Is now a really bad time to buy a house?

housebuyer143

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Many people even until quite recently only looked at the monthly payment and thought they could "afford" a house. After the news today it looks like the monthly payment will be even higher for most people.

What news today?

Silvertabby

housebuyer143 said:

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Many people even until quite recently only looked at the monthly payment and thought they could "afford" a house. After the news today it looks like the monthly payment will be even higher for most people.

What news today?

I'm guessing it's about the number of people who have reached, or are about to reach, the end of their fixed rate mortgages, and who will have to switch to deals with higher rates/payments?

Different times, but when we took out our mortgage in the early 1990s we were looking at nearly 8%.  We asked the mortgage advisor how much our monthly payments would be if rates increased to, say, 12%.  He initially declined, claiming that rates 'would never get that high'.  We reminded him that rates had been considerably higher, not that long before.  When he gave us the figure for 12%, and we declared that do-able, he tried to sell us a bigger mortgage.

[Deleted User]

I think there is a degree of pessimism here. It might be warranted but i am minded that we have been here before with events that seemed bound to cause a crash.

Whilst nobody wants to pay more interest on mortgage, interest rates are still modest, having increased from historic lows. 

The presumption that a great many will be tipped over an edge is quite uncertain. Absurd as it may sound a great many people might not turn the heating on or rely on cheaper food than to default on a mortgage.

RM_2013

Personally I don’t think there’s any right or wrong time to buy.  It’s dependent on your individual circumstances.  We’ve only ever viewed house purchases as a home rather than a business investment.  We bought our first house when it was right for us.  Moved 3 years later as we’d made money in a rising market and were considering starting a family.  19 years later we are hoping to move again into a bigger property that will now be better suited to our family of 4 (2 teenagers!!) 

Sarah1Mitty2

Silvertabby said:

housebuyer143 said:

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Many people even until quite recently only looked at the monthly payment and thought they could "afford" a house. After the news today it looks like the monthly payment will be even higher for most people.

What news today?

I'm guessing it's about the number of people who have reached, or are about to reach, the end of their fixed rate mortgages, and who will have to switch to deals with higher rates/payments?

Different times, but when we took out our mortgage in the early 1990s we were looking at nearly 8%.  We asked the mortgage advisor how much our monthly payments would be if rates increased to, say, 12%.  He initially declined, claiming that rates 'would never get that high'.  We reminded him that rates had been considerably higher, not that long before.  When he gave us the figure for 12%, and we declared that do-able, he tried to sell us a bigger mortgage.

Missed that one, did that make the news?

Silvertabby

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Silvertabby said:

housebuyer143 said:

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Many people even until quite recently only looked at the monthly payment and thought they could "afford" a house. After the news today it looks like the monthly payment will be even higher for most people.

What news today?

I'm guessing it's about the number of people who have reached, or are about to reach, the end of their fixed rate mortgages, and who will have to switch to deals with higher rates/payments?

Different times, but when we took out our mortgage in the early 1990s we were looking at nearly 8%.  We asked the mortgage advisor how much our monthly payments would be if rates increased to, say, 12%.  He initially declined, claiming that rates 'would never get that high'.  We reminded him that rates had been considerably higher, not that long before.  When he gave us the figure for 12%, and we declared that do-able, he tried to sell us a bigger mortgage.

Missed that one, did that make the news?

More of a side paragraph than actual news.  Can't remember where I saw it, though - I tend to just flick through so much !

Sarah1Mitty2

Silvertabby said:

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Silvertabby said:

housebuyer143 said:

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Many people even until quite recently only looked at the monthly payment and thought they could "afford" a house. After the news today it looks like the monthly payment will be even higher for most people.

What news today?

I'm guessing it's about the number of people who have reached, or are about to reach, the end of their fixed rate mortgages, and who will have to switch to deals with higher rates/payments?

Different times, but when we took out our mortgage in the early 1990s we were looking at nearly 8%.  We asked the mortgage advisor how much our monthly payments would be if rates increased to, say, 12%.  He initially declined, claiming that rates 'would never get that high'.  We reminded him that rates had been considerably higher, not that long before.  When he gave us the figure for 12%, and we declared that do-able, he tried to sell us a bigger mortgage.

Missed that one, did that make the news?

More of a side paragraph than actual news.  Can't remember where I saw it, though - I tend to just flick through so much !

Right, there have been "scare" stories in the media forever about that , I suppose now that rates are actually going up it is really scary if you are in that position.