is no longer about lifestyle and more about a place to live, viewings have reverted to less sociable hours and viewers no longer waste time gawking and gossiping but march around with notebooks and calculators, taking photos of structural cracks and damp patches and remarking on vendors’ unrealistic expectations.
Viewers today are slow-moving, analytical, strategic and not easily cajoled. Nevertheless, they are quietly confident and content in the knowledge they are the lucky ones, in the enviable position of being able to buy when others are trying desperately to hang on to what they’ve got.
Most voiced the opinion that property prices were likely to drop a bit further but at least they had the decency to laugh when I pointed out that as potential buyers it was in their interest to promote that belief.
A number, however, said they intend buying within the next few months, as they believe the Dublin market has hit rock bottom, as it was now cheaper to buy than to rent. A man in his 60s, having lived in England all his adult life, wants to retire here and told me he was going to buy soon, as it was cheaper now to buy than to build. “Once that happens, it’s almost too late, prices will start going up again,” he said with the confidence of one who has seen it all before.
In the knowledge they were not going to be able to borrow funds for renovation work, I was surprised at the number of people who had money saved specifically for that purpose.
One young couple told me: “We sold about a year and a half ago and we’ve been looking for a “doer-upper” ever since because we wouldn’t have a huge budget and think the price of houses in need of work hasn’t changed much over the last year or so. We can do a lot ourselves, as he’s quite handy (pointing to her partner).
“We’ve some cash from the sale of our last house, although we lost about 65 grand on it, but we were very sensible and overpaid our mortgage, so we walked away with a lump sum and had some other savings and have been saving like crazy since we started renting. We’re hoping to use half as the deposit and the other half to do it up.
“We’re renting a tiny little semi-d until we see prices come down more,” she said, and then complained: “It’s Dublin and we’re in a recession and the IMF have bailed us out. We’re not a good prospect, so why should we be paying London prices?”
When asked why they had sold their last home, she said: “I was on maternity leave and saw prices drop and said ‘let’s get out of here quick’ but I wish we’d made the move sooner.”
Another woman was delighted they had not made a move sooner. They’ve been looking to buy for seven or eight years and, due to changing circumstances, found it difficult to make a decision. Had they done so they would be “out on the streets now”, as they would be up to their necks in debt. “It was just pure luck, that we didn’t buy back then,” she told me, “but we think that now is the time, even if prices do fall a little further.”
A couple in their 30s sold their apartment and bought a small house about nine months ago just before the birth of their first child and now realise they need more space. “We’d have to take a hit if we sold again now but we’re young enough to carry the debt and move on, we have a mortgage for the next 30 years – so if it’s slightly higher, what’s the difference? We have to pay it off anyway.”
I left with a smile on my face, the mantra “onwards and upwards” ringing in my ears. Perhaps there is some hope, after all?
Isabel Morton is a property consultant
