Is now really a bad time to buy?

[Deleted User]

Tea_Pea_Dee said:

Densol said:

MobileSaver said:

Densol said:

 Ive been carefully watching the market for almost a year
lots reduced as well or coming back on the market that were previously sold.

What's the area so we can all take a look at all these reduced properties?

Places are coming onto the market at less than they would have previously been marketed. 

Prices are reducing as can be seen on the link
Some are now coming back onto the market. 

Because I am watching a VERY specific area for my FTB son, Im going to notice slight adjustments to the market. Not huge prices crashes. Im not a lunatic believing that already, but there are definite downwards adjustments. I know you bought very recently and dont want to believe prices are reducing but that is what seems to be happening. 

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E5950&insId=1&sortType=1&minPrice=180000&maxPrice=240000&minBedrooms=2&radius=0.5&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

So for example 2 bed flats in this area were being marketed around the £220-240k mark. They are now coming on around £205 ish or just not selling 

They have been falling well before lockdown/covid as you can see from RM statistics:

"Overall, sold prices in RM16 6LY over the last year were 24% down on the previous year and 11% down on the 2017 peak of £314,000."

I know this area fairly well, as too will Hazyjo, both Essex girls, and in my opinion Grays has just been tarted up and called Chafford Hundred and very near to wonderful, wonderful (not) Lakeside.  It was always going to happen, covid or no covid.

Can you post the link to that statement 
Chafford Hundred properties have most certainly not dropped 24% and 11% at all 😂😂😂

numbercruncher8

Gotta be careful when using those Rightmove figures as they don't necessarily compare like-for-like.
If the year before had a higher proportion of bigger properties, the falls will be bigger. Additionally some postcodes have very few sales. 

Across a broader area (ie RM16) you should be able to gain a general idea by looking at current prices, sold prices, time on market/reductions, etc. 

But yeah I wouldn't be surprised if it followed the trend of London prices, ie we are below peak but not that far below it, and the default starting price will still be peak.

Tea_Pea_Dee

Densol said:

Tea_Pea_Dee said:

Densol said:

MobileSaver said:

Densol said:

 Ive been carefully watching the market for almost a year
lots reduced as well or coming back on the market that were previously sold.

What's the area so we can all take a look at all these reduced properties?

Places are coming onto the market at less than they would have previously been marketed. 

Prices are reducing as can be seen on the link
Some are now coming back onto the market. 

Because I am watching a VERY specific area for my FTB son, Im going to notice slight adjustments to the market. Not huge prices crashes. Im not a lunatic believing that already, but there are definite downwards adjustments. I know you bought very recently and dont want to believe prices are reducing but that is what seems to be happening. 

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E5950&insId=1&sortType=1&minPrice=180000&maxPrice=240000&minBedrooms=2&radius=0.5&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

So for example 2 bed flats in this area were being marketed around the £220-240k mark. They are now coming on around £205 ish or just not selling 

They have been falling well before lockdown/covid as you can see from RM statistics:

"Overall, sold prices in RM16 6LY over the last year were 24% down on the previous year and 11% down on the 2017 peak of £314,000."

I know this area fairly well, as too will Hazyjo, both Essex girls, and in my opinion Grays has just been tarted up and called Chafford Hundred and very near to wonderful, wonderful (not) Lakeside.  It was always going to happen, covid or no covid.

Can you post the link to that statement 
Chafford Hundred properties have most certainly not dropped 24% and 11% at all 😂😂😂

I got the figures from here:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/rm16-6ly.html?backListLink=%2Fproperty-for-sale%2Ffind.html%3FlocationIdentifier%3DPOSTCODE%255E718746%26minPrice%3D180000%26maxPrice%3D220000%26minBedrooms%3D2%26radius%3D0.5

For any property for sale on RM, if you click on view previous sales, the data is to the left.  I checked the last property I sold in Suffolk in August 2019 and it was pretty damn close, so I am fairly confident that the data is accurate.  

Edit: RM was meant to signify Right Move not a Romford postcode in my previous post, which is probably why you were wondering where I got the data from

Crashy_Time

MobileSaver said:

Crashy_Time said:

MobileSaver said:

many believe the enforced lockdown may well lead to a house price increase in certain types of property; your perfect FTB house in a desirable area could well be one of them.

