Is it safe to buy my first home near London at this time?

Running_Horse

Dxhawk wrote: »

How dangerous is it at moment?

How dangerous is buying a house?

Lordy Lordy. If you're that nervous I suggest you rent for your whole life.

Home ownership is clearly only for us daredevils with no regard for personal safety.

geoffky

Running_Horse wrote: »

How dangerous is buying a house?

Lordy Lordy. If you're that nervous I suggest you rent for your whole life.

Home ownership is clearly only for us daredevils with no regard for personal safety.

If only the millions who are now affected by negative equity had asked the same question in 2007/8...I thought it was a question worth asking...

GDB2222

nollag2006 wrote: »

Buying is far far cheaper than renting in London:
http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/buying-is-cheaper-than-renting.html

With rents and London house prices rising, and interest rates staying flat it's only going to get worse.

If you see something you like, go for it!

That survey is looking long-term, whereas the OP was asking about timing in the short term.

cottonhead

My only comment is to buy somewhere you would be happy living in for a good few years just in case the market does fall further and you then cant afford to move on in a few years time. 95% doesnt give you much room for falling prices but for many people there isnt much other option. We are stuck now becauase the prices fell and we dont have enough equity for a deposit to move. Dont worry too much about job security etc etc that could happen to anyone. South East is expensive but I dont think we have suffered as much as some areas. New builds are always shooting up so that must say somthing.

nollag2006

GDB2222 wrote: »

That survey is looking long-term, whereas the OP was asking about timing in the short term.

Really?

Where does the OP say that they are only interested in the short term.

Buying a property is not a short term investment. Prices may fluctuate over the short term, but the long term trend has been strongly upwards.

Gentoo365

There are loads of commuters in the home counties and surrounding towns that would queue up to buy a place in London should prices drop.

So unlike the rest of the UK there is a minimum 'support' price that is unlikely to be breached.

This does not mean that price reductions are impossible. Just that they will not drop as far as the rest of the country.

GDB2222

nollag2006 wrote: »

Really?

Where does the OP say that they are only interested in the short term.

Buying a property is not a short term investment. Prices may fluctuate over the short term, but the long term trend has been strongly upwards.

Thread title: "Is it safe to buy my first home near London at this time?"

AlexMac

Having lived in both the areas you mention S & SE London; SW9, SW4, SE7, SE3...) over the past 30 years, I'd say 'go for it' . Especially SE London which is attarctive to City, West-End and Docklands workers as its mostly a 'zone 3' commute, has already massively benefitted from improved public transport (Jubilee Line, DLR, more buses, as well as the long-established rail service...) and is set to benefit from more transport improvements in the years ahead. And is still comparatively good value; I bought a 2-bed ex council place a couple of months ago for £152.5k, admittedly on the fringe of the SE3 area but still within 5 mins of a station. Buy the cheapest place you can find in the best area you can afford (look at Zoopla website averages for the postcode) and you should be OK.

And over time, everything works out OK; a mate of mine bought a flat in Lewisham at the height of the boom in the late 80's; 2 years later it had lost 35% of value. So when he had to move again, he rented it out and 10 years later, by the time he sold, it had recovered and he was well in profit.

The boom years may be over but you have to live somewhere!

Mr_Thrifty

Zoopla is about as accurate as randomly picking 6 digits out of thin air and putting a £ sign in front of them, in my experience.

jozbo

I'd say if you're in it for the long term, yes it's a good idea.

Renting over the long term is more expensive than buying, yes. But in the short term the rent may be much higher than your equivalent mortgage payment however there are all the unexpecteds and maintenance costs that come with home ownership....

When looking for a place, look for the obvious signs of an area's ongoing desirability - transport infrastructure, parks nearby, posh houses close, etc etc.

Some buys are obviously in a short term bubble - new build flats in certain areas that'll never improve due to poor transport, or a sewage plant, and so on. Just use your head.