What's the housing market like at the moment?

[sham71 10]

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.

 

I agree that buying is better than renting in the long term.

 

But if you are a FTB, why buy now when you can buy 20-30% cheaper in a couple of years?

 

You might as well burn your cash......

[sham71 10]

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

 

but the link between the base rate and mortgage rates has been severed as a result of the credit crunch.

 

it doesn't matter how much the Bank Of England cuts the base rate, the mortgage companies are not passing the cuts on to borrowers.

 

the last 2 cuts have not been passed on, in fact rates have continued to rise.

[sham71 10]

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

 

but as about 85% of mortgage payments at the beginning of the term are just interest payments to the bank, you would only have paid about £1000 off your mortgage in 6 months.

 

however, if prices were to fall 5% in that time, the value of your house might have fallen by £7000 or more.....

[kankel 10]

Hi

 

Prices may be going down, but you have to also think the mortgages are gettin more difficult to get.

[Tomataheeed 10]

To answer the original question, I think it depends how long you are looking to stay there. If its a home and you'll be there for a few years, buy now...you may as well. You'll probably get a decent deal and you'll also be in the happy position of being able to take your time, view a few and decide which one you want. Not so long ago, there were 20 buyers for each place, and a bidding war ensued. You can pick and choose and get the place you really want now. Prices may go down over the short term, but they will probably come back up relatively soon. You can't make house buying decisions over the short term...its a long term commitment.

[cbr900 10]

I don't think prices are going down , thing is people just aren't buying at the moment . If you had a house on the market at 300k and reduced it by 25k it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference . People just aren't ringing the estate agents.

[dulcet69 10]

We have just sold a couple over Greystones which went for five grand more than asking price! so there are still houses out there that sell quick and for more money. Its a question of area - not as many people out there buying but the ones who are still will push the price up if the house is really nice.

[dulcet69 10]

My friend has a few offers on hers at Greystones and we have loads of interest in some of the semis advertised n our office at bannercross. One recently sold for more money which is a rarity at the moment!

[Ms Macbeth 70]

MOD: Threads merged

[Kthebean 10]

Renting is not necesarily dead money.

 

You are paying for flexibility and a risk free home. If you are paying off someone elses mortgage, but they are in negative equity, and can't sell, who's laughing?

[Cyclone 10]

I don't think prices are going down , thing is people just aren't buying at the moment . If you had a house on the market at 300k and reduced it by 25k it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference . People just aren't ringing the estate agents.

 

Nationwide are reporting the 5th month in a row of falling prices, although it's not all postcodes. The average is falling though and it's the longest sustained run of the average falling for 16 or 17 years.

[Phylis 10]

I agree that buying is better than renting in the long term.

 

But if you are a FTB, why buy now when you can buy 20-30% cheaper in a couple of years?

 

You might as well burn your cash......

 

Sham you have been saying this for years. In the long term you will be the one losing money because in the 18 months since you sold out prices have still risen above what you sold for. With the small falls seen so far (little over 1%) we, the masses, are still much better off than you in terms of house values.