Are you hoping that your property might benefit by any chance?

No. I'm in my dream home fully expecting to only leave here in a coffin and I have no kids to leave the house to. My other properties will only be sold when my elderly relatives finally shuffle off this mortal coil which hopefully will be at least a decade or two from now.

What house prices do this year, next year or the year after simply does not affect me in the slightest. I know that doesn't fit your narrative that anyone challenging the HPC mantra must (ironically) have a vested interest but that's life.

It affects other people though, and I don`t think it takes very much deep thought to conclude that borrowing/paying less for basic shelter is a resounding positive for ordinary people?

MobileSaver

Crashy_Time said:

MobileSaver said:

What house prices do this year, next year or the year after simply does not affect me in the slightest.

It affects other people though, and I don`t think it takes very much deep thought to conclude that borrowing/paying less for basic shelter is a resounding positive for ordinary people?

No as you are wrong on two counts.

1) Paying less for a home typically only happens when there is a general economic downturn and that is never a "resounding positive" for ordinary people.

2) We are in the 21st Century, not the 19th Century; people don't want "basic shelter". Most people want a nice house in a nice area and are prepared to pay for it; just look at the number of FTBs who want a brand new home on a new estate with all the latest shiny brand new appliances.

Crashy_Time

MobileSaver said:

Crashy_Time said:

MobileSaver said:

What house prices do this year, next year or the year after simply does not affect me in the slightest.

It affects other people though, and I don`t think it takes very much deep thought to conclude that borrowing/paying less for basic shelter is a resounding positive for ordinary people?

No as you are wrong on two counts.

1) Paying less for a home typically only happens when there is a general economic downturn and that is never a "resounding positive" for ordinary people.

2) We are in the 21st Century, not the 19th Century; people don't want "basic shelter". Most people want a nice house in a nice area and are prepared to pay for it; just look at the number of FTBs who want a brand new home on a new estate with all the latest shiny brand new appliances.

1) So by your thinking having prices pumped up to many times more multiples of average wages than ever in history by cheap credit is a sign of economic prosperity? I think looking at how quickly things have unravelled for a lot of people in the last few weeks tells us all we need to know about the present situation V prosperity.
2) A poorly built Lego house on a soulless Lego estate isn`t a "nice house in a nice area" it is all people can afford with HTB (which is designed to help developers not FTB`ers)

Why not just come clean and admit that you like the idea of your house price being pumped up by the prevailing attempts to prop everything up?
The biggest mistake the UK has made in recent years is allowing Economy to = Housing Market, it is going to end very badly for a lot of people I think.

BikingBud

MobileSaver said:

Crashy_Time said:

MobileSaver said:

What house prices do this year, next year or the year after simply does not affect me in the slightest.

It affects other people though, and I don`t think it takes very much deep thought to conclude that borrowing/paying less for basic shelter is a resounding positive for ordinary people?

No as you are wrong on two counts.

1) Paying less for a home typically only happens when there is a general economic downturn and that is never a "resounding positive" for ordinary people.

2) We are in the 21st Century, not the 19th Century; people don't want "basic shelter". Most people want a nice house in a nice area and are prepared to pay for it; just look at the number of FTBs who want a brand new home on a new estate with all the latest shiny brand new appliances.

What some may want and what is actually realistic and achievable is often a massive chasm.

I want never to have to work again and I want to spend my time driving round Europe in a camper van.  The reality is that I will have to carry on working to provide accommodation for myself and my loved ones and it won't be the luxury property that I want either.

You may consider yourself lucky, or otherwise, that with no dependent children you have had more disposable income than many and have been able to stretch and pay a higher proportion of your income towards purchasing your dream house.

Meanwhile many of us will look at price drops as an opportunity to enhance our standing, it's the same as shopping in the sales and buying the fridge or telly, or any other item come to that, at a reduced price. Why should we feel guilty about that?    

I seem to remember being advised to cut your coat according to your cloth, why do people, especially on a money saving site, consistently proclaim that house price rises are good and price drops are evil.  It's all beyond me

[Deleted User]

Tea_Pea_Dee said:

Densol said:

Tea_Pea_Dee said:

Densol said:

MobileSaver said:

Densol said:

 Ive been carefully watching the market for almost a year
lots reduced as well or coming back on the market that were previously sold.

