First time buyer, when is best time to buy?

chucknorris

Loughton_Monkey wrote: »

Just get on and buy it now.

Don't faff around.

He's right, if you faff around you will miss out, case in point:

While LM was typing the above post I climbed in his lounge window and drank his gin and tonic, yes LM that's where it went, was there actually any tonic in it? How long did you spend wondering where you had left it, before pouring another?

THE_MASKED_TURNIP

Salient advices above. I'd buy now if I were you.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Swafe wrote: »

I cant work out who apart from the odd professional can afford record high house prices

Prices nationally remain around 25% below peak in inflation adjusted terms, around 15% below peak in wage adjusted terms, and around 7% below peak in actual cash terms.

Mortgage payments, even at 5% instead of the current 3.4% average, remain cheaper than rent in 90% of the country.

There are millions that currently rent, who want to and could afford to pay a mortgage instead, the biggest obstacle remains a lack of mortgage availability.

THE_MASKED_TURNIP

If you have to ask the price of it then uou can't afford it.

ging84

the best time to be a first time buyer is at the bottom of the market after a crash, when your 100 bitcoins that you bought 3 years ago for a few cent each are now worth $200-300 each

Generali

I'd get moving if I were you as prices can move away from you pretty quickly.

In the late 90s we had 2 sellers mess us about which meant prices jumped about 30-40% where we were looking (cheap end of Wimbledon).

Having said that do your research properly: make sure you know the local market as, unless you are buying a forever house, presumably at some point you'll need to sell.

Loughton_Monkey

chucknorris wrote: »

He's right, if you faff around you will miss out, case in point:

While LM was typing the above post I climbed in his lounge window and drank his gin and tonic, yes LM that's where it went, was there actually any tonic in it? How long did you spend wondering where you had left it, before pouring another?

You hit a nerve, there.

At my age, you have to expect several instances of walking into another room only to wonder "What did I come in here for?"

Had you climbed into my study, here, you might well have seen three half smoked cigars in the ashtray.

But I do tend to keep my G&T in view and close to my hand all the time. I like loads of ice. Upside is that it keeps it cool. Downside is that it melts and dilutes the 1:1 ratio of gin to tonic.

I will probably celebrate with an extra one later today since I've just come back from a week in Istanbul, and the Free Clubroom Bar at the Grand Hyatt only serves 'Beefeater', and only has 10 oz. tumblers. I much prefer Gordons (or Tanqueray). On the flights, you get Gordons, but only in miserable 'double' mini-bottles in a 5 oz glass. Like peas to an elephant, and I told them so, demanding more!

However, what this has to do with buying a house I don't know......

cells

The uk has a shortage of homes and it is getting worse

France and the uk have almost the same population and will see similar population increases over the next 10 years (uk predicted to add more people than France)

France will build over 3.5 million homes over the next 10 years the UK closer to 1.5 million

So....is it difficult to know what to do once you know the huge difference between two very similar countries?

chucky

cells wrote: »

The uk has a shortage of homes and it is getting worse

You best buy one before you miss out then.

Herzlos

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Mortgage payments, even at 5% instead of the current 3.4% average, remain cheaper than rent in 90% of the country.

This is the key point here. No-one will know the best time to buy to get prices at their lowest or before a jump. The prices may drop a bit after you but, but in the long term they'll always go up. In the mean time you're paying less than renting (but you still need to factor in maintenance etc) whilst paying down your mortgage.

So basically the sooner the better, but only when you find somewhere you are happy with :j