hawkhead

Some of you bods seem to know what you're talking about when it comes to finances etc, so a question:
Do you think this summer will be a good time to buy a house in the UK, or are prices likely to be cheaper if we wait another year?
Cheers, HH.

lionheart

There was a Daily Telegraph article printed somewhere on here saying that UK house prices were going to fall another 55% before eventually stabilising. This seems rather pessimistic to me, but I cannot see prices rising much before April 2010 which is when (at the moment) I am contemplating buying.

Sky Blue

Firstly depends where you buy, but I think prices will stabilise in about 12-18 months... So maybe early next year may be a good time, but keep a good eye on the markets in the meantime...

The big issue is having the required deposit for a new place as the banks have upped their requirements a lot from a year or so ago...

I take no responsibility for my advice being wrong by the way!

hawkhead

Cov-land of course!!

Yeah, you are both saying what I was thinking - hold off for a while yet. It's getting tempting though!

still.unsure

"steady lad, wait 'til you see the whites of their eyes!"

Hello.Kitty

there was an article I glimpsed saying that there'd been a slight increase in house-buying in the last couple of months, but the general feeling here (yeah, I'm now back again) is to hold tight.

Banks are coming out with some decent-looking (3-4.5%) fixed-rate deals with low fees (approx £500)... as long as you can come up with 30-40% deposit.

bimcnorth

Wait...The full impact of the crisis have yet to hit the UK property market, at earliest I would consider buying this summer.

UNLESS..The pound suddenly starts to recover. I would advice you to make regular GBP deposits in the UK to minimize currency risks and take advantage of the strong dollar/weak pound.

Tooterelli

www.housepricecrash.co.uk

This is one of my favourite websites. Lots of very wise people (and one of two dodgers) post here!

There's also www.globalhousepricecrash.com

Concensus of opinion seems to be the crash has only just started. Many sellers still in denial. Buying just now is losing money as "property value" decreases on a daily basis.

One other great website is the property bee website which you download via Mozilla. It tracks reductions.

(Can you tell that I'm quite interested in this subject...having watching in awe as this bubble got bigger and bigger)

Sky Blue

Hold off HH for a while...

Cov land - oh dear!!!!!! Hillfields is very cheap at the moment or you may be able to get a new build on the old site of Highfield Road!!!

Norm_uk

I think that is generally good advice right now - stick some dosh each month in the offshore sterling account and make a bit of profit on the exchange rates...build up the house deposit a little quicker hopefully.

As for the house markets - hard to predict but still not stable so probably anytime now for the next 8-14 months you'll be able to find a bargain.

N.

hawkhead

Thanks people.
All our cash savings are in sterling so it seems like we're doing something right for once!
I will try to be patient and keep an eye on things. Thanks for those websites tooterelli, I'll take a look.
Not Coventry itself Sky Blue - I've got a bit more taste than that! Outskirts thereof, some nice little English village somewhere in the vicinity.

IndieG

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...efer=worldwide

typical

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_cat_bounce

hawkhead

Yeah I've been reading the same!

IndieG

I don't know much about the UK market, but have been following the Oz market closely for the past couple of weeks. For some reason, it eerily reminds me of the Dubai property market just a couple of months before the crash. Wish I was working for a Bank (in Credit/Risk) in Oz to get a closer pulse of the market!