What's the housing market like at the moment?

[Buffey 10]

Hi all,

I just sold my home a few weeks ago, and the one I was buying fell through so i'm renting at the moment. My question is should I wait to buy or is now the perfect time to get a good deal with the market being slow, or will it get even better? or will it pick up soon?

 

Any advise welcome from any experienced market watchers.

 

Buffey.

[shirker 10]

Depends on how much you're shelling out for rent. If you're a cash buyer, you could try making very low offers for something with a take it or leave it attitude.

A mid way solution would be to buy as cheap/small place as you can, and sit on any surplus cash in the hope the market will fall.

Otherwise, ignore whats happening, and buy the best you can afford, over the long term you'll still be ok.

[theripsaw 10]

If youre selling at the moment are you getting many viewings? Are offers at the asking price? Have you had to reduce the price?

No estate agents to comment please lets keep this impartial!

[joescoes 10]

houses are selling but very slowly,ive reduced mine 10k some people have reduced more its basically the look of the draw,viewings have been slow but i have had several offers, but if you want to move your house will sell when it sells the market always improves during the summer months .

[joescoes 10]

good advice from shirker

[SheffieldGirl 10]

I've just sold my house after it being on the market for 6 months, for £8,000 less than the original asking price. The market is very slow at the moment.

[Phylis 10]

You still have to have somewhere to live. Why pay someone elses mortgage when you could be paying off your own.

[edssb4 10]

Also depends on where you want to live. We're a few months on from you and have been renting for nearly 6 months, and sitting on a deposit. The type of properties we're looking at in the area we want are still in demand, so going for near or even in some cases, slightly over asking price!

[sham71 10]

Why pay someone elses mortgage when you could be paying off your own.

 

On a 150k mortgage over 25 years at 6.5%, the mortgage payments are £1100.

 

But, £870 of that is interest.

 

So if you can rent a house worth £150,000 for less than £870, it is cheaper to rent than buy.

 

Even if you have a good deposit, you have to remember the interest foregone on that money if it is tied up in a house rather than a high interest savings account.

 

If house prices rise, it doesn't matter (ie. the last 10 years) but if they stagnate or fall, renting is definitely better from a purely financial point of view.

 

Having sold up 18 months ago, we are renting rather than buying at todays inflated prices. The rent we pay is less than half what the interest on the mortgage would be if we were to buy it.

 

Also, by paying a bit more in rent, you can get a much better house, ie. £500 per month rent gets you a 150k house, whereas £750 can get you a £300k house.

[Phylis 10]

On a 150k mortgage over 25 years at 6.5%, the mortgage payments are £1100.

 

But, £870 of that is interest.

 

So if you can rent a house worth £150,000 for less than £870, it is cheaper to rent than buy.

 

Even if you have a good deposit, you have to remember the interest foregone on that money if it is tied up in a house rather than a high interest savings account.

 

If house prices rise, it doesn't matter (ie. the last 10 years) but if they stagnate or fall, renting is definitely better from a purely financial point of view.

 

Having sold up 18 months ago, we are renting rather than buying at todays inflated prices. The rent we pay is less than half what the interest on the mortgage would be if we were to buy it.

 

Also, by paying a bit more in rent, you can get a much better house, ie. £500 per month rent gets you a 150k house, whereas £750 can get you a £300k house.

 

But that wasnt my point. You are paying the interest on someone elses mortgage for them. You will never own the property you are living in. Your landlord will always own it. I dont see the point in paying someone elses mortgage when you can pay your own. Renting is dead money. You might as well eat your cash.

[jonhanson 10]

I doubt there is ever a perfect time to buy, but my opinion is that renting is a waste of time A) Because its temporary

B) Your paying someone elses mortgage

C) If you spend 6 months renting, you could have paid 6 months of your mortgage.

 

I very much doubt that house prices will go down, but rather just stay at a similar level with very little increase over the next few months/year.

 

If you do wait you could see prices go down, but I think its more likley to see them rise.

 

As previousley mentioned you could try offering below asking price on some houses as some people might be desperate to sell as the market has slowed.

 

Regards

[cbr900 10]

buy now because come june/july after some more interest cuts the market will pick up again.