Is it too late to sell a house in Northern Ireland???

leftieM

There are still buyers out there but you need to be realistic about the price you can achieve. Forget about what your neighbour got last year. You will not sell for that price this year. Don't ignore the EA's valuation and put your house on at a higher price than they recommend unless you don't want to be bothered by viewers. Don't be offended by offers 20k below asking price - buyers know they can call the shots and if you say no, they'll move on to someone who'll say yes. You have no power as a seller any more.
I don't see what can make a difference in the spring. Martin Lewis and Gordon Brown, who know slightly more than me, are warning of tough times ahead as the credit crunch bites here.

jamesey07

load of houses built not far from junction 1 way last year and loads of them lie empty today, also know of some people buying houses hoping to make a quick fortune selling them, greed i guess, asking £200k for them but strangely a house a couple of doors up for £160k, and like this for quite a few even though they have the same amount of rooms and look the same... would rather rent instead of being out 600-1000 a month for the next 25 years

kgrant

Original Quotes

October 2007

"My partner and I have been looking at the Northern Ireland house prices and looking at buying our first home (we are both FTB) somewhere in the East Antrin area, since July this year. In the new year we have the dilemma, do we buy or just rent for 6months as we both want to live together now?

At first we were going to go the co-ownership route for a mortage back in July. Then we talked to a few honest mortage advisors, friends and family members who informed us of more info on that way of buying and as we feel its not economically sound in the long-term we decided to go try for a full 100% mortage in August. Also, during that time a really nice house we liked came onto the market in September for £165,000.

Having talked to our mortage advisor and 3 different banks informally we were under the impression that we had no hope going that route without having a 10% deposit (i.e. approx £15000-£16500). Therefore we chilled out about getting a place at the time as it was very stressful and from then until now have been saving and living at our respective parents houses."

Dcemeber 2008

"The £165,000 house we both liked is still on the market at this time and we dont know on whether we should offer an affordable offer for us on the asking rice (i.e. £135,000-£145,000) or just find a nice fully furnished place to rent for approx £350 - £500 a month in our area...therefore what do you all think would be the sensible choice for us in the new year and any other opinions and advice would be appreciated (i.e. short term housing market predictions etc.)?!

Thanks everyone for your comments. My partner and I agreed that we should contact the estate agent about that £165,000 property last weekend. Upon ringing them up and pretending to be 'fresh' on the property scene (i.e. because they did not take my name/details during the conversation); I asked what the house price was sitting at? How long has it been on the market/ Number of viewings/offers etc. Well.......when I asked all the questions I was answered with 'the market is quiet' a few times and 'the property is still at an excellent price' quotes. Once I received all that I knew already about the property (i.e. we were the first to few it back in September so we had done our homework) I cheekly asked would the vendor be willing to accept a 'lower offer'? Surprisingly the agent said they probably would due to the property being on the market for 3months+.

We do not know whether we shall try will a cheeky £130,000 offer (i.e. around affordable mark for us both at the minute) but as this may not even reach the vendor through the estate agent-if anyone has any further opinions on our situation or even on any advice for a possible 6month rental contract in the East Antrim area (by the way we are engaged and plan marriage for 2010) that would be appreciated?!

Thanks."


January 2008

Happy New Year Everyone. I am just updating my situation on the house-buying or renting predicament. We both have agreed that we are wanting to get either a rented or mortaged place sometime this year, preferably asap & defiantely by Christmas 2008!

Update on the EA contacting us; I received a telephone call on Friday last week from a local EA who was wondering if I was still looking to buy somewhere & was I limited in our prefered choice of locations/area (probably had somewhere in mind but I dejected her enquiries). I let them know I am not as actively involved in house-buying at the minute because of the entire house market situation but should any new properties that might be of interest to ourselves come on the market, to let me know. Anyways, I was just wondering if anyone has any 2008 opinions or heard any recent predictions or new information on interest rates/ N.I housing market etc.that might help us on our 'quest for a home 2008' - just leave a reply!

Thanks.

IvanOpinion

mr._prude wrote: »

Does anyone think the property market will pick up in the spring or is it doomed. I have heard of new semis dropping from 200K to 150K and still not selling.

I hoping to sell Apr/May time but it is not looking good.

P

Nobody knows ... the biggest problem in the market is that at the minute there are a n awful lot of 'panic sellers'. That is good news for buyers but probably means that house prices will slip well below any readjusted valuation (or so I hope). 2008 is probably NOT going to be a good year for sellers ... however if interest rates drop a few times, who knows?

Ivan

ballyblack

would rather rent instead of being out 600-1000 a month for the next 25 years

But what happens after 25 years, you will STILL be paying rent as a pensioner, not something to look forward to?

talksalot81

ballyblack wrote: »

But what happens after 25 years, you will STILL be paying rent as a pensioner, not something to look forward to?

Assuming the poster means that a mortgage means an EXTRA £600-1000 per month (as it would do for me), then he would not be worrying about when he is a pensioner. Assuming them to be 30 years old, they have 35 years until retirement saving £7k-12k per year. Now assuming relative rental costs, relative earnings remains similar amd the savings maintain pace with inflation, a good approximation is that the poster would have somewhere in the region of £250-400k in the bank (in todays money) upon retirement. I think that is far from a bad position to be in.

Edit: oooops 25 year mortgage. The same sentiment applies - several hundred thousand pounds better off.

ballyblack

and still beholding to a landlord?

No thanks!

talksalot81

ballyblack wrote: »

and still beholding to a landlord?

No thanks!

Well you maybe have not thought through the mathematics full! If you end up with £300k of inflation adjusted money, then you could buy a house which is £300k inflation adjusted! So at the end of that period, you probably would have saved enough to buy the property outright! More importantly, if you are savvy, you would be refusing to buy now and waiting for a less expensive time. If 5 years in the future prices had dropped by 20% (not at all unreasonable) then it would take only 20 years at the 25year 'rate' to pay it off. As a result, at the end of 25 years, both the guy who bought now and the guy who waited 5 years would own the property BUT the latter would have 5 years worth of '600-1k' a month in addition. So by waiting 5 years (in this scenario) the latter would be £36-60k (in todays money) better off.

This can be extrapolated.

10% drop in 2.5 years - £18-30k better off
40% drop in 10 years - £72 - 120k better off

It is a simplification but this forum has before demonstrated non-interest in long and precise proofs!

mr._prude

Is there much demand for renting, as I may rent the property until prices pick up.

P

IvanOpinion

talksalot81 wrote: »

Well you maybe have not thought through the mathematics full! If you end up with £300k of inflation adjusted money, then you could buy a house which is £300k inflation adjusted! So at the end of that period, you probably would have saved enough to buy the property outright! More importantly, if you are savvy, you would be refusing to buy now and waiting for a less expensive time. If 5 years in the future prices had dropped by 20% (not at all unreasonable) then it would take only 20 years at the 25year 'rate' to pay it off. As a result, at the end of 25 years, both the guy who bought now and the guy who waited 5 years would own the property BUT the latter would have 5 years worth of '600-1k' a month in addition. So by waiting 5 years (in this scenario) the latter would be £36-60k (in todays money) better off.

This can be extrapolated.

10% drop in 2.5 years - £18-30k better off
40% drop in 10 years - £72 - 120k better off

It is a simplification but this forum has before demonstrated non-interest in long and precise proofs!

I can see the point you are trying to make but given past performance it is unlikely that house price drops will last for that length of time .. in 5 years time surely it is more likely that any particular house will cost more than it does today which in real terms means by not buying at a perceived market bottom could negate any benefit.

Ivan