First time buyer - buy now or wait

housebuyer143

While House prices MIGHT drop slightly, your savings are definitely devaluing with inflation, so I would buy if that's what you want to do. 
You only live once, so I wouldn't try and time the market and just buy now if you want to 

MrCarrot

If I lived with my parents I might consider waiting to see if the prices crashed.

If I had to pay hundreds / thousands of pounds in rent every month, then no way, because I see it as dead money. I would get on the ladder as quickly as possible.

Woolsery

MrCarrot said:

If I lived with my parents I might consider waiting to see if the prices crashed.

Our second daughter and her husband are now living with us, rather than continue paying an extortionate figure to rent in Bristol. WFH has enabled this. Soon, they'll put a mobile home on site and apply for planning on an outbuilding. Successful or not, it will be years before the situation resolves and by then they'll either be well up the invisible ladder, or running behind those who chose a more conventional path in what another poster has called 'strange times.'

 I'm all for the path less trod, but I accept it comes with a greater risk. I remember a certain enrepreneur who posted here and her signature, 'If you do what you always did, you'll get what you always got.' It made me think. Although not expressed in the best English, I decided to heed that maxim and take a different, less secure path. It wasn't what Mr Buffet would have done, but if I'd stayed conventionally cautious DD2 wouldn't have this option today.

It will be interesting to see how DD1 and her husband fare in comparison, chugging along the conventional pay down the mortgage route, as suits their personalities. They've already bought 'the worst house on the best street,' but even that proved far more scary than they wished!

Strange times indeed, but I don't think there are any right answers without knowing the personalities of those involved. A serious misjudgement early in life may dent confidence forever, or it may be just a very good learning experience, depending on who you are.

MobileSaver

Woolsery said:

MrCarrot said:

If I lived with my parents I might consider waiting to see if the prices crashed.

Our second daughter and her husband are now living with us, rather than continue paying an extortionate figure to rent in Bristol.

While that may be working for your family, I'm sure you accept that few married couples would relish the idea of living with their parents for more than a very short period of time so it's not a solution that will apply to the vast majority of would-be home-owners.

Similarly only a tiny minority of parents would have the space for a mobile home and outbuilding to be erected on site.

MrCarrot

I guess when I said "living with parents" I kind of meant single people or couples with no kids.  I'm married with two kids and there is no way in the world we could move back in with parents.  So this would mean paying £800+ a month in rent, or having a mortgage.  In our case we are mortgage free but our savings are currently losing circa 10% every year and we have two kids who are growing by the minute.  I am usually over cautious and often leave things too late (hence we are moving now and not 3 years ago which would probably have saved £100k compared to now).  But nobody has a crystal ball and time is ticking on.  If I were 25 years old without kids I might play it differently.

Woolsery

MobileSaver said:

Woolsery said:

MrCarrot said:

If I lived with my parents I might consider waiting to see if the prices crashed.

Our second daughter and her husband are now living with us, rather than continue paying an extortionate figure to rent in Bristol.

While that may be working for your family, I'm sure you accept that few married couples would relish the idea of living with their parents for more than a very short period of time so it's not a solution that will apply to the vast majority of would-be home-owners.

Similarly only a tiny minority of parents would have the space for a mobile home and outbuilding to be erected on site.

I take your point, but we aren't rich; our income's well below average. We weren't rich in the past either; we just stopped plodding along the same furrow 13 years ago, looked at the likely future ( i.e.now)  and thought outside the box.

Whether our situation is exactly like others' is neither here or there, because everyone has different skills to use, or learn, and the choices to make are legion. We all choose what we want to choose: hard, easy, impossible....whatever.

To give context, my father was in the thick of the 30s depression and ended up living in a tent by Brent reservoir. Compared to him, most people have had things very easy. He'd have been delighted to have a home to return to, but his Dad died in WW1 and his Mum was renting a back bedroom in Neasden. That was his light bulb moment and it made him seek a complete change of work and lifestyle.

Many married couples started life living with parents within living memory and in other cultures it's even expected, at least for a time. I'd not be surprised to see that return, but I'm not advocating it,or indeed any particular strategy. If you read my post again you might see I consider people's reactions to 'tough times' should  be personal and best suited to their personalities. Risk taking or putting things off for jam tomorrow isn't for everyone.

dimbo61

What else will you do with this money ?
If you were buying a second rental property or a holiday home in Russia / Ukraine I might advise against this.
However your looking at buying a HOME to live in possibly for the next 50 years or longer.
Owning your own home and paying off the mortgage gives you a HOME in your old age with just the normal bills to pay.
Living on a pension is tough

Living on a pension and paying Rent is a different level.

MobileSaver

Woolsery said:

MobileSaver said:

Woolsery said:

MrCarrot said:

If I lived with my parents I might consider waiting to see if the prices crashed.

Our second daughter and her husband are now living with us, rather than continue paying an extortionate figure to rent in Bristol.

While that may be working for your family, I'm sure you accept that few married couples would relish the idea of living with their parents for more than a very short period of time so it's not a solution that will apply to the vast majority of would-be home-owners.

Similarly only a tiny minority of parents would have the space for a mobile home and outbuilding to be erected on site.

Many married couples started life living with parents within living memory and in other cultures it's even expected, at least for a time. I'd not be surprised to see that return,

Conversely I'd be very surprised to see that scenario return!

The trend in the UK is the very opposite with more people than ever choosing to live on their own. It's one of the often-ignored reasons why house prices are so high; even if the population doesn't increase there's still more housing demand because you now need more houses than you used to for the same number of people...

Woolsery

MobileSaver said:

Woolsery said:

MobileSaver said:

Woolsery said:

MrCarrot said:

If I lived with my parents I might consider waiting to see if the prices crashed.

Our second daughter and her husband are now living with us, rather than continue paying an extortionate figure to rent in Bristol.

While that may be working for your family, I'm sure you accept that few married couples would relish the idea of living with their parents for more than a very short period of time so it's not a solution that will apply to the vast majority of would-be home-owners.

Similarly only a tiny minority of parents would have the space for a mobile home and outbuilding to be erected on site.

Many married couples started life living with parents within living memory and in other cultures it's even expected, at least for a time. I'd not be surprised to see that return,

Conversely I'd be very surprised to see that scenario return!

The trend in the UK is the very opposite with more people than ever choosing to live on their own. It's one of the often-ignored reasons why house prices are so high; even if the population doesn't increase there's still more housing demand because you now need more houses than you used to for the same number of people...

I know. Our village once had 1100 inhabitants and now it's 650, yet more housing has been built and very little destroyed. But trends change. Looking at the apparently inexorable push for net zero, how long will it be before all those independent singles living apart look like selfish individuals wasting valuable resources instead of sharing them efficiently? The government and media has the immense power of nudge, as we saw during Covid, but I'd better not elaborate on that!

 Anyway, if we don't watch out this thread will vanish, and I don't want it to do that. Enough said.

JJR45

Asking prices fell by 1.3% this month on Rightmove, so maybe worth keeping an eye out on prices over the next few months.