Good or bad time to be making offers?

oliphox

Hi all,
just wondering what your opinions are on buying at the moment. We have a 10% deposit and ready to make offers on places that we can easily afford (repayment estimates of 25 - 30% of net monthly income).

With various economists estimating drops in prices over the next 6-18 months; do you think it's worth waiting another 6 months or so? I realise they're just guessing - but it's obviously an educated guess at some level.

We're renting at the moment, so that'd mean another £5k lost through rent anyway.

Would you incorporate a drop of 5% into your offer, citing the predicted downturn? This is my preference at the moment, but I'm not sure if that'll just offend the vendors as a couple of places we like are on the market for "Offers over...".

thanks for reading!

arbrighton

They are just that- estimates/ guesses. Noone has a crystal ball.

If you are in a position to buy and find a place you like, just get on with it. If you offered on my house with that reasoning, you'd be told to jog on via the agent

Surrey_EA

To a certain extent it depends where in the country you are expecting to buy.

Predicting where house prices will be in 6 - 18 months time, is little more than guesswork, and when it comes down to it, nobody really knows.

Each seller will have their own motivations for selling, and what those motivations are will affect how they respond to offers.

In my view the housing market does not work logically, there is far too much human emotion involved, which is partly why future prices are so difficult to predict.

wjr4

We put an offer in on a house a couple of weeks after Brexit - everyone else seemed to be worrying about house price drops and blaming Brexit but to be honest, you need a roof over your head. If the property is worth the price and you don't have to pay a landlord rent, then it's a no-brainer. You'll only be saving a couple of grand anyway if prices were to drop (depending on where you live I suppose), which you would be wasting on rent. That's how I saw it anyway! Will just be a bit gutted if they raise the HTB ISA limit to over 250k (which, knowing my luck, they will do in a few months/next year!). Good luck

Hoploz

If the market is cooling, asking prices (on houses with sellers who genuinely want to SELL rather than sit on the market for months) will be set accordingly.

The asking price will have been set according to current market conditions.

There is no magic formula of people automatically selling for 90% of the asking price.

Some houses may be over priced, but where somebody really wants to get a buyer they will market it at a reasonable level. If a property is indeed reasonably priced, and more than one potential buyer is interested, the agreed figure may well end up above the asking price.

Every case is different.

No-one knows for sure where prices will be in 18 months time. We will still not be out of Europe, the average man in the street will have forgotten all about the Brexit vote, and will still need or want to move house for his own reasons. The three Ds will still apply - Death, Divorce, Debt.

smile88egc

I wouldn't be waiting 6/12 months, if you're ready to buy then buy.

But yes I would be factoring in potential short term price fluctuations and offer accordingly. You don't want to start out life in property ownership with your house losing value.

No harm in low offers unless you are set on one particular house and would be heartbroken if you don't get it

glasgowdan

Brexit isn't going to cause a crash in property. If you like the house, think it's priced fairly and can comfortably afford it then buy and don't sit there paying someone elses mortgage. Life doesn't wait for the cautious

Phirefly

I think the thing to bear in mind when the market is in a period of uncertainty is the length of time you're likely to be in a place and the potential to extend/improve. I don't think it's necessarily the case that EVERYONE should ALWAYS buy a longer-term home that has investment potential, but when the market is more uncertain than usual, it makes sense to buy somewhere that you're not likely to outgrow any time soon, or one where if you do, you can adapt it to your changing needs. In a stable, fast-paced, rising market, stepping-stone right-for-now homes are more viable.

Chanes

If you're buying a home, then it will be your home. It is an endless puzzle to me that folks are buying a house with an instant view to getting rid of it!

If you're in your property for a number of years, which you could be, because it would be your home, then it is most likely the price will have gone up and down a few times over those years.

You could wait forever. No, really, you could wait forever, it is your choice.

Ozzuk

For me the priority is always to have a home I own (or at least share with the bank!). I rented for a while between purchasing and hated it. There is the fact you are lining someone else pocket (which is fair enough) but it never felt like my home. I renovate houses so I found myself a little lost at weekends with all this time on my hands and looking at all the stuff that I could do to the house.

So for me, buy within your means and just go for it. It does depend on area but there are a core number of people hoping prices will crash so they can finally buy. I'd rather own my home.