Is now the time to buy?

Crashy_Time

ukcarper wrote: »

Let's be honest you have no idea what is going to happen to house prices just like everybody else. You have been predicting a crash 15 years so why should people take any notice of what you say. If someone bought 15 years ago not only would there house be worth a lot more, they would have paid off a substantial amount of thier mortgage and be paying less in mortgage payments that rent.

So the biggest gun they had wasn`t dropping interest rates?? Also, no, I wasn`t predicting a house price crash in 2002! I had very little interest in house prices in 2002!

Crashy_Time

Filo25 wrote: »

Still perfectly capable of pumping further QE into the banking system.

In terms of housing there's nothing to stop them looking at a variety of measures which might support prices in a variety of ways if required (inheritence tax, stamp duty, some of the recent changes to the treatment of BTLs)

It would be political suicide for a Conservative government in particular to allow a full blown house price crash to develop.

I certainly wouldn't rule out a modest correction to house prices or a significant period of relative stagnation, but It remains hard to see the driver for a massive crash at present, albeit the market is currently facing more headwinds than it has in a while.

It already is political suicide, we have Trump/Brexit because of QE and extended bailouts/emergency rates. What the banking system now needs is normalised interest rates.

Planet_Switzerland

I think the best time to buy is simply when you can afford to. I purchased my first property last year but in hindsight I should have done it much sooner, here is a timeline to give you an idea:


Start of 2012 - Decide I like my area of London enough to live long term, look at house prices and they seem quite reasonable for London. My understanding of mortgages at the time was you needed 20% deposit or 25% for the good interest rates (you certainly don't need that much now, even at the time you may not have). At the time I had around 15% so targeted 20% by the end of the year.


Start of 2013 - Reached 20%, looked at house prices and they'd stayed the same. Decided to go for 25% to get the better rates.


Start of 2014 - After help to buy was introduced in 2013, the prices in my area rocketed up so the 25% deposit I'd saved was no longer 25%. Thought the prices must come down again, but needed to save more to reach 25%.


Start of 2015 - No such luck, the prices had gone up even further. Went to see mortgage advisor, he advised summer was bad time to buy so either find somewhere by end of February or wait until September. Decided on the latter so as not to rush into it.


September 2015 - Got agreement in principle, found there to be very little for sale.


February 2016 - End of the mortgage advisors recommended buying period, only two viewings because of shortage of properties for sale. Decide to just carry on looking otherwise I may never get there.


Summer 2016 - Finally buy somewhere.


My deposit in the end was around 35%, but because the prices had gone up so much I've ended up borrowing more than I would have if I bought somewhere at the beginning of 2012 with my 15% deposit, not to mention all the rent I paid since then.


So basically find out the facts and don't just assume, don't try to be too clever and if some advice you're given makes no sense then its probably not worth listening to.