How do you not get stressed / affected by house price?

GarciaLorca

Ever since I purchased a flat in London four years ago (pre-Brexit referendum) I've constantly been stressed by owning.  I've loved having my own place and doing whatever I want to it, but it feels like it's been a never ending stress at the back of my mind about a collapse in house prices and being unable to sell one day.  First it was Brexit; now it's the pandemic and some think tanks estimating a possible 22% drop in house prices and really - is anyone ever going to want to buy a small flat in Zone 2 in London ever again, or at least NOT at the price I bought it for, when people can work remotely from anywhere.
I'm going to be renting it out soon to move into a rental somewhere bigger, but I don't know how to bat off the constant doom and gloom about the property market which has been going on for years.  The ONE thing that keeps me going is knowing that I have NOT putting money in a landlord's pocket and everything I'd paid on my mortgage (except interest) has gone into my own place.  But now all I think about is heading for a property crash, a possible market correct and tens of thousands wiped off the value and all of my overpayment efforts over the last 4 years totally pointless. 
I was tempted to sell and just sit on the equity as cash rather than take the risk of another crash.  Should I just sit tight, not sell for a few years and wait for prices to rise again, which historically they have done after every recession, and try to hope that the balance of statistics suggests that eventually prices will recover?  I just seem to constantly obsess over this and stress myself out. 

Doozergirl

We all need somewhere to live and it always costs money. 

Most of your repayment goes into the pot of capital. Even if that fluctuates,  it's still not paying someone else's mortgage for them. 

I've never regretted buying my own home.  

The cause of unhappiness is never the situation, but your thoughts about it.  

steve866

What % equity do you have? If prices crash 22% by this time next year, would you be able to buy a bigger, more expensive property which has also fallen 22% in value?

pinkshoes

If you're stressing about home ownership and what it's worth, then renting it out really isn't going to be for you!! Being a landlord is far more stressful than being a home owner!!

Think of it this way: If prices crash, then the cost of something bigger will then be cheaper! 

You can either sell now, sit on the equity then buy something bigger if/when prices crash, or ride it out.You will always need somewhere to live.

House prices have ALWAYS gone up and down. Paying rent is exactly the same as paying interest on a mortgage. 

If you can afford to, why not sell now, buy something that is suitable for the next 10+ years, then take in a lodger to help with costs?

GarciaLorca

steve866 said:

What % equity do you have? If prices crash 22% by this time next year, would you be able to buy a bigger, more expensive property which has also fallen 22% in value?

I have 55% LTV, so 45% equity.  I guess I would yes - and it most certainly would not be in London, somewhere outside. Thanks for the reassurance

RelievedSheff

The trick is to think of your property first and foremost as a home. We all have to live somewhere. Stop thinking about it in monetary terms and think of it as your place to live.

hazyjo

Why would you rent it out and rent elsewhere?!

I've owned my own place since 1991 and have moved 8 or so times and it's NEVER bothered me if my home has lost or gained money. Why should it? If I sell in a recession, as I have done twice, what I buy will be cheaper.

Just try to have enough equity to avoid negative equity.

MaryNB

I get stressed because I saw how my cousin (about 13 years old than me) bought a flat in Ireland a few months before the 2008 crash and it took him and his wife until maybe last year or so to get out of negative equity. He was one of so many to do the same. 110% mortgages, houses prices through the roof, "renting is dead money" - everybody was buying. 
They ended up starting a family a few years after they bought (like so many in their situation) so had to let out their flat because the couldn't sell it, and then rented a house in the middle of nowhere. 

I'm (fingers crossed) buying a house with a good LTV, my job is as secure as it ever was, the house in the area I love (well,  near enough), no intention of starting a family so don't need to upsize in the next few years. And I am sick to death of cleaning up after housemates and being the only one dealing with any issues that arise. Am I nervous that my mortgage application went in yesterday, the day the recession was announced? Yes. But, the house suits me. And just to remind me how much I need to get my own place, today the power tripped and none of my housemates (all WFH) bothered to even get up and see what the problem was. 

Aaghh321

OP I've owned before but this is my first time buying on my own since splitting up with my husband and first time buying in London where prices are waaay higher than where I lived in Yorkshire. I've worried about all sorts of things throughout the process (overpaying, property crash, unhelpful freeholder) but keep reminding myself how much I hate renting and and want somewhere that I can really call my own. You have a low LTV so even if prices fall you shouldn't be in a negative equity situation. Good luck!

Slithery

Don't think about it?

One of the best life leasons that I ever learned was not to worry about things over which you have no control.

GarciaLorca

Thank you all for the reassurance.  Sorry I should have clarified - I'm not renting for the sake of it - I'm moving in with long term partner somewhere larger before we buy together in a few years.  
I guess I have been spooked / panicked by loads of people in my development putting their properties up for sale recently after lockdown.  But then there may be all sorts of reasons they are doing that and even if they are panic selling - maybe they're making a short sighted mistake and it's better to sit tight and ride it out and hopefully make more money.