London house prices

[Garlick]

After selling my house 2 years ago I put my equity into a high interest account and rented a flat, a flat i'm still living in today.

Question is, do I buy in early 09 or wait in the hope of better mortgage deals and lower house prices later into 09 or even 2010? As you can tell, i'm no expert in this area.

I know there are many variables, and I should just get on with it but I don't want to buy at completely the wrong time.

I'm looking at buying in Fulham area. Any expert guidance would be very welcome as i'm unlikely to get impartial advice from struggling agents/ lenders.

TYIA.

[MikeyT]

Wait. Unless you see something you REALLY want ...

[Blib]

^^^^ What he said.

[V8mate]

I think the tough part isn't finding a great property; it's finding a great mortgage.

[quyen]

Unless you can find an amazing bargain at the moment, leave it to late 09 at least!

Try the following forum for more info

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?s...

[G'kar]

Might be worth a chat with Minimax.

Think that's Tom's patch and he's struck me as being pretty straight.

Haven't seen him around for a while though.

[anonymous-user]

Aren't experts predicting up to 40% drop from peak and reaching the lowest prices in 2010?

I wouldn't be in a hurry to buy in early '09 anyway. Who knows?

[V8mate]

G'kar said:

Might be worth a chat with Minimax.

Think that's Tom's patch and he's struck me as being pretty straight.

Haven't seen him around for a while though.

And Scotal for mortgages too!

[M400 NBL]

quyen said:

Unless you can find an amazing bargain at the moment, leave it to late 09 at least!

Try the following forum for more info

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?s...

If you want an unbiased view, DO NOT read the housepricecrash forum.

Yes we are having a correction, but according to HPC, it was supposed to start in 2004.

[Garlick]

As I suspected, thanks chaps.

My equity savings mean I should get a good mortgage offer even today, but i'd rather wait if people believe better deals will return.

I happened to pick up a property magazine today and there seemed to be plenty of lovely flats available within my budget, so for a moment I considered returning to the property ladder.

I might just sit tight for a while longer then, i'm not really in any rush.

[G'kar]

V8mate said:

G'kar said:

Might be worth a chat with Minimax.

Think that's Tom's patch and he's struck me as being pretty straight.

Haven't seen him around for a while though.

And Scotal for mortgages too!

Actually, Paul, just come down to DD's.

By the end of the strawpedoes you'll not only have the mortgage sorted but an accepted offer on a house you've never seen.

And you still won't be regretting things in the morning as much as half the assembled...

[RobDickinson]

The markets still heading down for a while, and I dont think it'll zip up much for years, so take your time and offer low when you find the right place. Dont worry too much if your buyin when it starts heading back up a bit.

[V8mate]

G'kar said:

V8mate said:

G'kar said:

Might be worth a chat with Minimax.

Think that's Tom's patch and he's struck me as being pretty straight.

Haven't seen him around for a while though.

And Scotal for mortgages too!

Actually, Paul, just come down to DD's.

By the end of the strawpedoes you'll not only have the mortgage sorted but an accepted offer on a house you've never seen.

And you still won't be regretting things in the morning as much as half the assembled...

In fact, we'll all come round straight from DDs and help you decorate

[M400 NBL]

I think it's fair to say that it's the value of new build flats that will account for most of the drop in percntage.

If anything, buy a house. At least you won't have ground rent/maintenance to pay each month.

[Mark300zx]

If you find a place you love and a decent mortgage you can afford, go for it, you will be in a position that you will not regret, I did that and I would not want to live anywhere else in London and whatever happens your mortgage is affordable, I think some people will be open to silly offers so stick em in!

[Hobo]

I would have no issue going out today and buying the next family home as long as it was the 'right' one, by that I mean one which offers everthing needed for a number of years.

House prices are no doubt falling & no doubt will continue to do so for a further time, however if its a longer term purchase you're looking at then the reality is simply that overall the price is going to rise. If however it is simply a short time 'stop gap' then maybe now is not the correct time to do so.

You can ask as many people as you wish to what is going to happen, and each & every one will give a different answer. Each person has thier own view (and motives behind them). Do what you think is the right thing & f@ck what others think. It is afterall your life.

[M400 NBL]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Are there no new builds in Fulham? I was assuming that the OP meant new builds, in which case they usually cost a lot more than terraced houses with the same number of bedrooms.

If not, then I guess a flat is the only option.

[Garlick]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Very true.

As much as i'd love a house, i'm firmly in 2 bed flat territory- with a garden if i'm lucky.

I'm signed up to the next DDs anyway, so i'll hopefully meet some 'contacts' there.

and lose a few years off the life of my liver

[buddhabelly]

with house prices expected to fall by some 10-15% in 2009 there are not many people rushing to buy right now or Q1 2009,

fulham is "young" area, I expect people here will suffer in the credit crunch so it is worth keeping an eye out for distressed sellers/bargains.

Unlike someone mentioned above I think finding the RIGHT property is key. Good quality properties that tick all the boxes are rare and far between in london, it doesnt matter much when prices are rising but I would rather pay extra to get the right property. you will never have to worry about renting or selling it in the future. In the last boom I saw/have properties less than perfect and price increases were less than average, similarly I have a top end property where the house price increase was double the location average.

If I was in your shoes, wait until April-June 2009 and see where the market/economy is, assuming we are not in a death spiral (50:50) start looking and be ready to move for the right property. IMO - I doubt there will be much of a difference whether you buy end of 2009 or 2012, banks are shafted and without the credit to reinflate the bubble it will take some time for things to sort themselves out.

Good luck!

[Garlick]

Great advice buddha, thank you.

Oh, and I will only consider 2/3 bed period flats, no new builds, ideally with a garden. I won't divulge my budget, but those from SW London will know. It also happens to be the type of property that everyone wants.