better to buy now (or soonish), than at the bottom of the market

neverdespairgirl

kai666 wrote: »

I think, surely it is better to buy now (or soonish) than at bottom of the market The reasons for this are:

1.There will be lots of demand at or near the bottom, reducing choice and increasing prices as people fight for the bargain they want

There wasn't last time. My parents bought their house after the absolute bottom (I think - 1993) and the housing market was moving like treacle.

skap7309

I think, surely it is better to buy now (or soonish) than at bottom of the market The reasons for this are:

1.There will be lots of demand at or near the bottom, reducing choice and increasing prices as people fight for the bargain they want. So, with everyone waiting for the bottom, when does the bottom ever get reached? No one buys - houses fall in price - the bottom gets further away.

2.Currently it is a buyers market. Once the bottom is reached, and more people are out looking, this will swap back to a sellers market, as they realise plenty of other people are also looking around. Economics say, the bottom will not suddenly get reached and whoosh......10% YoY increases......it will be divided equally for possibly years. If sellers start gazumping etc and there is no extra funds around for buyers then the crash carries on and/or the housing market again grinds to a halt.

3.you are more likely to get the house you want now, with fewer people wanting to buy. As the numbers looking increases, the choice will decrease unless you are quick (thus less room to haggle and neogiate) True, however with sellers trying their luck renting their properties out this equals far less choice at the moment. If they feel the crash is over then more property on the market = more choice and at far lower prices than even now.

4. You won't know it's the bottom of the market until it's too late! Many of us are ready and waiting or will be ready before the bottom has been reached. At LEAST another year before we see MoM figures stop falling and even then it will be some months before they start rising again. Also many of us are watching the shortage of mortages, the credit cruch, job losses and until this completely reverses we can comfortably sit back and watch those prices fall. Only then will we see the market returning to increases.

anyway thats just my thoughts on why you shouldn't wait till the bottom!

Bayesian_Roller

I tend to agree that we are nowhere near the bottom of the market. However, that does not mean that there are no bargains to be had - several things to keep in mind:

1. People sometimes move because they have no choice - job relocation, going back to their native country for family reasons, divorce etc. Some of these may be morally questionable to cash in on, but in general there will be such situations.

2. With volume being what it is atm, the market is not efficient and the asking prices do not reflect the real value of the property. Check Zoopla on any property you are considering. Their models seem realistic and it will be interesting to eventually compare them against actual sales in this period.

3. Finally, even a cheap sale will mean the EA is less likely to lose his job. With agents being laid off on a massive scale, they will bend over backwards to get that commission.

So, IMHO it is worth starting some serious research now. If something good comes up and you can afford it, go for it.

hethmar

I can appreciate people thinking that the bottom is not yet reached and I can also agree that there will be no upwards shooting of prices for several years, but if you want to own your own place then it doesnt matter that the price of it isnt going to increase quickly - you would still have had your own home for those years.

Cat695

its quite simple in my eyes....if you want to buy then buy...just get the best deal you can....if you don't then erm....don't

I'm buying when i have enough cash behind me...whether thats in 6 months or a year.....I don't really care what the prices are doing as i'm buying for me!

tomstickland

It doesn't matter if you miss the exact bottom of the market. If you buy after the bottom is reached then prices will be going up (assuming that there aren't two dips) and the risk of negative equity is minimised.

kennyboy66_2

If you have waited this long (and I am not one of them) then whats the rush ?

Surely after at least getting the timing right enough you would want to buy as close to the perfect house as possible ?

Buying at the absolute bottom is only possible through luck rather than judgement.

I can imagine that you will be buying close enough to the bottom, anytime from the second half of next year to sometime in 2013.

Joyjoy

I am buying as well. Reasons:
1. Interest rate is so low that your interest can not afford your rent. You are helping landlord buy house if you are renting.

2. We never know where is the bottom, if everyone says want to buy house, that time will be problem for us to buy house.

3.You can start to view, otherwise maybe when you want to buy, but you can not find the one you like.

If have money, start to view house, have your own place, why not?:j

monkeymaster

kai666 wrote: »

I think, surely it is better to buy now (or soonish) than at bottom of the market The reasons for this are:

1.There will be lots of demand at or near the bottom, reducing choice and increasing prices as people fight for the bargain they want

2.Currently it is a buyers market. Once the bottom is reached, and more people are out looking, this will swap back to a sellers market, as they realise plenty of other people are also looking around

3.you are more likely to get the house you want now, with fewer people wanting to buy. As the numbers looking increases, the choice will decrease unless you are quick (thus less room to haggle and neogiate)

4. You won't know it's the bottom of the market until it's too late!

anyway thats just my thoughts on why you shouldn't wait till the bottom!

1. There is absolutely no sign of the bottom yet, don't worry about it. Demand (which by definition is wanting something and having the means to pay for it) will continue to fall as lenders are still cutting back and tightening criteria. Where will this demand come from? Unemployment is rising significantly, this will have further downward pressure on prices. All the signs are pointing down.

2. Hmmm interesting.

3. The number of mortgage approvals is still on a downward trend. It has been predicted that next year net lending could be below 0, ie no new lending. This is not going to improve significantly for a couple of years at least.

4. You think there will be a point where we reach the bottom and the week after prices shoot up by 20%? Don't think so. The bottom won't come for a couple of years and it will take time for the market to find its feet again.

When things like unemployment have peaked and is falling and mortgage approvals have been steadily rising for several months, then is the time to start to consider buying but certainly not now.

geoffky

i am not buying because
ITS CHEAPER TO RENT/
last month the ave price house lost £3200 in value times that by a few months and its a lot of money
unemployment is about to explode
house prices are going to fall a lot further
bottom will be bottom for quite a while
negative equity is a killer to ltv
most houses on sale are crap.
i am paying cash so dont have to apply for a slave mortgage and hope my boss likes me..