The housing boom
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Remember, your location is important. Also, you might want to ask your estate agent what things you can do to make the property more marketable, eg. you need a clean-up, de-clutter, etc. Some estate agents feel a bit strange telling the vendors what they need to do to their house to increase its sellability, even though, technically, that is their job.
Another thing might be that you have priced the property too high. Take a look on rightmove and check out similarly sized properties to yours, in your area and see if the pricepoint you have chosen is correct.
I am 100% certain that providing the location of your property is good (ie. close to transport and amenities), the price point is correct and your property doesnt have any "issues" (eg. cars being burnt in front of your house, chavs loitering, etc), then it will sell quickly.
I live in London. I bought 2yrs ago. Here, all the properties I was going for were going under offer in less than 10days. There came a point where you viewed a property hours after it came on the market and were under pressure to put in an offer within 48hrs or risk losing out. I lost out on 3 other properties because I oooh'd and aaaah'd and learnt my lesson.
I have read anecdotes of people looking to buy in London and it seems that things have not changed in those 2yrs - properties get sold very quickly.
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Back in the mid 90s I was one of these people renting, thinking "There's bound ot be a crash soon!". I sounded like a lot of the posters here. If only I had bought a house back then I would probably be mortgage free now.
Luckily my missus did buy a house back then so we're pretty comfortable anyway, but it could have been so much better. Any rise or drop doesn't bother me at all now we are on the property ladder - we're in the housing market for the long term and will probably retire on the capital in whatever house we live in when the time comes.
I posted this here before, but if you'd bought a house in the 60s and sold it 10 years later you'd have made a nice profit. If you'd bought a house in the 70s and sold it 10 years later you'd have made a nice profit. you'd bought a house in the 80s and sold it 10 years later you'd have made a nice profit. you'd bought a house in the 90s and sold it 10 years later you'd have made a nice profit. Sure there have been crashes making people 'lose money' in the short term but I'm pretty confident that the house we moved into this year will be worth more than we paid in 10 years time based on the above.
Don't make the same mistake as I did and wait for a crash that might never happen to get onto the property ladder, unless you're planning to make a quick buck.
Luckily my missus did buy a house back then so we're pretty comfortable anyway, but it could have been so much better. Any rise or drop doesn't bother me at all now we are on the property ladder - we're in the housing market for the long term and will probably retire on the capital in whatever house we live in when the time comes.
I posted this here before, but if you'd bought a house in the 60s and sold it 10 years later you'd have made a nice profit. If you'd bought a house in the 70s and sold it 10 years later you'd have made a nice profit. you'd bought a house in the 80s and sold it 10 years later you'd have made a nice profit. you'd bought a house in the 90s and sold it 10 years later you'd have made a nice profit. Sure there have been crashes making people 'lose money' in the short term but I'm pretty confident that the house we moved into this year will be worth more than we paid in 10 years time based on the above.
Don't make the same mistake as I did and wait for a crash that might never happen to get onto the property ladder, unless you're planning to make a quick buck.
Yeah, it's so easy with hindsight, and all the people that own property telling us non-owners that we're silly to be waiting for a crash. You know so much better.
Oh wait, you weren't buying property when house prices were so ridiculously high were you.
Hang on. He has told you that whenever you buy, if you sell 10-15 yrs later, you WILL make money. He is using hindsight to predict the future. I havent checked using the figures available, but I think this is true. The only time that you wouldnt have made money is if you bought in 1989 and sold in 1999 - I believe that when you consider inflation, you wouldve lost money, but you would really have to be unlucky to buy at the top and sell at the bottom.
If you buy now, it might work out cheaper than if you wait for a crash that may or may not materialise in time.
I bought in Dec05. Had I waited, I wouldve seen prices rise by around 18% during to Dec07 and would also have had pay money in rent. Even if prices went down or stagnated, I would not have regretted the decision. Waiting for a house price crash is can be like putting your life on hold.
I don't think you're alone by any means.
I'm looking to buy here in Edinburgh and the market is very slow. Good for buying but not so great for those selling
I've seen many nice flats in the centre of town that are on the market for two weeks plus without any notes of interest. Some have been on for 6 weeks without getting any interest. All of these are nice 1 and 2 bed flats in very popular areas of the city.
I was also looking a few years back and the market was very different. Most places were gone within days of going on sale. And usually they could go for stupid amounts over the asking price. Now there are far more places comming up for a 'Fixed Price', and several that have had to lower their asking price before the property has sold.
There is no doubt in my mind that the boom of the last few years is over. Whether it turns into a full blown 'crash' or whether things just continue slowing down for a few years, who knows.
Good luck selling your house, hope things work out well for you
You wont make any money buying now and keeping it for 10 years because you have to make as much as possible when you sell
so that you pay as less as possible when you buy again. Unless you are selling to retire and downsize or buy purely to upgrade/freshen up
for the profit and not to just live.
Also remember its christmas soon and people just dont want to be moving house over the festive period.
so that you pay as less as possible when you buy again. Unless you are selling to retire and downsize or buy purely to upgrade/freshen up
for the profit and not to just live.
Also remember its christmas soon and people just dont want to be moving house over the festive period.
