Should first time buyers wait until after Brexit, or rush and buy before 29th March?

AntRyan10

Hi everyone,

My partner and I are 21 and looking to buy our first home after Christmas. We have tried our best to avoid renting for the past couple of years, and it's finally time to begin our search as we've reached our 'money goal' for our own little place! We are looking at anywhere between South London and the South Coast. Ideally a 2-bedroom flat for around £250,000.

Question is, with Brexit looming, do we rush to buy before 29th March or wait until after the leaving date?

I understand either way is a bit of a gamble at the moment, so I appreciate nobody really knows the definitive answer, however I'd be interested to get some of your opinions. As a pair of young newcomers to the housing ladder, we are in need of some experienced thoughts!

Thanks in advance!

GDB2222

If we have a hard Brexit, Sterling will fall, inflation will rise and interest rates will rise. You may also be out of a job. In those circs, it may be much, much better not to have a mortgage.

If we finally do a deal with the EU, Sterling will rise, inflation will fall, and interest rates won't rise (much). You may still be in a job, and able to afford a mortgage. House prices may rise a tad.

Oh dear, my crystal ball has gone all cloudy, but I think the lower risk option is pretty obviously to wait and see what happens with Brexit.

Sanne

I guess it also depends on personal circumstances - I find that, compared to renting, having a mortgage may be safer if you lose your job (assuming you have insurance covering redundancy).

We’ve just gone for it - hubby is in his mid-40s and we cannot wait forever if we want a long enough mortgage term - we are in one of the most expensive places in West Sussex and places we like and which are in our price range don’t come that often either.
I’ll tell you in a few years if that was the right decision Though I think if I was 21 I’d be inclined to wait and see what happens.

AnotherJoe

I think the specific date is irrelevant. Whatever happens there will be uncertainty, scary news headlines, political disruption, reversals of policy and reversals of the reversals after the date. Same as usual.
To counter point made by another poster, I very much doubt that if we have a hard Brexit, interest rates will rise much if at all. The opposite is more likely.

davidmcn

Assuming Brexit even happens on 29 March, and isn't delayed, or called off altogether - nothing's going to have settled down by 30 March. How much do you want to delay your purchase by?

PasturesNew

There'll always be something new to worry about ... should we wait until after XYZ ... always. The media's job is to make money by putting the fear of god into people.

You need a home to live in. Buy. Once it's done you can get on with things. You can't sit and wait until "after..." because on 30 March the media will draw your attention to another "disaster" .... just to flog more advertising space on their website.

cloo

If you're able to buy somewhere you could stay in for a long time, go for it anyway. If you're struggling to buy a one-bed, I'd wait. But as has been said, falling prices are accompanied by higher interest rates, more cautious lenders, job losses and, of course, far less property on the market. If that were not the case then the market cycle wouldn't be a problem, because lower prices would mean everyone locked out of the market could just hop on - but sadly it doesn't work like that.

agrinnall

If you'd bothered to read any of the myriad other threads asking about Brexit and house prices you'd have seen the same answers that have been given here, and there would have been no need for the thread at all. Alternatively, you could have put it on the Debate board, given that you don't have a question that has an actual answer.

CarrieVS

I'm a first-time buyer and I'm looking to buy before Brexit. I can't say the uncertainty doesn't worry me but there's never a time when you can be certain of the future.

I plan to take out a five-year fixed rate mortgage, even though that means paying a little more than a shorter deal - I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford it - as insurance against the great unknown. If interest rates tank I'll be worse off than otherwise, but you never hope to have a car accident so that you can get your money's worth out of the insurance, do you? If they rocket, I'll be laughing. I hope that by 2023/4 things will have stabilised somewhat.

House prices falling concerns me more, but again I hope they'll pick up again, and hopefully if I sell I'll be buying in the same market. I will admit, it'd be more of a worry if I was going in for a 90+ percent mortgage. It would suck to lose the savings I've been putting aside since I was a child but I'm extremely unlikely to end up in negative equity.

NaughtiusMaximus

Despite what the more vocal remainers and brexiteers (IMO the more extreme ends of the two groups are as bad as each other) may say, no-one really knows what effect Brexit will have on house prices or indeed the wider economy, and as has been said previously the impact on house prices would likely not be immediate anyway. I wouldn't treat this as an important factor in deciding whether or not to buy now or to delay until next year. Your personal circumstances are far more important.

mrginge

If we are having a no-deal brexit you will know about it long before 29th March.