Who are buying now?

Ms_Piggy_2

SquatNow wrote: »

Q: Who is buying now?
A: Kermit, Miss Piggy and Gonzo (together as no-one can afford to buy somewhere on their own now)

Yes - I'm buying! But not with Kermit or Gonzo!

Why? Because we want a (long term) home, not an investment. We are buying at less than 3x joint income, in a good area with good schools, and we intend to stay put.

hearts

sarkin wrote: »

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7083446.stm

You must be either rich or stupid

lol...or maybe just of a different opinion to you. ;-) I know what Im doing and I do it right. I live in a part of the country that is still flourishing. I don't expect prices to crash.

dannyboycey

Curv wrote: »

We are buying a home, not an investment.

That old chestnut. This is what people use to make themselves feel that they are doing the right thing.

It doesn't hold water in many cases though. You simply wouldn't buy at the top of a market unless you had absolutely no choice. I don't know why renting is such a dirty word for so many people.

dannyboycey

hearts wrote: »

I don't expect prices to crash.

Do you wan't custard with that humble pie when it comes?

hierrodaknuckles

dannyboycey wrote: »

That old chestnut. This is what people use to make themselves feel that they are doing the right thing. It doesn't hold water in many cases though. .

hahaha, is that so? :rotfl: speak for those you know, not for me.

Curv

dannyboycey wrote: »

That old chestnut. This is what people use to make themselves feel that they are doing the right thing.

LOL! I'm not well known for enabling myself to spend money I don't need to spend... quite the opposite, in fact.

dannyboycey wrote: »

It doesn't hold water in many cases though.

That's a bit of a sweeping generalisation... please enlighten me as to why my situation doesn't hold water.

dannyboycey wrote: »

You simply wouldn't buy at the top of a market unless you had absolutely no choice.

Agreed... although that does rather assume that everyone knows for a fact where the 'top' of a market is and that it's going to drop significantly, as opposed to plateauing off. I hasten to add that I have no such special knowledge or certainty - I, like most other mere mortals, am going to have to wait and see what happens.

dannyboycey wrote: »

I don't know why renting is such a dirty word for so many people.

Personally, I don't find the prospect of moving house (potentially every 6 months) on someone else's whim, fancy or business plan very appealing, particularly with three children in tow. Schooling is an important factor in my residential decision-making and I'd hate to risk not being able to rent in an area that suits my plans.

But for FTBs who don't have the same concerns as me - I'd say hold fire, rent and see... what's to be lost?

tonydee

I'm buying now but also selling.

Thali

Ok, we are also buying - why?



Few reasons:



Firstly, I'm with Sheridan76. Currently, we're paying for our SW London Flat GBP 1,000 rent (bills on top of course), ergo, in 2 years time we paid GBP 24,000. Therefore the value of the property we would then go for, must be GBP 24,000 less for us to be "even"



Another thing - being foreign - we never warmed to these (imho) awful Victorian conversion flats and in SW London (the "better" parts, so not Streatham, not Stockwell, not Balham ....) it's hard to find a purpose build house which isn't ex-local. Nothing wrong with ex-local, lot's of storage space, but it still looks, well, ex-local. So after an on-and-off search of more than 8 month and about 70 viewings, we found "the one". Still not perfect as whilst it'll take me about 1h to work, hubby can actually walk but hey: it's all about compromises



As for house prices, of course I'm worried they might drop sharply! But we never, ever, calculated to make a profit with the property. As we're buying for GBP250, I think it's very unlikely that - with the situation given - it's going to break the stamp duty boarder anytime. We're going for a 5 years fixed interested rate and after that? Who knows! We might not even be here ...



One last thought: it all depends on affordability as well! We're paying GBP 1,000 rent at the moment, other flats in the building are currently going for GBP 1,200. That means, if our landlady would increase the rent or we had to move for various reasons (flat will be sold, etc.), we need to cough up GBP 200 more. As we have a decent deposit, it's not this much difference to the mortgage rate we're going to pay now.



For what it's worth: if you calculate your mortgage - with a 2% interest buffer - and you're still paying the same/ similar as your are now whilst renting: go for it!

Or worry more about rental prices going up or down than property prices …. :A

hearts

dannyboycey wrote: »

Do you wan't custard with that humble pie when it comes?

Yes please. ;-)
Seriously though. I really don't see a crash, but should there be one I'll just ride it out like I did the last. But it aint going to happen. ;-)

Aiko_2

pinkshoes wrote: »

If prices drop, most people I know would just hold onto the property as opposed to selling.

That was my experience in the last crash

The property I was finding for sale in my area (St Albans) and price range (fairly wealthy FTB) in the early 90s were just lots of new builds and only a few distress sales of better properties and most of those had been neglected as the owners struggled financially before being forced to sell because of the interest rates.

It was very depressing. There weren't any Georgian rectories going half price, I can tell you! You'd think people would sell cheaper and buy the next one cheaper and the type of properties offered would be the same but it didn't seem to happen in my area. Maybe it will be different this time?

So based on my experience I would say right now if you're thinking of buying a new build - wait. I wouldn't do it.

But if I were looking for, say, a period chocolate-box cottage or maybe something in a very particular place, not a run-of-the mill housing estate then if I found one I could afford it I would be seriously inclined to consider buying it now in case people hunker down and sit it out again.