house prices are apparently falling quicker

bendix

Another house price thread? Good grief.

I thought we had already established beyond all reasonable doubt that house prices are falling all over the world, except in Mitchaa's backyard?

Oblivion

One of our local Surrey EAs who I've known for years admitted to me this week that he's not been able to sell anything significant for the past three months. He acknowledges that his company is on the brink of folding.

In a last ditch effort to con the public into thinking the market is picking up, he is brazenly going round the district sticking up his For Sale boards, with a 'Sold' sticker on them, outside blocks of flats.

Funny, but quite sad too.

Dave.

Harry_Powell

whathavewedone wrote: »

Dithering Dad has started a thread about this elsewhere. I don't have a vested interest btw as I'm on a fixed rate which expires at the end of 2011 and I would love to believe that interest rates wouldn't be above 6% then but I just don't think they will be.

There are a few interest rate threads in here and the main house buying board, but I think I found the one you mean. In the middle of all the squabbling there were some good points made and it certainly gave me food for thought.

We have a large deposit from the sale of my flat a couple of years ago and my gf inheritted a bit of money from her aunt. We're getting sod all in interest on our deposit at the moment and we're paying more in rent than we would be paying on an interest only mortgage, so the idea of buying with a fixed rate mortgage to lock in those rent savings is appealing. But I wont be doing it as long as house prices continue with their nose dive.

The best case scenario would be to negotiate a decent buying price that factors in 12 months worth of drops, a fixed rate at 4% using just enough of our deposit to secure the mortgage LTV deal and then leaving the rest of the deposit in the bank to benefit from high inflation. But then if I had that sort of luck, I'd just buy a lottery ticket and have done with it .

whathavewedone

Mmmm yes you might be expecting a bit too much there!

Harry_Powell

whathavewedone wrote: »

Mmmm yes you might be expecting a bit too much there!

Yes, I think so. Still, dreams are free.

Seriously though, the inflation threads have given me a lot to think about. We can afford to buy now and a mortgage would be cheaper than our current rent, but we're obviously waiting while prices continue to fall as it means that we get a better 'bang for our buck'.

Though if interest rates do go up significantly, we'll be back in the situation where a mortgage would cost more each month than our rent and so, financially, it doesn't make sense to buy. We could stay renting and watch our deposit increase due to higher saving rates. Though if mortgage rates go up significantly then maybe rents will follow suit?

There is also the consideration that me and my gf are looking to settle down and start a family and neither of us want to do this in rented property, we've had to move a couple of times when the landlord sold up, which isnt a big deal for a couple but would be with a baby. If we wait a year for prices to fall and then interest rates go through the roof and stay there for a year or so, we'll never start a family!

Argh!! Why did I ever come into this board?? I was happy waiting in ignorance for the market to bottom out and now my head is all over the place. :rotfl:

mewbie_2

Harry_Powell wrote: »

Argh!! Why did I ever come into this board?? I was happy waiting in ignorance for the market to bottom out and now my head is all over the place.

Great position to be in, renting, watching, waiting and saving. 1-2% a month drop equals 1-2k in your pocket. That's worth a little bit of 'hassle', a couple of thousand a month, surely.

lostinrates

Harry_Powell wrote: »

Argh!! Why did I ever come into this board?? I was happy waiting in ignorance for the market to bottom out and now my head is all over the place. :rotfl:

This board does that to one. Can you afford to buy something that you wold stay in for a long, long time? Or are you lookingat things you think you might outgrow in a few years?

Harry_Powell

mewbie wrote: »

Great position to be in, renting, watching, waiting and saving. 1-2% a month drop equals 1-2k in your pocket. That's worth a little bit of 'hassle', a couple of thousand a month, surely.

Absolutely!

I was only kidding with the remarks about me head being all over the place. In reality we're in a great position, certainly better than the sellers watching their equity run down the drain.

I saw on the Land Registry that property prices are now back to 2004 levels. I'm waiting for 1994 prices, so as soon as Chaka Demus & Pliers, Wet Wet Wet and Boyzone start playing on the radio, I'm in the market :rotfl:

Harry_Powell

lostinrates wrote: »

This board does that to one. Can you afford to buy something that you wold stay in for a long, long time? Or are you lookingat things you think you might outgrow in a few years?

The plan is to buy the largest home we can reasonably afford, in a nice area with decent schools. My folks have lived in the same house all my life and apart from saving a bomb on moving costs, they know just about everyone in the town. I had a great childhood, in part because we didn't move around all the time like many of my workmates parents (and my gf) did. This is pretty much what I'd like for my kids, long-term stability.

With every month that passes, we get closer to this goal.

FungusFighter

Harry_Powell wrote: »

My girlfriend and me .....

I's my girlfirend and I actually:A