House Prices #2 Property market, buying and selling

[Ibrokethegoddamnwheel]

It’s not just the deposit you need though, I think many forget that. It’s all well and good saving up £20-30k but when you’re on a low or average wage and can still only borrow roughly 4.5x your income and house prices in many parts of the country (not just London or the south) far surpass that you’re going to be stuck; especially if you are a single person or single income family but even joint income families can struggle. Save up another £20-30k and by the time you’ve achieved that prices have increased tenfold again and the cycle continues



I don’t know what the solution is. It’s a mess.

 

[Anne1448]

This is exactly what happened to me.

I was on a fairly low income (24k per year) and was still able to save 500€ per month. By the time I saved 10% for the downpayment prices went up by 13%. So, my savings were worthless.

I got a different job which puts me now at 32k (not taking into consideration my equities) and I save between 900-1100€ per month.

Well, you know what? Inflation is killing everybody's spending and house prices are still going up.

It feels like playing a game of Monopoly against our absolute will.

 

[RedMagnolia]

I find you see this attitude a lot in baby boomers. My parents are the worst ‘we bought our first house for ten grand’, well yes you did but that was in 1980 and you cant even get a decent car for that these days. It’s buy to let landlords and property developers who’ve driven up prices and made it more difficult for first time buyers to get on the ladder. I really believe that people who own more than one home should be taxed.

I am a baby boomer, I’ve just realised. 60s kid, married in the 80s, got 100% mortgage on our first house (scruffy bit of South Manchester which became hugely popular), flogged that for a bloody fortune and bought an amazing house in the country to bring up our children.

We were lucky and had no idea the housing market would be inaccessible to so many now our children are adults.

Unlike Lady Kirsty of Allsop, we are aware that most people don’t have access to “family money” plus any inheritance is usually linked to a devastating bereavement. duck her.

And now let the gossiping recommence

 

[ejej123]

Sorry to derail the thread but after some advice…

currently working full time but my hours are due to drop down to part-time at the start of April. Combined with my partners’ salary, this is still a good amount to get a mortgage. We are wanting to start house hunting but what should I do with regards to getting a mortgage in principle if my salary is about to drop?

 

[Anne1448]

If you can secure the mortgage approval before your hours drop it would be great. Because the bank will only check your past 6 months.

However, you will also be "forced" to find a house before April. If you have to bid or if the bank ask you to put a bit more money on the property but you can't, they will ask you if your finances changed since the approval. In which case, you will have to declare the loss of income which then puts you in a trickier situation.

My neighbour was in a similar situation and they had to declare the loss of income after the bank noticed that they kept coming with excuses to not bid on houses. I don't mean bidding with an extra 50k but 2k or 5k. Since then, they put their mortgage on hold until the wife gets back to full employment.

 

[ejej123]

If you can secure the mortgage approval before your hours drop it would be great. Because the bank will only check your past 6 months.

However, you will also be "forced" to find a house before April. If you have to bid or if the bank ask you to put a bit more money on the property but you can't, they will ask you if your finances changed since the approval. In which case, you will have to declare the loss of income which then puts you in a trickier situation.

My neighbour was in a similar situation and they had to declare the loss of income after the bank noticed that they kept coming with excuses to not bid on houses. I don't mean bidding with an extra 50k but 2k or 5k. Since then, they put their mortgage on hold until the wife gets back to full employment.

thanks for your reply! I’m actually on the tail end of maternity leave (just taking the annual leave I’d accrued over my year off!). Do you know how this will work with my finance check? I haven’t been paid by work for a few months now

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Have you got an AIP at the moment?

I imagine youl need to declare your updated income, part of the process is also the question 'do you expect your income to change in the next x months' so even if you applied now with your full time wage you'd be asked about the future.

Will you have childcare costs? It may be prudent to apply now on the PT wages if so. Childcare costs nearly killed our mortgage at the time when we could easily afford it as the mortgage was half our rent but lenders hated it

 

[tarquin16]

Hi everyone,

Thought I would join in with our current experiences, we are in the SE and house market is moving very quick due to not much being on the market, there was such a boom with the stamp duty holiday lots of people bought forward their plans by a few years and have already moved, so when houses go on the market there are normally a queue of potential buyers waiting to view it. We put our house on the market last month on a Thursday, started viewings on the Friday and had three offers by Saturday. We then had a few weeks of waiting around, nothing suitable coming on, saw a few which didn’t quite fit the bill but went to view anyway and was dismayed to see people literally queuing up outside to view(!) Through some sheer stroke of luck we have found somewhere in the perfect location which ticks all the boxes so anxiously hoping everything goes through ok!

