We're moving to Sheffield from the south west; we now have a victorian terraced house close to the centre of town, it has 1500 sq ft (139m^2) of usable living area (kitchen/reception/bedroom) and we'd struggle with less. We'd like to bring it with us .....

Having spent four frantic days looking at 30 or more properties in Sheffield it seems very hard to find anything of a decent size for less than 350k; some even much less area and only one toilet for more cash! It seems only the older pre-war houses are likely to have the space and they are few and far between right now.

I've read all the posts on the subject about asking price etc.; I'm wondering if it still holds. So the question is, is it now more of a buyer's market and have things slowed down a lot? I'll be very reluctant to offer over; I have never done this on any property before.

Also we found a lot of leasehold properties, is this common and if so is it an issue.

We're told to look west of pennistone (sp?) road and like the victorian brown brick style, also as well as polular areas like dore/broomhill/crookes (impossible to park), oughtibridge and worral are interesting. Has to have reasonable public transportt in to town.

Secondary schools are a concern but we are not bothered with terrific A level results, more a school that looks after kids.

Advice welcome .....

After we have just accepted an offer on our house after a horrible period of buyers backing downn due to personal circumstances, I can tell you that buying a house or selling a house is not at all easy here in Sheffield.
It appears to have changed slightly and it appears to be more of a buyers market, though the right properties, in the right places will still command a high price.
What happens here is that the schools often dictate the prices of houses, which pushes up the price of houses that are in certain areas.
We are buying a property in Crookes as my son goes to King Edwards and my daughter will now hopefully go in 2 years time as she will be ina feeder scholl and we will be in the catchment
There are always people who criticise you for doing this,but when it is your childrens education at stake, you do what you have to.
It depends what your priority is .I suggest you check out the councils website
www.sheffield.gov uk and go to Catchment area search and this displays the school and the ofsted report when you put in the name of the street.

This has been an invaluable tool when we begin our search 6 months ago.

Also, try Fish4.net
Good Luck .Dont give up

Just to answer the leasehold question quickly - our solicitor told us that Sheffield has a far greater number of leasehold properties than most other places. It causes the solicitors a bit of extra hassle but all Sheff ones are used to it!

It is becoming more of a buyers market at the moment. Certainly the 'for sale' signs are up a lot longer than this time last year.

Sheffield is perculiar in that purchasers usually pay above the asking price and that is something that you'll have to factor in - like it or not. I believe housebuying in Scotland is similar in that respect.

So when looking, look at house prices below what you want to pay. If I were you, I wouldn't rule any areas in or out, keep an open mind. There are some lovely places in and around Sheffield and many have good schools and transport links.

You need to make a list of your priorities and then work from that. Register with some local estate agents (Blundells, Reed Raines just to name a few), give them your criteria and see what they come up with. Good luck!

Thank you all for the tips. It does seem a bit like the Scottish system, which I experienced once, but there a verbal offer used to be as binding as a contract and bids were mostly sealed.

I've not ruled anywhere out yet, and am discovering areas I like that people aren't falling over each other to buy. I'd prefer south west direction as it is easier to get to Carsington Lake (for recreation) but that can't be a major factor.

I'll also resits being pushed by estate agents into playing games, and will of course risk losing some decent places.

We're finding SM and ELR tend to have more of the stuff we like, so far so good. Maybe it will be a bit different when we put in offers.

Schoolwise I found the catchment calculator (handy); I was actually looking for maps which are easy for strategising if you're into that: rent in the catchment, buy elsewhere, we did that where we live now. Actually we may have to rent so we are less pressured (and maybe take a gamble on prices falling?). Renting means an extra move of course and my wife does not travel light.

We moved here last year

Renting is cheap in Sheffield, very cheap in fact

The market here is weakening
I speak with expereince here having just spent a year buying a place.

DO NOT pay over the asking price.
Historically they have gone that way here for ages.

Offer less, and pay less.

As I said Im qualified here :)
I actually have just spent a year finding a place to buy
Last summer they all went for 15% above asking as is usual in Sheffield.
They are not now, just look how long properties stay on the market and how many sales and chains break down.

Be merciless lol
Assuming you can sell your place down South in this market

d

If you are looking for good schools in the west,Tapton,King Edwards(split site, Lower school at Crosspool and Upper at Broomhill) and High Storrs are recommended.
The problem with our search was that we had to be selective, we could only look in Sheffield 10 as the catchment area for King Edwards covered this area.
This would be
Crosspool, Ranmoor, some of Fulwood, Crookes, Broomhill, Snady gate and Stumperlowe.

