Who are buying now?

Doozergirl

CharleneUK wrote: »

We'd given up, but I still surf the property sites once a week and have just seen a house around the corner!!!!!! I'm sooooooo tempted, but hubby will probably have my head!

No way! We can't go through all that again :rotfl:

Go and have a look. It'll scratch the itch at the very least. If it does anymore than that then we're all in trouble!

paulrn_2

Despite the conbined attempts of the HPC doom and gloom merchants, there are still people buying houses. In my road 3 houses have sold in the last 2 weeks and 2 more have come on the market, annoyingly I dropped the price of ours and now I am regretting it, as the new houses have come on 5-10K higher than I accepted, in fact I am thinking of raising the price again. The only place stagnating is one which is 20K over the price of the rest of us and he has been stuck at that for 7 months and will not budge, He cannot afford to as he bought expensive and then overdid the renovations and cannot break the ceiling price.

Our agents tell us that they have seen a pick up in people through the door after a very quiet month.

chelseablue

Not me thats for sure!

I have nowhere near enough (see sig)

Hate being 24 and still living with Mum and Dad!

Sorry rant over

TimmyP_2

Just to throw in my two cents, I'm also currently buying a house with my girlfriend. And indeed, the searches have come back this morning so we're getting closer to exchange by the day!

We've bought a nice (ten year old) 2 bed mid-terrace house, with brand new kitchen, lounge fireplace, bathroom etc in a nice location which is convienient for both of our places of work. We've paid just under the stamp duty threshold and are extremely happy with what we've got. Everyone who's seen it has commented on how nice it is.

Whilst I expect there may be a downturn in the market in the short term, I believe that long term we should be just fine. We're buying a really nice starter home which will always be in demand and we can afford our monthly repayments (inc making overpayments) because we haven't overstretched ourselves.

If we were pushing ourselves to the max on an apartment for example, then yes, I'd be seriously worried about my purchase and would probably pull out! But I feel that a nice two bed house is always going to be in demand.

And working for a housing developer, thats what selling best for us - smaller two and three bed homes!

Turnbull2000

Despite the doom and gloom merchants continuing to predict rising prices, there's more to the headlines than the EAs and local media (heavily dependent and EA advertising) like you to believe.

Headlines are "House Prices Soar by nearly a quarter in 1 Year"

Simplified facts behind the headline...

1 year ago, 5 houses sold, 100k, 120k, 120K, 200K 200K = 148K average price

Now, 3 houses sold, 130K, 210k, 210K = 183K average price

Lack of affordability has killed lower end of market, overall new mortgage approvals down. However, fewer properties sold has created a higher average. Telling us "houses are still selling" is meaningless.

This recently occured in Morpeth where prices were reported as rising 25% in 12 months. This then chases the market higher, but with fewer buyers and the cycle consequently repeats. Although largely fueled by cheap credit and interest rates, property prices rises are self-feeding. Same when it falls.

kissingthepink

I am in the process of buying an investment property as I believe that prices will still rise further, and of course rental demand is stronger than ever where the property is located in S London. It makes financial sense to me.

Generali

kissingthepink wrote: »

I am in the process of buying an investment property as I believe that prices will still rise further, and of course rental demand is stronger than ever where the property is located in S London. It makes financial sense to me.

Seems to be going against current sentiment but then that can be where the money's to be made.

Out of interest, what kind of financing do you have? Are you buying on leverage or is it cash? Does the rent cover your costs?

Romani_Ite_Domum

I made an offer on a property this week.

It's 15% below asking price and unlikely to be accepted.

Even though I fully expect a 20% fall over the next 2 years, i would buy now for the right home at the right price.

kissingthepink

Generali wrote: »

Seems to be going against current sentiment but then that can be where the money's to be made.

Out of interest, what kind of financing do you have? Are you buying on leverage or is it cash? Does the rent cover your costs?

The demand for flats does not seem to be diminishing in this area, and selling prices as well as rents continue to rise. Part of the demand is artificial in that lots of investors are trying to buy in the area prior to the East London tube line extension in expecatation that the additional transport link will boost prices even further as they have done in other parts of the city. And of course this area has a very big and growing immigrant community that require rented accommodation.

I'm financing it with a fixed interest buy to let mortgage, and have paid a 23% deposit. Rental cover is 126% of the interest which will allow me to cover interest and costs.

I hope to keep the property for at least 10 years, and I expect that the price may fluctuate within that time given the cyclical nature of any market.

sheridan76

We're FTBers and have just bought our first place near Guildford. Properties round there seem to be going fast enough, places we were interested in were getting offers fairly quickly.

I still think the market might drop a bit, but we're going to stay in our place for at least 10 years and start a family there. And we were paying £900 a month rent anyway, so if we'd waited 18 months we'd have paid out £16,200 in rent anyway so figured we should go for it.

In my circle there are 2 others who have also just bought their first flat (at full asking price), but a few others who are holding off to see what happens....