Re estate agents I think it is definitely worth asking around to gauge other people’s experiences. We went on the market a few years ago with an EA who did no vetting of potential buyers, one person came to view who we later learnt was a neighbour down the road who just wanted a nose, we accepted an offer from a supposed cash buyer but again they had not checked this out and lost several weeks (plus the house we wanted) while they determined that they were actually a time waster. We had a good experience with a EA we viewed a house we wanted previously so chose them to list ours this time and the difference has been great, only people on the market or in a proceedable position viewed the house and any who made offers were checked out first. Similar situation with the EA for the house we are hopefully purchasing, we viewed the first day the house was listed and there was another offer, however the EA wouldn’t approach the seller until we had sent copies of agreement in principle, position with current home etc. and that is how our offer was eventually accepted as the EA got fed up with waiting for the other offer to confirm details so refused them.

 

[ejej123]

Have you got an AIP at the moment?

I imagine youl need to declare your updated income, part of the process is also the question 'do you expect your income to change in the next x months' so even if you applied now with your full time wage you'd be asked about the future.

Will you have childcare costs? It may be prudent to apply now on the PT wages if so. Childcare costs nearly killed our mortgage at the time when we could easily afford it as the mortgage was half our rent but lenders hated it

oh okay!

We will have childcare costs but luckily these will only be £200 a month as my daughter will only be in nursery one day a week. The whole thing feels like a minefield at this point

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

oh okay!

We will have childcare costs but luckily these will only be £200 a month as my daughter will only be in nursery one day a week. The whole thing feels like a minefield at this point

Id recommend approaching a whole of market broker, they will be able to help with all the scenarios that youve got going on right now and give you an idea of which lenders would be good for you.

 

[Dancingqueen]

I’m looking to buy my first home and all the houses I’ve viewed so far have sold within a day or two and have gone well over asking price. One house went for £50k above asking. I’m looking for some advice or thoughts on whether it would be best to rent until the market settles down or should I bite the bullet and buy? Should we be anticipating some sort of crash in the near future? I’m really not very clued up on the housing market so any insight would be gratefully received x

 

[Clover123]

I’m looking to buy my first home and all the houses I’ve viewed so far have sold within a day or two and have gone well over asking price. One house went for £50k above asking. I’m looking for some advice or thoughts on whether it would be best to rent until the market settles down or should I bite the bullet and buy? Should we be anticipating some sort of crash in the near future? I’m really not very clued up on the housing market so any insight would be gratefully received x

I'm in the same situation and the answer seems to be nobody knows! Personally I think that offering way over asking price is foolish, so don't rush into things for fear of missing out. There are still houses to be bought, but you don't want to regret such a big purchase. My approach is to view as many as possible, but be prepared to walk away if offers way over are made, and stick to my guns about what I think a property is worth.

Prices probably won't settle down, at least not for a long time, so don't give up, but keep looking and hopefully we will both get lucky at some point- it just might take a long time!
I've started looking at flats as well as houses just to get a foot in the door so maybe see if there's flexibility in terms of location/number of bedrooms to be able to afford a place.

 

[littlepup]

I’m looking to buy my first home and all the houses I’ve viewed so far have sold within a day or two and have gone well over asking price. One house went for £50k above asking. I’m looking for some advice or thoughts on whether it would be best to rent until the market settles down or should I bite the bullet and buy? Should we be anticipating some sort of crash in the near future? I’m really not very clued up on the housing market so any insight would be gratefully received x

Allegedly…

If previously cycles follow we will see a major crash in 2026. Inflation and raised interest rates should also mean prices come down due to more on the market in the next few years when people are forced to downsize. Basically everything says it’s plateaued and will level off, it’s speculated that it will eventually drop.
Of course though, no one can predict something like Covid.
There’s a lot of cash buyers who have made capital on their previous homes skewing the market currently. It also depends where you are, countryside prices have shot up, London prices not so. There’s ‘bargains’ to be had in cities.
You really don’t want to find yourself in negative equity. However, if you’re not planning so sell in the next 5-10 years you can ride out a drop. The value only matters if you’re selling.

How will you fund your purchase? If you need to borrow a lot, beware of increasing interest rates, use a mortgage calculator to see the effect of raises and if you can afford that.

Look at how much rent will be vs how much a house will be and what you’re likely to pay in mortgage payments/interest and what you can save.
To really simplify, ignoring fees and interest…. Let’s say you’re looking at spending £200k on a house or rent at £1000 a month. If you rented after 2 years you’ll have spent £24,000. That would be the same money wise as a drop in value on your £200k home of 12%. After 3 years renting, 18% and so on.
If we go back to pre-pandemic levels we’ll lose around max 10-20% depending on the area.
Of course if you buy you have upkeep costs that you don’t have with renting and if interest rates rise (if not on a fixed rate mortgage) it can be unpredictable whereas rent is pretty fixed.

Personally I’d probably buy rather than rent but definitely not go to my max available mortgage in this market due to increasing interest rates and the potential decrease in property value. You don’t want be moving often because it costs each time but in this market i’d probably either spend as little as possible or try to somehow future proof the property purchase.
If I could live at home for cheap or free though, I’d do that.

This is not advice, just my opinion based on reading various sources recently and may well be incorrect.

