tell me I haven't "missed the boat"

not_loaded

breadlinebetty wrote: »

Houseprices and sales are definitely on the up round my way (I'm in the south east) and have been for some months now. Some places are even fetching more than the asking price as there's a lack of good property for sale.

Yup, they definitely are on the up round here. In actual fact they never went down detectably.

To my (limited) knowledge there were three properties locally in bidding wars, ending up over asking. Properties are rarely on the market for more than a month or so.

brit1234 wrote: »

Really, I'd like to see all these people. I have a good wage and a big deposit and I still can't afford the cheapest properties.

Well for a small train fare you can be here and see all the SOLD signs. Unfortunately it’s got nothing to do with what any individual can actually afford.

brit1234 wrote: »

I spoke to an estate agent today and he said business is well down on traditional levels. Yes it is up a little from a few months ago but still down in genral. He believes like you said to rent and wait for prices to come down to affordable levels. Yes there are suprissingly honest estate agents out there.

Clearly business is well down on what? 2006/early 2007? but there are some buyers (and sellers) who absolutely MUST get on with their lives.

(incidentally that’s not much of an EA, advising you wait and don’t buy)

People are still emigrating here, coming back here from abroad, getting divorced, getting together with new partners, getting married etc. They can’t all sit there waiting for the revolution that never comes.

p00hsticks

not_loaded wrote: »

Unfortunately it’s got nothing to do with what any individual can actually afford.

Please explain / expand on this statement as it doesn't make sense to me - are you saying that house prices bear absolutely no relation to what people can afford ?

izzybusy23

not_loaded wrote: »

Yup, they definitely are on the up round here. In actual fact they never went down detectably.

To my (limited) knowledge there were three properties locally in bidding wars, ending up over asking. Properties are rarely on the market for more than a month or so.

Well for a small train fare you can be here and see all the SOLD signs. Unfortunately it’s got nothing to do with what any individual can actually afford.

Clearly business is well down on what? 2006/early 2007? but there are some buyers (and sellers) who absolutely MUST get on with their lives.

(incidentally that’s not much of an EA, advising you wait and don’t buy)

People are still emigrating here, coming back here from abroad, getting divorced, getting together with new partners, getting married etc. They can’t all sit there waiting for the revolution that never comes.

Thats living in the South East for you... when you are a commute away from London on the train, what do you expect? Its not the born and bred south east people buying property but people from London...

And that revolution will come... maybe not this year, or next, but it will. Get real, prices are NOT sustainable at current levels and anybody who believes they are, and are prepared to pay 6+ x their salary are just plain nuts. Rising house prices are not good for anybody.. what about future generations because of the greed of the current generation? :mad:

not_loaded

p00hsticks wrote: »

Please explain / expand on this statement as it doesn't make sense to me - are you saying that house prices bear absolutely no relation to what people can afford ?

No problem.

Unfortunately it’s got nothing to do with what any individual can actually afford.

Meaning what brit1234 has available in total, has no effect on the price of property he/she may look at.

izzybusy23 wrote: »

…Its not the born and bred south east people buying property but people from London...

All my viewers have been from 10 mile radius. No Londoners.

izzybusy23 wrote: »

…And that revolution will come... maybe not this year, or next, but it will… …what about future generations because of the greed of the current generation? :mad:

So if you can await the revolution, do so! It’s your prerogative.

The future generations argument is not that valid, and NOT down to me. So, intending to move and buy again, I should price my house way down in a big-hearted philanthropic gesture? Umm… then get a tent?

And you tell me to get real. :rolleyes:

mlz1413

brit1234 wrote: »

Really, I'd like to see all these people. I have a good wage and a big deposit and I still can't afford the cheapest properties.
.

I second this I earn a reasonable wage but I can only get a flat for my money alone at 3.5 multiple. My fella is on a similar wage so 3 x highest + 1 of lower salary means we could get a large flat in nice area or a house in a area miles from where we want we live.

I feel for FTB and sellers of houses bought in the last 5 years at this moment in time.

tek-monkey

princeofpounds wrote: »

If I earn 20k net and i'm willing to spend half of that on a mortgage payment at 4% interest then I can afford a mortgage of 250k.

If interest rates rise to 7% (closer to the long term average) then I can afford a mortgage of only 140k.

You buy now, lock in for 5 years (or longer?) at a rate you can afford. At the end of this period, if you can't afford the mortgage you sell. Its unlikely the house price drop will be greater than the rent you would have paid, if it has dropped at all. Even if you get the same price for it as you paid you still saved in rent. During this period you also save whatever you would have done while renting, to ensure you're in at least as strong a position as if you'd rented all along.

the.ciscokid

tek-monkey wrote: »

You buy now, lock in for 5 years (or longer?) at a rate you can afford. At the end of this period, if you can't afford the mortgage you sell. Its unlikely the house price drop will be greater than the rent you would have paid, if it has dropped at all. Even if you get the same price for it as you paid you still saved in rent. During this period you also save whatever you would have done while renting, to ensure you're in at least as strong a position as if you'd rented all along.

Your mortgage and maintenance costs, fees, stamp duty, insurance etc. are WAY more than rent on a property.

Consequently, you wont be able to save as much money as you would when renting.

tek-monkey

Didn't consider stamp duty, as I'm WAY off buying a house that expensive! However I did my sums yesterday and was happy to find the new house will be approx £112 cheaper than the current rented one. Insurance isn't that much really if you combine buildings and contents, my mortgage and insurance on it together come in at just under my rent. Admittedly I've got about 2k in fees, but thats less than 4 months rent.

I don't know about others situations, can only base this on my own circumstances. For me buying is cheaper than renting, not sure I'd bother if it was a lot more expensive.

princeofpounds

You buy now, lock in for 5 years (or longer?) at a rate you can afford. At the end of this period, if you can't afford the mortgage you sell. Its unlikely the house price drop will be greater than the rent you would have paid, if it has dropped at all. Even if you get the same price for it as you paid you still saved in rent. During this period you also save whatever you would have done while renting, to ensure you're in at least as strong a position as if you'd rented all along.

Yes you can do this. It will lock in affordability for that period. Whether it's actually a good idea or not on a net asset value basis depends totally on what house prices and interest rates actually do in the meantime. And it only matters for your personal situation, it won't affect aggregate house prices.

the.ciscokid

tek-monkey wrote: »

Didn't consider stamp duty, as I'm WAY off buying a house that expensive! However I did my sums yesterday and was happy to find the new house will be approx £112 cheaper than the current rented one. Insurance isn't that much really if you combine buildings and contents, my mortgage and insurance on it together come in at just under my rent. Admittedly I've got about 2k in fees, but thats less than 4 months rent.

I don't know about others situations, can only base this on my own circumstances. For me buying is cheaper than renting, not sure I'd bother if it was a lot more expensive.

Fair enough - but what sort of mortgage is that? Repayment and fixed rate?