When will be a good time to buy property in London? What happens if rents fall?

[NoFixedAbode]

Was talking about this with a friend today. She is keen to buy somewhere as soon as possible, my opinion is prices might come down over the next six months or so. But of course I don't know anything about property really (I only rent have never bought!) that was just from several articles I read that have all said the same thing.

What are your thoughts? Would you buy in London soon, or hesitate and see what happens with the market?

The other thing I have noticed, is that rents seem to be dropping slightly at the moment, and properties seem harder to fill since the start of this year. If rents do stay consistently a little lower, what impact might that have on the buyer's market? I imagine some landlords may not find tenants as quickly for their new buy-to-let properties?

If your friend can afford it, they definitely should buy now while Brexit is still uncertain. London's property market will probably boom afterwards as the government seeks new foreign investment.

I'm no expert, but I would buy now. People have been saying for years that the London housing market will slump, and it never has

Oh, really? What do you mean, who would be investing?

She's very keen to buy but a bit unsure because of how quickly the prices have gone up in last few years.

Yes that's true. There never has been a housing bubble burst. Thank god. I think ramifications of that would be awful for everyone!

Buy no, in London prices are only going to increase

Buy now that should say not buy no. Sorry

How will it be linked to brexit though, who might new investors be?

When we bought our house last year, which was very expensive for us, I told myself that the only time the price of a house really matters is when you buy and when you sell. We will be here for 10 plus years so chances are ours will be worth at least what we paid for it in ten years time so I try not to worry about the market at the moment.

Chinese, Indian, Saudi, Russian investment most likely. New builds in London already go flying off the shelves in Hong Kong/Mumbai etc - that will just get worse as the UK supplements it's EU workforce by looking elsewhere. There are rumours of free trade blocs between the UK and China and the UK and India/Australia/Canada - if that happens we will get more migration from those countries than we currently do.

Ah yes I see that makes sense.

PippaFawcett I hope you are very happy now in your house!

Migrants on short term visas tend to rent. Migrants on longer term visas can buy and still own the property when they leave. These migrant owners then rent out their properties to service mortgages etc.

Might be too much hassle but buying somewhere with the intention of turning it into rented student accommodation pretty much guarantees renters.

Rent market is down -- I spent about three months looking for a rental property in SW London this year and several rental flats never got let despite rent reductions during that entire time.