First time buyers wait or not

[Viviennemary]

Should first time buyers hang on or go ahead with trying to buy. I told some first time buyers I know to hold on. There's nothing very suitable in their price range at the moment anyway. But now they're scared if they wait till next year prices will be even more out of their reach. I probably shouldn't have said anything.

Buy now. No stamp duty.

I’d buy as soon as the right property becomes available provided their budget is realistic.

@BluebellsGreenbells - FTB don't pay stamp duty on the first £300k anyway. Unless they're looking at over that the stamp duty holiday won't really impact them.

@Viviennemary - if there's nothing suitable, then it's worth waiting until there is something suitable. No point buying a home that isn't suitable. It may be worse to feel stuck in a home that isn't suitable and may not be as easy to sell on.

It's a personal decision but investors are in the market and wanting rid of cash. With concerns cash will become worth less and there will be more quantitative easing, it seems that, perversely, property will increase in value despite the severe economic woes.

I would say don't buy in the next 3 months, as there's a rush of pent-up demand and eager buyers now the stamp duty holiday has been announced.

Look around Oct-Feb. Always a seasonally low demand period, so they will have less competition, and the initial hype of the SD holiday would have died down.

As for prices going up/down... who knows! If any of us did, we'd be millionaires by now.

Remind them that this is their biggest purchase in their lives so far. And they'll be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of pounds of debt. So better make a good, considered decision instead of a rush decision. Make sure they're reading up on the whole process, about property buying, about negotiating, what to look out for in a property, the costs involved, etc. It is literally spending 10-20 years of salary in one go. Maybe get a book? Or read up on websites like hoa.org.uk or www.ftb.help

We bought our house at the end of 2016 (FTB) we started looking in the summer and had offer accepted in August. People were telling us we're mad, leave it until September when loads more houses will be available, house prices will tank because of brexit, blah, blah, blah.

Thankfully we ignored them all because what brexit did mean was that hardly any houses that met our needs came on the market at the end of 2016, those that did were snapped up quickly and we wouldn't have been able to buy come January 2017 because we'd been priced out.

Every Tom, dick and Harry fancies themselves as an expert on the property market, most of them are talking out of their backsides, FTB should ALWAYS make their own mind up

I would be careful delaying for strategic reasons, lending is already very restricted and if the market turns it'll only get harder to obtain. I'm not one for playing games with my home though, as much as it's an investment, it's a home first. I'd keep an eye out and if you find something you love and you can afford it now I'd go for it, it's impossible to predict the future.

It doesn't look like there's going to be a crash after all, they should just buy whenever they feel is right

@notheragain4 Agreed. For some people, waiting may be best, but this isn't the case for all.

Thanks for all your comments. I think it's right that nobody can really predict the market. Glad I'm not buying at the moment. Prices have gone up never mind down as predicted.

@Viviennemary we're saving £8250 in stamp duty (house price hasn't gone up it was the same pre Covid) so I'm pleased I am buying at the moment! Every person's situation is different which is why you should be careful what you say to people as you're speaking from your own experience, not theirs.

I don't think there is one fixed rule.

Obviously if there is nothing suitable for them they should wait at present. Stamp duty holiday is irrelevant for most FTBs.

It will depend on their current living arrangements
Their job security
The amount they need to borrow
The likelihood of 'a suitable' house coming up
How much deposit they have / mortgage in principle agreement (how much they need to borrow relative to salary)

I think it's very likely that prices will drop but it may take 12 months. It's not surprising they are going up/ buoyant now with the pent up demand and the stamp duty holiday. Come October when more redundancies are made, the chances are that less people will feel confident taking on significant debt.