Should a first time buyer in the UK buy now, or will the house prices keep coming down into 2010 and beyond?!
53property economics
Yes, more job losses are being annnounced all the time. Here in northen ireland 5000 people are losing their jobs every month as more and more business seem to drop of the radar.
With more people unable to afford a mortgage there will be more reposessions.. and with less people looking to buy and more people looking to sell to gain that extra bit of capital you will be a buyer focused market.
But to balance this out, recently the BBC has published figures that mortgages approvals for the month of february where up on the on figures for january, this could be linked in with the interest rate cuts but have we actually seen the worst of the recession yet or are we just sitting in the calm of the eye the storm with more terbulant times ahead.
Unemployment will be the key factor, and it has already syrpassed 2million with it expected to pass 3 million before the year is out. Some areas such as parts of Birmingham have reached ten percent or more unemployment.
The main point is, the recession is not over yet and will not get better for another 6 months at least, its your decision. But you should track the prices being paid for houses in your area... can you collect newspapers from this time last year and compare with this year.. or even from last month and compare for similar houses on a month by month basis.
some useful tools are listed on the BBC website
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7789997.stm This tool tracks house prices and shows you the ptrice paid compared to last year
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/economy/default.stm The news pages of the BBC are always excellent sources of news for the economy
People say when the US sneezes we catch the cold and just hoking round the BBC news website it shows that the US has seen record falls for house prices in january compared to last year. -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7974653.stm
To conclude. Gathering as much news and information on property, mortgages and the economy will enable you to be a more confident investor and also help guide you in the timing of your decisions.
Here are some books that I thought might help
The Property Developers Book of Checklists: How to Profit from Property Whatever the Market!
The Secret Life of Real Estate: How it Moves and Why
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Hi Adulion, thanks for answering my request with this Hub. It's certainly given me some new ideas to ponder, and those links are spot on.
It's important to remember that your bargaining power as a buyer is stronger in the midst of a recession, with all that uncertainty, than if you wait for prices to start rising. So if you do the numbers and it's a good buy, then why wait 12 months?
If you can negotiate the price down, to the level it becomes profitable for you, then go for it. But you've got to use property formulas, or it's all guesswork.
Let me know if you want a copy of these.
also look at:
propertysnake.co.uk - awesome site that monitors sale prices in the UK
The Halifax Property Index site.
singingpig.co.uk - free site for property investors
both very useful
Mmmm
not sure they will come down more especially in the south. But there will not be any major up spikes for a while either- what with an election round the corner and talk of interest rates staying low for years to come!!
No rush and due diligence when buying
Dnany
realestateuk 3 years ago
I agree that getting more information and keeping tabs on developments may make one more informed, but I'd understand if people keep holding on their purses. There is something about the economic downturn that has made people less enthusiastic about spending. By the way, the links you provided are helpful to people looking into buying a house.