To just be so upset about house prices

[spuddy56]

We started looking in December after scrimping and saving for years and its got more and more out of reach with every passing week since then. We've had two sales fall through due to downvaluations, so not only did we need the huge deposit we had saved up for years, we needed 10k on top of that which is impossible for us. We are paying rent and have no family help. We viewed a tiny house that we love and has been on the market since beginning of April with no offers but the seller won't budge on the price. Based on one year of sold prices in the area its about 40k too much, even taking into account the 10% rises over the last 12 months. Theres just no way a mortgage company would lend that much. Been to view another one and it's tiny, has had no offers and is worth a lot less but agents don't think they will go lower. We've had to adjust our expectations down and down despite being what we thought were healthy earners. How are first time buyers managing to buy right now without help?! I'm so so upset at not having somewhere to settle and call a permanent home.

I would speak to estate agents, tell them your position and they will keep you in mind when valuing properties. Worth an ask

Why don't you buy a flat? I could never have afforded a house for my first home.

Will the sellers not budge on price if valuations are coming in lower....some one must have told them....prices have levelled off in lots of places or even dropped a bit now.

Have you looked at new builds? Might not be ideal, but worth a look. They tend to go up in price once the estates are complete.

its making life difficult for many, looking back its soul destroying not being able to have done it 2 years ago, even 1.

I'm in a different situation, but equally difficult. I bought a flat because it was all I could afford at the time and yes the value has gone up, but only a tiny fraction that houses have! So the gap is getting wider and wider. I want to not be up a flight of stairs, to have a garden & off street parking. It's not worth moving if I can't have those things. I've compromised & lowered my sights as far as I possibly can.

oh & I live alone, so only one wage to count towards how much I can borrow & to pay the mortgage and I'm closer to retirement than starting out.

We have started, my worry is the service charges. Ridiculously, the two I've enquired about won't give me any details on any caps/how the increase in charge is managed. Someone said to me that they are more regulated now than they used to be though ?

housing affordability - rent or mortgage is the biggest issue here, it affects all other bill affordability. I hope your luck changes @spuddy56

What i would not do is rush into something now, when all predictions are bad for q3 on particularly as a first time buyer of a property that's too small to have kids in.

Bargains always more likely outside of spring/summer.

You have my sympathy, it's awful at the moment.
We're just exchanging on a new build. It's in the next town which is not as desirable as ours and we weren't really looking for a new build but we benefited from the Discount Market Value scheme giving us 20% off the house and a 5% deposit.
It made sense for us as we refuse to pay for an existing house that would have been £60,000 cheaper a couple of years ago. The competition from other buyers was crazy aswell.

I don't blame you I would be upset too. We luckily bought our house just a couple of months before lockdown, houses on our road have sold this year for £200k more than what we paid for our house. Unbelievable!!

I am currently buying ex-council, ex-rental in a shitty area in a reasonably shitty condition, BUT close to one of my children's schools. It's half the price of what my last property is worse, which I left to my abusive ex to get away from him.

The house needs so much work, is terraced and not all that desirable, but big enough to make it my own.

From experience, do not compromise on space. I did, however, bid ££ above asking price and it still got valued as such. I used the last few years' purchases as a guide and and added a few k to outbid other potential buyers.

But it was advertised as a starter home and estate agents know what they're doing. Get a decent sales progressor is my tip. Mine is superb. My solicitors are cheap and crap, but with 4 different parties chasing them they have little choice but to actually do their job.

I compromised massively on decor. The outside needs doing, there is no sign of a carpet or shower. But carpet laying isn't all that difficult and I can buy someone to install a shower for under 1k. I will paint and redecorate and fix a fence.

How good are you at DIY, OP?

YABU

be frustrated and angry about wages being kept low, if wages were higher the economy would do better and you’d be able to afford to buy a house.

sainsbury for example have raised there CEO wages to over 3 million a year but refuse to pay a living wage - how about those at the top can’t earn more obscene amounts of those at the bottom can’t afford a mortgage on their wages

If its really that important to you move north. Where I am ( Northumberland) its absolutely beautiful and you can buy a family home on one salary in many cases.

If the house is freehold then the charges shouldn’t be so bad. Also depends if the council has adopted all the roads or if the management company are looking after them iirc.
My charges have been around £20 a month for the last few years and my new build has risen 26% in value in that time (price I paid vs what I’ve just sold it for).
I’d look at shared ownership or a help to buy loan - that’s how I bought my first home

No, if wages were higher, there would be more money chasing houses and prices would go up again. The OP would be no better off.

It’s shit and unlucky and I really feel for you. Don’t let anyone make you feel you’re doing anything wrong, not making compromises, being too picky etc. You (and many many others) are just up against a horrible moment in history (not a random one either) and it’s ok to be angry and sad about that. That’s my depressing two cents!

As harsh as this is going to sound for current home owners, I'd wait. Maybe find somewhere better to rent if you want, but I wouldn't bother buying now. Keep saving, and the prices are likely to drop soon, and people who have over budgeted themselves on houses are likely to be losing them soon. You may be able to get one of them for a good deal. Many people have recently bought houses too big for them to handle when interest rates rise up. Of course you might not be able to either, but never know.

You need to wait. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but now is a really bad time to try to get on the property ladder. Keep saving as much as you can and wait for the prices to meet you halfway.

Try Kensington mortgages, they’ll give you a bigger offer

No, if wages were higher, there would be more money chasing houses and prices would go up again. The OP would be no better off.

higher Wages don’t mean higher prices, wages are low now and house prices high along with a cost of living crisis. Over the last 20 years wages have decreased but house prices have risen at record prices

I appreciate all the responses with solutions but the reality is that it’s pretty impossible for people who were very close to being able to buy, to be able to buy now. No matter where you look, without significant gifting from family it’s not going to happen.

Sorry to hear you’re having a hard time. It’s a bloody awful situation at the minute. As PPs have said I would keep saving and looking for a few more months - if possible, into Autumn / Winter if you are not in too much of a rush. It can’t hurt to have more money put away and hopefully there will be slightly less competition for stock.

Was thinking the same. We lived in a one bedroom flat until we had the DCs. It worked well for us as a first property.

I really would wait if I were you, I think we are heading into v uncertain times and prices will come down
Sit tight and keep saving what you can

Your criteria doesn’t work then
you have to change one out of
-your budget (more money, find a scheme, save for longer/save more)
-your location
-your requirements for the house (size, condition, no. Of bedrooms or other features like drive, Utility etc)

or you just keep waiting and hoping something changes in the market.

that’s all there is to it unfortunately.

Wait.
save more.
ride this out.
do not buy an overpriced first home that will need selling the minute you have babies.
grit teeth, save and wait.