AIBU to ask, would you buy a house now?

[Adventureplease]

Hoping for some advice/opinions.

So many conflicting stories/opinions in the press regarding house prices. Even the data is unclear.

If you were a cash buyer who could wait a few months (even though you would prefer not to) would you hold off to see if prices go down a bit?
Or is the UK property market just always going to go up?
We are looking in a popular area.

Thank you

Yes if it's a cash purchase

No I wouldn't. Market is too uncertain.

It depends on what the local market is doing (for your tenure of housing) and that can vary from one road to the next in my area. Most predictions are open-ended even among seasoned experts. Be driven by what you must do due to your needs rather than the prospect of making gains but act risk aversely in terms of what you choose.

Shop Around. I mean make a low offer on a house you really want.
Some people are doing surprisingly low deals. But you have to offer something to the vendor. Maybe the want to be flexible on moving date, another might want a fast decision and settlement.
What can you offer?

I would wait six months as a minimum regardless.
Even though you are a cash buyer, it is unlikely to be the case down the whole chain
Inflation hasn't stabilized at all despite the reassurances. This means that interest rates will need to be increased a few more times. They may manage to stabilize it by the autumn so any calculations would best be based upon the worst case scenario inflation figures. The chance of one of the people in the chain bolting is also higher in times of economic uncertainty