To compare house price articulates from before last crash and now

[Lolly567]

Very very similar language used in these two articles, eg. Crash highly unlikely as there’s lack of supply of housing, v low unemployment rates etc. And then we all know what happened 2008!

Hate the idea of buying a house (which is a bit if a compromise anyway) and then straight away ending up in negative equity, and only reaching the value we paid in 10 years!

How long do you think you will be in the house?

The thing is, depending on where you were, the crash of 2008 didn't last long - we bought a house in London in 2009 and I remember the prices were back up at 2007 levels within about 18 months. Having said that, that was London where demand never really goes away, and the Bank of England had lowered the interest rate and done a load of QE so asset prices were bound to rise. This time the interest rate is already low, so there's less they can do if the house prices do fall.

I think a lot will depend on the Brexit deal. If it does turn out to be a no deal then (IMO) there's likely to be quite a bad recession and house prices will generally fall. I wouldn't bet on massive falls though, as people still need somewhere to live.

Are you in a hurry to buy something? The Brexit date is barely 6 months now, if I were you I would just wait and see how that pans out. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors do a monthly review of the housing market (I'll try and find the link) - that is a good place to see which way the wind is blowing.

RICS residential market survey

Wait and keep saving, put what you can in ISA etc. Never buy first property until you’re comfortable with your timing, unless the negative equity is irrelevant.

I think a lot of people who don't have much in the way of savings/income who are hoping for a crash to buy their first property are not factoring that the banks will massively tighten lending criteria in the event of a crash, so they might struggle to get anything at all if there is a crash too.

We're in a very fortunate position in that we've got a house which we're planning to eventually extend and stay in forever. I would hate to be buying right now.

It doesn’t matter if there’s a crash.

In 25 years you’ll have a home you own outright and will never have to pay rent/mortgage again.

That's if you've kept your job and managed to keep up the repayments on a mortgage.

Lose your job in a recession and there's a lot less help for mortgage payers than renters. Yes I know you can buy insurance, but it's expensive and often not worth the paper it is written on.

Lose your job in a recession and have your house repossessed and your five figure deposit could evaporate before your eyes, and then some.