There are some houses on the market now in those areas that have been on the market for some time.We have viewed them.
There is a chance that you could get them at a lower price.
let me know if you want more information

why not try a relocatin company that could help with some of your queries

re:locate offers area and home searches and can support you through the buying process plus alot more -school and hobbies search too

May take the hassle off a little bit!!

website under construction but PM me for more details or email

mail@relocate-uk.co.uk with queries

good luck with the house searching and hope you find something soon

Originally posted by hotphil
Just to answer the leasehold question quickly - our solicitor told us that Sheffield has a far greater number of leasehold properties than most other places. It causes the solicitors a bit of extra hassle but all Sheff ones are used to it!

could because of the number of flats in sheffield :)

I have to post 5 times to be able to PM ('to avoid spam'), so ....

Are the victorian style brown-brick type of property (often terraced) very popular I wonder? Seems not too many decent ones around and the wife is fussy (no barratt boxes with bedrooms big enough for a bed and that's it please).

I've also seen places on the market a while (a few weeks for sure) and prices gone up (???).

OK, so maybe I rent. I welcome suggestions about good agents. The one in plymouth I used (town and country) treated us like naughty children and swore at my wife on the phone ....

cjames, I'm in a similar position - moving to Sheffield from London, but leaving a two room flat.

Some roads and areas are always going to sell quickly - I notice that good houses near the Botanical Gardens are not on the market for long, but that other areas are now tending to stick a bit.

My interpretation is that the market is weakening in Sheffield at the bigger end, but that 2/3 bed terraces (100-150k) are still selling at asking price or above.

I suspect renting is the answer. It is possilble to rent well over £350k worth of house (4/5 beds) for under £1000pcm. You'd need a £100k deposit to get anywhere near that on an interest only mortgage.

If the market is actually slowing down, then renting puts you in a much stronger position to buy - you can steam in with an 8 week completion guaranteed offer, which will have value to a seller in a slow market.

I would also note that the first sign of a slowing market is lower volumes and slower chains, not lower prices. Prices don't fall as sellers hold out for the agent's valuation (+10% in Sheffield). Or they accept offers from people who haven't sold.

Comments? I'd be interested in anybody's experience who is in the market, buying or selling, at the moment.

We just bought

We rented for a year.

This time last year the agents couldnt be bothered with us.
Everything went under offer for 10-15% above asking within a week or so then stayed off the shelf whilst the chain went through.

Not any more.

Chains are falling apart which is the first sign of grief in my opinion.
Multiple houses are coming back onto the market.
Agents are ringing me up to tell me about new properties and also phoning for feedback immediately after we have viewed, then ringing back a few weeks later to say the vendor will take offers below asking.

Stay calm.

If you have sold and can rent there are bargains to be had.
Once people have had their house on for a while with no interest they will snatch your arm off if you are a "cash buyer."

Good luck
Be merciless :)

The agents (and vendors lets not forget) have had it unbelievable good here for a long time. 10-15% over asking, if not more, was commonplace - it isnt now.

Cheers - PM me for any help you think I can give.

d

OK, one more post and I can PM people (I have to spam to get round anti-spam rules?). So this doesn't add much.

It's looking more like rental would be a good idea. It's an extra move but it's hard to believe buying and selling can ne so perfectly timed.

Yes the estate agents are after feedback (sorry, the wife doesn't like it ....) and they do send e-mails. Hopefully this weird bidding system will die before I have to try it.

We had terrible trouble buying last summer (got involved in a number of bidding wars) but it does seem to have slowed down recently.

Steer well clear of Blundells estate agents if I were you. They are evil.

Don't count on the bidding system dying. It's been like that for many years.

Good luck mate.

fearful. just read your advice about blundells and wondered if you could give us more info as we have just put in an offer with blundells and would like to be prepared!

I often wonder, with estate agents...

If I book a viewing on a house (say its on at £200,000), have a nosey around, then phone in to check the offers on the property... I could be told offers are upto say £205,000.

Now, its quite possible I might be bidding against somebody who is relying on a chain of events to occur before they can afford that, but the estate agents won't tell you 9.99/10
Either that or they have not been financially qualified to put in an offer.

I get the feeling sometimes priced are drived up by this, and wonder just how many of the 'bidders' would have come through in the end anyway.

The agent isn't there to help the buyer, you are not the client - always bear that in mind when buying.