To think people scaremongering about house prices need to reign it in

[marysuzairn]

Irl and on here I've seen people telling others not to buy a house and they're about to crash. But realistically that's not going to happen

The cover of the express today is showing how they're surging and hitting new highs

For people that can afford it they really need to buy now as hanging on for a crash has never worked

It's to do with affordability - when people have jobs and regular wages coming in they can pay their mortgage. At the moment some of those wages are being paid by furlough, but the economy has shrunk drastically and there will be more redundancies. banks will agree to mortgage holidays but not indefinitely. people have savings but these will eventually run out. So covid has had a massive impact, and brexit will happen next year. Things are not looking good. The government know there will be huge problems with the housing market - they haven't cut stamp duty be sure they're feeling kind and generous and you'd be naive to think that.

On top of that house prices where I am (South east) have risen by ridiculously unaffordable amounts since the last house price dip (2012). We bought in 2012, and our home value has increased by around 65% in the last 8 years. Wages haven't increased anywhere near that amount. So even if there is a 30% drop them it's unlikely that anyone who bought 5+ years ago will end up in massive negative equity.

Rein.

Dione I hear ya.

They're surging due to the stamp duty cut - it will have prompted ditherers to get a move on. I'm in the middle of a purchase so I have no particular desire for prices to drop but I think they ultimately will. I'm not in a position to delay my purchase but if I were, I certainly would've considered waiting before the stamp duty cut.

Sorry but no. Doesn’t matter what the red tops say...come Autumn we are facing extreme economic hardship and current house prices are simply not sustainable. Buyers would be very foolhardy not to wait until economic reality hits when furlough ends.

But realistically that's not going to happen
You keep telling yourself that!

The Express newspaper really isn’t the go to place for reliable information!

Yes the stamp duty cut will have saved the housing market to some extent. People wanting huge price crashes will be disappointed, but much better for the economy if they don’t crash

I wish people would stop talking like they’re experts.

Unless you’re Mystic Meg then you just don’t know. Either way.

@WhattheHhashappened

But realistically that's not going to happen You keep telling yourself that!

The Express newspaper really isn’t the go to place for reliable information!

Indeed. The Express still uses Fahrenheit!

When we're likely just about to enter a MASSIVE recession and then leave the EU with nothing but our shiny blue passports to our name I'd not be in any rush to make a huge purchase like a house tbf.
That said houses round me are selling within days for well over the asking price so maybe thats just me.

Where I am, the house market has picked up. We're in the middle of a purchase, but neither of us have jobs that will be effected by redundancy - he wasn't furloughed and the only reason we did was because my company acted in the interests of the country - we can travel in excess of 200 miles a day, they didn't want us moving around that much, but we work in grocery so our jobs are as secure as any job ever is.

So, from my own particular bubble, I can't see the impact.

However, stepping out of my bubble I'd be stupid to not see the potential for a massive economic impact in the coming twelve months.

It’s difficult to predict. DH works on the developer side. The rumblings coming through to them are that people have realised after spending time confined to houses that they aren’t meeting their needs. Families are looking for bigger homes with space to WFH or even just moves to areas where there are nicer local walks etc.

I know a few friends made the decision to complete DIY over lockdown ready to get their houses on the market as they feel they want to move now.

Locally houses are selling really quickly. Lots of new properties popping up on right move. Prices are about the same as pre lockdown. It’s anecdotal as it’s going to be area specific I suppose.

We've been looking to buy in Cheshire, and all the estate agents we've spoken to have said they're amazed at the buoyancy of the market.

Of course, that's not to say that it won't go down. Housing prices are a bubble, especially in some areas, and adjustments will happen.

I remember, bot so long ago, being told that house prices would plummet immediately after the Referendum, if we voted for Leave. And yet here were are ...

Back in 2007/8 people were saying property prices wouldn't be affected and would continue to rise. They were wrong then and they're wrong now. Of course the property market will be affected. What no one knows is by how much and for how long. What IS certain is that they'll bounce back again, but again, no one knows when.

News on Reuter’s this morning is that we are now in another mini boom because of stamp duty hike

However I. The Sunday times home section the finance man advised to wait until Christmas to see if there might be any drop and then secure a house quickly enough to still make most of the stamp duty cut in time for it ending in March 2021

The problem with this is that we won’t see any realistic house price stability until after March 2021 at the least

Op people have been predicting a crash for decades. There are even forums dedicated to it, filled with many people who sadly missed their only chance because they were waiting for the crash, got priced out and never managed to get in the position to be able to jump again.

On every thread on here, as well as the folks saying wait it will crash there are always those saying buy now it will increase and people like myself saying it could go either way, don’t wait and gamble if you can’t Afford to loose.

There is really no point getting bothered by it, it doesn’t change anything, there are always balanced views, people need to make their own decisions and in a year, two years, ten years and twenty years, people will still be posting a crash is going to happen and waiting for it. Some have been waiting for decades.

I’ve got some shares in a London house builder (high end so might not really be reflective of the general market) but their stock has continued to rise over the last 3 months which I am surprised at

I also work in the construction industry and we are busier than ever (high end and commercial)

bluntness100 great comment.

My daughter and her boyfriend have had a payout because of an injury, are renting and looking to buy.

But never get round to buying (and it's been years now) because they're worrying about an imminent price crash.

The market round here is booming, houses going up and selling within the week. Maybe that'll change in a few months, but we certainly aren't seeing evidence of a crash.

I'm amazed houses are selling so well with all the economic uncertainty, but a boom like this is almost always a sign of the crash to come.

I remember people insisting houses were always a good investment in 1989....we bought our first house in 1992 for around 2/3 of the mortgage the previous owners had on it.

If you are in the market for buying, buy. Prices are always going to fluctuate to some extent. If you hang around waiting for 'the right time', you may never buy, because who can say what the right time will be? No one has an eye in to the future.

I agree

The removal of stamp duty if anything will push prices up. Many people I know weren't planning on moving for a while but with the stamp duty removal are planning to look in the next 6 months.

One of the houses on our street was sitting on the market for over a year, it is overpriced tbh and now in the last week there is a bidding war between three different parties

I doubt there'll be that much of a crash in many areas, here there are never enough houses to meet demand, it's not unusual for them to sell within a week. There arent many local jobs based on sectors likely to struggle either, lots are government jobs and stable, so I'd be surprised if there's a notable crash, it will vary though by area and have knock on effects nationally no doubt; but no one really knows. Even if prices fall, during uncertain times mortgage lenders tighten the reigns, the real losers will likely be those who are renting as demand increases for rental properties rents will creep up as they know people will fill tbem

In 1988 I bought a flat in a West London suburb for £65k. Double Miras was coming to an end and there was a mad rush to buy. As soon as double Miras stopped (31st July 88 from memory) the market slumped.
In 1995 I sold the same flat for £38k.

Just because there hasn't been a slump like this for quite a few years doesn't mean it won't happen again, and reducing stamp duty to make an artificial boost to the market now is ever likely to cause a slump when it ends.