What's the area so we can all take a look at all these reduced properties?

Places are coming onto the market at less than they would have previously been marketed. 

Prices are reducing as can be seen on the link
Some are now coming back onto the market. 

Because I am watching a VERY specific area for my FTB son, Im going to notice slight adjustments to the market. Not huge prices crashes. Im not a lunatic believing that already, but there are definite downwards adjustments. I know you bought very recently and dont want to believe prices are reducing but that is what seems to be happening. 

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E5950&insId=1&sortType=1&minPrice=180000&maxPrice=240000&minBedrooms=2&radius=0.5&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

So for example 2 bed flats in this area were being marketed around the £220-240k mark. They are now coming on around £205 ish or just not selling 

They have been falling well before lockdown/covid as you can see from RM statistics:

"Overall, sold prices in RM16 6LY over the last year were 24% down on the previous year and 11% down on the 2017 peak of £314,000."

I know this area fairly well, as too will Hazyjo, both Essex girls, and in my opinion Grays has just been tarted up and called Chafford Hundred and very near to wonderful, wonderful (not) Lakeside.  It was always going to happen, covid or no covid.

Can you post the link to that statement 
Chafford Hundred properties have most certainly not dropped 24% and 11% at all 😂😂😂

I got the figures from here:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/rm16-6ly.html?backListLink=%2Fproperty-for-sale%2Ffind.html%3FlocationIdentifier%3DPOSTCODE%255E718746%26minPrice%3D180000%26maxPrice%3D220000%26minBedrooms%3D2%26radius%3D0.5

For any property for sale on RM, if you click on view previous sales, the data is to the left.  I checked the last property I sold in Suffolk in August 2019 and it was pretty damn close, so I am fairly confident that the data is accurate.  

Edit: RM was meant to signify Right Move not a Romford postcode in my previous post, which is probably why you were wondering where I got the data from

I managed to find it by putting in your wording, but when you then click on sold prices, they dont reveal falls like that at all in fact only one property sold for less, so it doesnt look like its time to rush to buy there. Plus Mary Rose Close is one of the last roads built when they were all crowded on top of each other and very “bricky” with no green space. As the poster above said those Right Move figures are a bit deceiving, but cheers tho

I like the old Chafford myself - lots of green spaces, cycle lanes and proper sized roads 😂

MobileSaver

Crashy_Time said:

The biggest mistake the UK has made in recent years is allowing Economy to = Housing Market, it is going to end very badly for a lot of people I think.

The government of the day has been encouraging home ownership since the 1920s, hardly recent!

The people this will end badly for are likely to be low paid renters who see their income decrease while their rents increase...

BikingBud said:

I seem to remember being advised to cut your coat according to your cloth, why do people, especially on a money saving site, consistently proclaim that house price rises are good and price drops are evil.

Because, as noted by Crashy, the housing market is inextricably linked to the country's overall economy. Generally speaking if house prices are falling sharply it is because the economy is in decline and that is bad news for most people.

Norman_Castle

Mutton_Geoff said:

Martin Lewis says this is why he wouldn’t be buying a house right now - https://www.idealhome.co.uk/news/martin-lewis-small-deposit-mortgage-249267

Misleading article title. His advice is not to buy with a small deposit,

‘I need to be honest with you, I have always pushed people to have a 10 per cent deposit, not a 5 per cent deposit,’ he told the caller. ‘Mortgage rates get far, far cheaper every five per cent you drop. And the biggest point it gets cheaper is going from 5 per cent  to 10 per cent.’

If you are looking to buy a house with a small deposit at the moment. Martin recommends speaking to a fee-free mortgage broker and possibly taking a look at the market, but holding off until you have at least a 10 per cent deposit."

He also says,

‘Obviously, it’s worth waiting at the moment if you haven’t made a decision,’ he explains. ‘See what’s going to happen to house prices. There’s a possibility they come down. Not a prediction – just a possibility.

‘You may be a lot better off waiting a year and building up to a 10 per cent deposit, so the mortgage is cheaper, and the house prices might be cheaper too."

And, ‘I can’t tell you what to do, but I wouldn’t be in a rush to be buying right now,’

He doesn't say its a really bad time, just to avoid buying with a small deposit and to be aware prices may drop.