 

[Anne1448]

As a buyer you have to decide whether or not it is the right time for you to buy and this decision can only be made based on your situation.

In my case, I am in a rush to buy because I live in a hell of a capitalist country called Ireland where prices go up by double digits every single year. So, the longer I wait the lower my chances are to buy a property.

Paying way over the asking price is a fairly new method that cash buyers did last summer because they had more savings thanks to Covid. If you can't put more than the asking price without putting yourself in a negative equity, don't do it. You will be in a dangerous position.

Regarding prices going down, usually there is a "crash" every 13 years. In Ireland for example, we are starting to see prices go down in the city but go up in the rest of the country. It is because people who can work from home get more for their budget outside expensive places.

I would advise you to look at places that are in your budget. If you can, switch job to get a bit more money or try looking for a position which allows work from home. I did that in 2021 and it makes a huge difference.

 

[Clover123]

Allegedly…
View attachment 1051863

If previously cycles follow we will see a major crash in 2026. Inflation and raised interest rates should also mean prices come down due to more on the market in the next few years when people are forced to downsize. Basically everything says it’s plateaued and will level off, it’s speculated that it will eventually drop.
Of course though, no one can predict something like Covid.
There’s a lot of cash buyers who have made capital on their previous homes skewing the market currently. It also depends where you are, countryside prices have shot up, London prices not so. There’s ‘bargains’ to be had in cities.
You really don’t want to find yourself in negative equity. However, if you’re not planning so sell in the next 5-10 years you can ride out a drop. The value only matters if you’re selling.

How will you fund your purchase? If you need to borrow a lot, beware of increasing interest rates, use a mortgage calculator to see the effect of raises and if you can afford that.

Look at how much rent will be vs how much a house will be and what you’re likely to pay in mortgage payments/interest and what you can save.
To really simplify, ignoring fees and interest…. Let’s say you’re looking at spending £200k on a house or rent at £1000 a month. If you rented after 2 years you’ll have spent £24,000. That would be the same money wise as a drop in value on your £200k home of 12%. After 3 years renting, 18% and so on.
If we go back to pre-pandemic levels we’ll lose around max 10-20% depending on the area.
Of course if you buy you have upkeep costs that you don’t have with renting and if interest rates rise (if not on a fixed rate mortgage) it can be unpredictable whereas rent is pretty fixed.

Personally I’d probably buy rather than rent but definitely not go to my max available mortgage in this market due to increasing interest rates and the potential decrease in property value. You don’t want be moving often because it costs each time but in this market i’d probably either spend as little as possible or try to somehow future proof the property purchase.
If I could live at home for cheap or free though, I’d do that.

This is not advice, just my opinion based on reading various sources recently and may well be incorrect.

This is a great image! My understanding is that stock supply just won't be able to increase in the way it has before- covid has delayed our already minimal house building programs even further so there is always going to be a supply/demand issue, with way more buyers than sellers. That's why I can't see prices dropping significantly- I think it will cool down a bit and we won't see the long term madness of 50k over asking price continue too much longer. But with so many people looking for houses and historic low levels of stock for most estate agents, I really cannot see it dropping significantly!

 

[whoareyouu]

This is a great image! My understanding is that stock supply just won't be able to increase in the way it has before- covid has delayed our already minimal house building programs even further so there is always going to be a supply/demand issue, with way more buyers than sellers. That's why I can't see prices dropping significantly- I think it will cool down a bit and we won't see the long term madness of 50k over asking price continue too much longer. But with so many people looking for houses and historic low levels of stock for most estate agents, I really cannot see it dropping significantly!

Depends on the builder but the one I work for has upped their planned output as we keep a stock of materials. Loads of new sites starting too. It’s mad.

 

[HoGi]

Lots of new sites near me too. But they all sell out quickly. And they are anything up to 40% more expensive than the equivalent "old" home.

I can't see demand dropping any time soon

 

[whoareyouu]

Lots of new sites near me too. But they all sell out quickly. And they are anything up to 40% more expensive than the equivalent "old" home.

I can't see demand dropping any time soon

I can’t either. I’ve just bought a new house and you have to be so quick. First time buyer. Honestly didn’t think it would ever happen.

People please don’t give up hope!

 

[Homebird44]

Has anybody got any experience with shared ownership? My eldest has started his new job and he gets a free oyster card, after a few months. He's happy to stay at home and save but the mainline trains are expensive and he'd rather not 100% rent as he wouldn't be able to save.

 

[littlepup]

Has anybody got any experience with shared ownership? My eldest has started his new job and he gets a free oyster card, after a few months. He's happy to stay at home and save but the mainline trains are expensive and he'd rather not 100% rent as he wouldn't be able to save.

There’s a bbc documentary on this - have a look on iPlayer. Around where I am the shared ownership houses are vastly more expensive. So you pay £150k for half a house that if it was for sale whole would be £260k but I’ve no direct experience.