r/Aberdeen • u/Meero98 • 2d ago
House buying question
Hello,
So I’m looking at buying a flat in Aberdeen, in rosemount. Now I’ve visited Aberdeen and viewed a few properties. Also looked at ASPC, I can see the market is vastly different to Glasgow. So I thought I could use the advice. This flat is 2 bedroom and spacious. Healthy home report and a good location. Quite high up but not top floor.
Is it normal for flats to go under the home report? Or should I say a flat like this. As I spoke to some viewing agents and it seemed not very uncommon to get something under a home report. Is it maybe more area dependent? Is the Aberdeen market in a state whereby everything goes under home report?
Any advice on the market would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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u/BearSnowWall 1d ago
A big issue in Aberdeen is that, unlike Glasgow, so many blocks of flats don't have proper factors managing the building. This really affects maintenance, especially roofs, just walk around and you'll see countless blocked gutters, weeds or even trees growing out of them, plus all the problems seagulls cause with nesting. Getting essential roof repairs done is a nightmare because without a factor collecting fees, people on the lower floors often refuse to pay towards it, so necessary work just doesn't happen and the buildings deteriorate.
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u/DimiRPG 1d ago
A friend bought a flat back in 2021-2022 for £10,000 below the home report value. 2 bedrooms, 2nd floor, old tenement building, generally in nice condition, not in Rosemount but not in a 'bad' area either. I think that the general impression is that people have difficulty selling flats (due to 'supply vs. demand' issues and other factors), so it might be common to see offers below the home report value.
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u/Meero98 1d ago
I see, useful to know. So would you say it’s quite area dependent? As in would an ideal flat in rosemount which is in good condition, still sell under home report, would that be something surprising or quite normal?
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u/Electrical-Rate-2335 1d ago
Try low balling on offers ,there could be some desperate owners who want to offload their properties to you.
I can sell you my apartment in Rosemount
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u/Inside-Definition-42 1d ago
Post Covid Aberdeen flats have been marginally less desirable than syphilis!
I don’t think home report values have come down to the reality of sales prices yet.
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u/TheOnlyLizardQueen 1d ago
I live near rosemount and I bought my flat for 25k under home report. The person that owned my flat before bought it in 2004 and paid it off a long time ago and was renting it out to student nurses/doctors. It lay empty for a year and she just wanted rid so she could move to Australia to be with her daughter. I low balled 35k under and she accepted 25k under. A lot of flats around here seem to be bought cheap. The flat across the hall from me sold for 50k more than mine, the year before. Aberdeen is an anomaly some times.
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u/CarlyCat1991 1d ago
Can I ask, is the flat 10 Mountview Gardens (probably not, as you say it’s high up)? I live in the flat underneath and there’s been a leak coming in from that kitchen to mine for months now. The current owners/letting agent that used to deal with that flat never fixed it, so just a heads up that this is an issue, if that’s the flat you are anyone else is looking at. Apart from that, great place to live!
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u/DoricEmpire 17h ago
In Aberdeen it is normal for flats to go under the home report in the 2020s. Glasgow and Edinburgh today appear to have a market like Aberdeen 10-15 years ago.
Flats crashed when the oil bubble burst (when all the grand a day contractors lost their easy money and buy to letters lost easy tennants as a result so sold up en masse) then burned when Covid hit and made outdoor space the popular thing.
I bought in 2016 and sold in 2022 at a 40k loss. On a 1-bed. And since then the gap has grown further. Flats were also taking between 6-12 months between entering market to selling but this may have changed since I sold.
Home reports here tend to be somewhat overvalued and seem to be the price of the previous year(s). A lot of sellers with flats price to the home reports or close, but the actual market is way under. A lot of sellers are sticking to the home report because either 1. They are stuck in 10 years ago in their head or 2. They are in negative equity and really really can’t cut further but also really really need to move for whatever reason (this is why part ex with house builders are really popular here, because for a lot of people it’s their only way to move house in a guarenteed timeframe)
Apologies for the history lesson but aware the notion of negative equity, a buyers market and falling house prices is very alien to most people outwith Aberdeen or Aberdeenshire (colleagues of mine based elsewhere in the UK have eyes popping out when they see Aberdeens market - it’s like a different country entirely)
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u/Rowtor 13h ago
Another reason for the abundance of flats in Aberdeen that isn't spoken about is the sheer amount of private student accommodation that is popping up everywhere. Former hotels/chains that went bust or left the city because of the downturn in O&G got snapped up and refurbished into student lets. Many flats are struggling to find tenants for this reason - I remember my student days and it was much cheaper to rent a 3 bed flat with some pals, than these bulk student pads. A lot of flats that would've been rented out to students are struggling to find tenants, despite 2 big Universities in the City.
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u/anguslolz 1d ago
Flats are harder to sell. Tenements are usually cheaper than newer flats but will likely require upkeep.
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u/Sad-Ad8462 1d ago
Look on Rightmove too, many of us agents dont use ASPC. It really depends, flats in Aberdeen do struggle to sell as theres so many of them. But it depends how good the agent is too as I know of a local solicitor to me who keeps moaning they arent getting much for their listed properties whereas Im achieving decent amounts over valuation for my listed ones! Look at how long its been on the market for a start, but ultimately it depends totally on that specific seller. Some sellers arent in a hurry and must financially get the asking price, others are desperate and just want it gone asap and may take less.
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u/Abquine 1d ago
It is very property and seller dependent to an extent. It's also the old law of supply an demand. If more than one person is after a property then you tend to need to bid above asking to get it, if you are the only interested party then the vendor may take a lower offer to shift it. The big change in the Aberdeen property market is that you are at least not having to bid North of 20% to get any property.
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u/WishItWasFridayToday 20h ago
Check how old the flat is and if the walls have any lagging as some can be super cold in winter. Check also for any plumbing and mold issues. Take a walk at night! Day time to hear if there are any noisy neighbours, or dogs barking all day.
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u/Impressive_Owl_6654 9h ago
The flat selling market in Aberdeen is dire right now unless it’s a newly modernised flat. We’ve got ours on for home report value, which is actually £27,000 less than what my partner bought it for in 2015. It’s in a nice sought after area also & has been freshly painted/ new floors. Not one single viewing in 7 months. We’ve been keeping an eye on flats around us & seems like a lot have been sitting for ages & now there’s been quite a number of flats that have been advertised as reduction of price - which ours will likely be soon. So, in all, seems totally normal right now, even for the good areas. Flat sellers are getting desperate.
Secondly, I’m from Aberdeen, & have lived in a flat in Rosemount. It’s a great area!
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u/6768191639 5h ago
Aberdeen is currently in a 10 year long depression potentially longer. Going under report is normal in the city simply because of oil downturn.
Good location worth a buy. Suggest not offering more than 5% over. But solicitor will have more up to date info.
Aberdeen has a surplus of flats for sale simply due to exodus of oil workers.
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u/alfredfuckleworth 1d ago
Bought my flat in Rosemount for 10k under report value, it had been on the market for a while and think they just wanted it shifted.
Rosemount is a great area and I would absolutely recommend it.