Manchester Flats... when/where to buy!?

benbfc

Ok so we are 2 FTB's currently renting in the centre of Manchester (2 bed with parking as needed for work). Now we are planning to live in the centre of Manchester for approx 5 years so it would seem prudent to buy a flat in the near future instead of paying a landlord 5 years of rent we could have paid back a chunk of our mortgage.

With the over supply of flat in Manchester and the market as it is you should get a good deal on buying as long as realistically you dont expect a large profit to be gained upon sale in the future.

For people that know the market in manchester, would you hold off until mid/end of 2009 to buy hoping that the market does not pick up and prices drop much further? Also in terms of future saleability (just selling the thing, let alone makeing a profit) where do people think is a good place to buy?

Thanks for the advice in advance!

poppysarah

How much can you afford?

Lotus-eater

What would worry me about buying a flat in general, not just in Manchester, is that their reputation has been completely battered by the downturn and the fact that such an oversupply was built.

When we have eventually finished this crash in the market, we are going to look back and assess what has happened, is the sentiment in the market going to automatically downgrade all new build flats for the foreseeable future?

I don't know, but I wouldn't like to own a flat and chance it myself.

benbfc

could afford about £150-160k

poppysarah

flesh out that affordability in terms of deposit, income, expected mortgage as % of income etc any debts ...

andrewmp

Don't do it!!

beecher

benbfc wrote: »

Now we are planning to live in the centre of Manchester for approx 5 years so it would seem prudent to buy a flat in the near future instead of paying a landlord 5 years of rent we could have paid back a chunk of our mortgage.

Don't take it for granted that this is the prudent approach - you need to work out how much of the nortgage you'd have paid after 5 years as it may be a lot less than you imagine.

You haven't posted how much of a deposit you have - 10% would be the minimum, but it makes sense to have more if possible.

howler_2

I'd say dont do it!! Prices are falling massively - some flats are selling for 50% - 65% less than they were bought for a few years ago.

And we're still at the start of this crash, IMO we've got further to go

benbfc

No debt. (apart from student loan)
15% Deposit.


Howler thats what i mean, they are getting cheaper (and affordable as before they were stupid money), so i am thinking in 12 months time we will see a lot more people repossesed, prices having fallen even more and that might be a good time to buy. Then of course there is the area..

GDB2222

There is a thread on here somewhere that I started yesterday about auction prices for these flats in the Barnard Marcus auction. There's a rather nice looking 2 bed flat in the auction with a guide price of £95k. Based on that, your budget of £150k looks like a lot more than you'll need to pay.

I think you'll be a lot better off in a slightly older block where all the flats have already been sold, rather than a new-build. With a new-build, you could be decidedly lonely.

It's worth a look at lots 290 and 334 in the current Barnard Marcus auction:
http://www.barnardmarcusauctions.co.uk/Current_Auction.html
Both are 2 bed flats, and the guide price on the cheaper one is £75k. Of course, it may well go for more than that.

Riq

Lot 334 is in the better place centrally and in general. But I wouldn't choose to live in either of those areas. But a good website for reading anyway