Is it time to Buy property, bargains?

dad-of-4

baby_boomer wrote: »

Times - When is the right time to get back on the property ladder?

Melanie Bien of Savills private finance says:

"with prices continuing to fall, buyers will be at no disadvantage if they wait another six months.”

This is the article where I found 2032 predicted by Capital Economics as the year property will regain its 2007 levels.

2032 sounds reasonable to me, the mechanisms that were in place to drive HPI are gone and wont be comming back, CDO's, securitisation, quick turnarounds and no risk, its all a thing of the past, and without it, theirs no lie to buy, no deposit, & no silly income multiplyers.

the banks dont want to play ball with gordons idea of getting back to business as usual and it wont matter how much money he gives them, they just dont want to play that game again. HPI might as well be counted back in with official inflation figures, as its the only thing that will drive house prices for a long long time after we hit bottom and get theru the stagnation that will follow. IMHO;)

besonders1

It is always a good time to buy property bargains but are there are any bargains out there?

A property which has been reduced from £500k to £400k might look like a bargain to you but is it? Seven or eight years ago the same house would have sold for under £150k. The concensus now seems to suggest that the clock on the house price time machine is set to wind itself a long way back. Why not wait until the £400k house reverts to £120k again?

Madness isn't it, Buying in the peak was like a FTB buying 2 houses at the same time no wonder there are so many repos. I agree if you can get a house for 2000/2 prices then I would go for it but I bet there would be a fight as there aren't many homes priced at that level, I think I have only seen one and its was sold within 5 days, plus it was in a dodgy area. However that could change once the rest of the housing market starts to fall and the cash buyers/developers dry up. I agree that there is no risks for buyers who decide to wait, but there would be for those that buy now as prices are only going one way now. The biggest question you need to ask is, "if I bought now and needed to sell up later for a bigger house, would it sell for less than I paid in a years time."

dad-of-4

besonders1 wrote: »

It is always a good time to buy property bargains but are there are any bargains out there?



Madness isn't it, Buying in the peak was like a FTB buying 2 houses at the same time no wonder there are so many repos. I agree if you can get a house for 2000/2 prices then I would go for it but I bet there would be a fight as there aren't many homes priced at that level, I think I have only seen one and its was sold within 5 days, plus it was in a dodgy area. However that could change once the rest of the housing market starts to fall and the cash buyers/developers dry up. I agree that there is no risks for buyers who decide to wait, but there would be for those that buy now as prices are only going one way now. The biggest question you need to ask is, "if I bought now and needed to sell up later for a bigger house, would it sell for less than I paid in a years time."

its probably worth factoring in what if i loose my job, or have to take a paycut, never mind moving onto a bigger house, you could find your self over stretched with a 60k mortgage in this climate, and at some point interest has to go high, the banks need it inorder to get back to prudent lending/investing.

macaque_2

phil_b wrote: »

If you can get a house for 2003/4 prices (comparable by spec/area etc) then I think now is a good time to buy. Especially if you get a long fixed low rate.
In the vast majority of cases I dont see prices going below 2003, they would actualy just be too cheap then. There is a massive gulf between 2001-2003.

Hang on, it was spin that got us into this mess and you are now trying to use spin to get us out. The year and the absolute price is irrelevant. What matters is:

How much can people afford?
How much are people willing to pay?
How much are banks willing to lend?

On all three scores, I would suggest that all bets are off. Before the party is over average incomes are going to wind themselves back to 1980s and sentiment is going to wind itself back to 1930 (thanks StevieJ).

StevieJ

macaque wrote: »

Hang on, it was spin that got us into this mess and you are now trying to use spin to get us out. The year and the absolute price is irrelevant. What matters is:

How much can people afford?
How much are people willing to pay?
How much are banks willing to lend?

On all three scores, I would suggest that all bets are off. Before the party is over average incomes are going to wind themselves back to pre 1980s and sentiment is going to wind itself back to 1930.

What planet are you on, please don't say earth

123oleary

how long are you planning on keeping this house?
the housing market is not the same everywhere and the bottom of the market will not be announced on the news. each house price will vary depending on the sellers circumstances and need to sell . if you wait until you are certain the market has bottomed prices will have started to rise anyway, given that a years rent might be worth a few grand , if you can get a good price and you can afford it go a head and buy.

chucky

macaque wrote: »

Hang on, it was spin that got us into this mess and you are now trying to use spin to get us out. The year and the absolute price is irrelevant. What matters is:

How much can people afford?
How much are people willing to pay?
How much are banks willing to lend?

On all three scores, I would suggest that all bets are off. Before the party is over average incomes are going to wind themselves back to 1980s and sentiment is going to wind itself back to 1930 (thanks StevieJ).

davilown

phil_b wrote: »

If you can get a house for 2003/4 prices (comparable by spec/area etc) then I think now is a good time to buy. Especially if you get a long fixed low rate.
In the vast majority of cases I dont see prices going below 2003, they would actualy just be too cheap then. There is a massive gulf between 2001-2003.

What? Realism needs to get back into your life. House prices are only going one way as people can't afford them. As other people have already stated, the prices will come to to the local 3x average wage for the area. It will take people 2-3years to save the required deposit and that's those who are still in work. Repo's over the next 2-3years will massacre the market, what ever the delusional EAs say. People are looking at more houses but only because they are bored and need something cheap to entertain them. Trust me, I do it every weekend.

On the topic of people lowering their prices, these two houses have been around the same price for upto 18 months
here
Here
I know that offers up to 220k have been made in the past two months but the sellers are adamant they will get their money they 'deserve'.

ad9898_3

Trust wrote: »

We are in an interesting position, and if you have money where do you put it?

Houses valued at £150k are going for £80-100k or less,

Interest rates very low for savings,

So it it time to buy if you have the money or wait six months.

Anyone had any good bargains?

(if only I had a crystal ball which would show me the lottery numbers for tonights drawer or the state of the economy in a years time!)

There are no bargains, not until at least 2010, with 2% per month average price drop, today's bargain is tomorrow's overpriced albatross around your neck.

chucky

macaque wrote: »

It is always a good time to buy property bargains but are there are any bargains out there?

A property which has been reduced from £500k to £400k might look like a bargain to you but is it? Seven or eight years ago the same house would have sold for under £150k. The concensus now seems to suggest that the clock on the house price time machine is set to wind itself a long way back. Why not wait until the £400k house reverts to £120k again?

maybe a consensus in your world due to that housepricecrash.com crystal ball that you have.

macaque wrote: »

Before the party is over average incomes are going to wind themselves back to 1980s

this "consensus" must be just yourself. to be clear it isn't the end of the world and it isn't armageddon. it's an economic problem that most countries in the world have.