Which was what I was talking about in the first place. Some of us don't have much of a choice..
Done all that - the estate agents I use are selfemployed and purely based on commission so it is in their interest. They are as suprised as I am that it has not sold.
Its on the money compared to the other propertys and they have had no interest in them either. At its current value it is in fact now undervalued.
As I said it seems that the market is on the cusp and I for one do not want to be still trying to sell when it tips over - my only concern is I might already be.
Cryptic!
Your the same age as I am and my property is for sale in West Lothian although I currently rent near Nottingham.
Soldato
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My brother has.
I and the folks invested some money in a house whilst i as at uni and rented rooms to mates. I finished uni ages ago and the folks invested some more cash into the property to clear the mortgage (80k). The property is now worth 240k and it is going on the market as i am moving. As i no longer want the folks to have an interest in where i live, or if they died - my brother due to inheritence), They have decied to gift their share of the profit to me and bro. The bro hasnt put anything into the property so he is set to gain 90k tax fee so long as the folks don't cop it in 7 years.
I and the folks invested some money in a house whilst i as at uni and rented rooms to mates. I finished uni ages ago and the folks invested some more cash into the property to clear the mortgage (80k). The property is now worth 240k and it is going on the market as i am moving. As i no longer want the folks to have an interest in where i live, or if they died - my brother due to inheritence), They have decied to gift their share of the profit to me and bro. The bro hasnt put anything into the property so he is set to gain 90k tax fee so long as the folks don't cop it in 7 years.
No he's saying that your house would be worth more than when you bought it.
But that's totally different from making money.
If you'd invested the same money into almost anything - then 10 years later it would be worth more.
There's not much doubt that house prices have increased more than anything else in the last 10 years, but unless you own more than 1 house (or are downsizing) then you don't see any real money come out of that increase. You have to spend even more to buy your next house, when you sell your current one.
So long as you can comfortably afford your mortgage payments, then once you're on the housing ladder it doesn't really matter whether the prices go up or down (in the short term). As generally all houses are affected similarly.
I would expect that for the market to be maintainable, house prices in the long term would have to (roughly) follow inflation. If house prices keep increasing at a faster rate than anything else (including average wages), then you end up removing the bottom of the market (new buyers). Once this happens, then it's only a matter of time before something has to give way.
Its all relative. I made over £20k in less than a year on a house I sold, but it disappeared
when I upgraded to a new home. However, within 3 years that was worth double what I paid for it with an increase of almost £150k.
Property prices are certianly slowing but its nothing to worry about, its all about lending at the moment and the willingness of lenders, the same happened around 7 years ago when base rate went up to the late 6.75% (oooo, scary).
Property has always been, and always will be the best investment anyone can make consistently outperforming shares, equities, guilds, etc.
when I upgraded to a new home. However, within 3 years that was worth double what I paid for it with an increase of almost £150k.
Property prices are certianly slowing but its nothing to worry about, its all about lending at the moment and the willingness of lenders, the same happened around 7 years ago when base rate went up to the late 6.75% (oooo, scary).
Property has always been, and always will be the best investment anyone can make consistently outperforming shares, equities, guilds, etc.
There is always a choice
Renting isnt so bad. Or you could move back in with parents, pay them less rent and then work/save hard. When I was saving for my deposit, I was living in a studio flat in Queens Park. It was the cheapest self contained flat I could find and I looked for about 5 months. I lived there for 2yrs, when many people said it was very small, but it allowed me to save up nicely. Moving in with parents would've allowed me save even more, but it wasnt an option. You just have to make sacrifices.
But, I know what waiting for a crash is like - putting your life on hold. Not nice.
It depends on your area/location. For example, London still has plenty of steam left yet. Properties are still selling fast, though not as prolifically as say 6 months ago. While properties in say Liverpool, away from the amenities will take much longer and when the market turns will be the most difficult to sell. The properties that are likely to be vulnerable, are those that are less desirable (usually location and price). If you can afford it, you might want to lower your price to force the sale through. Alternatively, have you thought about selling via an auction? People think that properties are sold cheaply in an auction, but this is not the case - they can fetch full price and you can set a reserve where if the price is not met, then it is left unsold.
It really depends on how desperate you are to sell.
I would love to do this at some point in my life. The problem is that in London, which is where I prefer to stay, available land is scarce and very expensive. This requires the buyer to have seriously strong finances.
Man of Honour
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no it's afforardable housing that they are short of. Not that makes any sense tbh.
We've just had 10 new homes built round the corner from us and they have been empty for 3 years. Why? because the developers are trying to attract buyers from the city not local buyers. Buyers from the city are normally sitting on large equities. This means they can ask a lot more than the local market. Those coming up from the city think they are getting a bargain.. country house, garden, easy commute, cash in their pockets etc.. Of course it's going to be attractive to them. Unfortunatley, this means the houses are out of reach for perspective local buyers and actually forces the market upwards.. "If they are asking that for theirs, then our is worth that at least"...
The houses i mentioned above are 4 bedroom semi detached No gardens and they are asking aroung £550k-£650k.... I live 100 meters away on the same road and I too have a 4 bedhouse (detached) with a garden and we had ours valued at £350k.. and there's the problem.