House price 2021 up or down

[Mollyeyes]

Hello

Like to have your views on whether prices will go up or down next year. I know we don’t have crystal ball. I am thinking given Brexit would have happened and potentially we have Covid vaccine that they may go up as companies will have confidence and people’s jobs will be more secure even when furlong scheme finishes in March/April.

Ah this old chestnut.

We don’t know.

Buy home that you like and can afford. Not an investment opportunity.

@Catycity thanks, just wondering whether to postpone buying a home next year or now

Are you buying and selling? If so I dont think it makes much difference as it's all relative.

You'll get more for yours but pay more for new house or you'll get less for yours and pay less for new house.

Personally i dont think the prices will drop as such maybe just slow right down, but that is just my thoughts!

I think property prices will stall now and go back to pre covid prices because it's getting closer to the stamp duty holiday ending, I do think the government will possibly extend it but at the last minute. There will be another bit of frenzied buying when they do it but again it will die down again I can't see prices rising in 2021.

Many, many, many people have lived to bitterly regret waiting 'until prices come down a bit'.

Far fewer people will ever regret buying property even that was a bit over-priced as value will always rise in time anyway.

Whether property will go up/down no-one can really say and it's very location specific. But I agree with the PP, buy what you can afford as soon as you can afford it.

I thiught that house prices would probably remain flat. I also thought that there would be a dearth of properties coming on the market as would be sellers sit tight, and this would overall prevent any serious drops, along with record low borrowing rates.

This is very much what is happening around here. I think this will continue for another 6 months, depending on whether the stamp duty holiday is extended. The main issue at the moment is that few new instructions are coming to market so there’s a very limited choice. Family houses that are attractively priced are going SSTC immediately. Houses which were overpriced to begin with are either seeing reductions or being taken off the market.

So if I was looking to move now and the right house came up at the right price, and I was financially stable, I would go for it. Otherwise I’d wait it out until the spring bounce.

It's unlikely that house prices will drop dramatically and you will benefit from this but others will not. The only circumstances when a price decrease is possible is when everyone is 'in trouble'.

However your affordability, eligibility for a mortgage, and mortgage rates are likely to change and make a house purchase harder in the future.

So the prices might go down a bit (that's a maybe) but your ability to buy will not become easier as a result (that's almost for sure - unless you get incredibly lucky very soon winning a lottery etc).

We are FTB and ummed and aaahed over this too.
DH job as stable as it can be. Classed as a key worker (but not the typical keyworker jobs)
We decided that if pieces did drop drastically then ability to get mortgage would drop and the deposit you need would increase.
We have had an offer accepted on a house, compared to others on the market it was very reasonably priced and we couldn’t get anything that ticked as many boxes for our budget so the house was worth asking price to us.

It’s impossible to know, but my feeling is that they will go down.

Unless you are a first time buyer, you are hedged in that what you gain or lose on the sale, you will offset on the purchase.

Even if you are FTB and renting in the meantime, rent still costs and therefore there is a holding cost to waiting.

I'd say buy when you find the right house and not try to time the market too much. If prices soften, I don't think they will come down by much.

Slightly up

Depends - if the vaccine roll out happens quickly, the economy starts to recover and there is a brexit deal I think prices will go up. Lots of people last year were waiting until brexit before buying/moving, then the pandemic and unstable jobs meaning a lot of people “waiting” for the market and all these things mean prices could rise.

Just buy the house that you like for a price you can afford.

Unemployment is predicted to be at a record high by April. You're in cloud cuckoo if you think jobs will be more secure at that point.

What will happen to house prices? We don't know. We still don't know what Brexit will look like, we don't know if the stamp duty break will be extended, we don't know if taxes will increase. We might get some idea with the chancellor's statement tomorrow. Then again, we might not!

I think prices will fall but not by much. But you have to bear in mind that prices already HAVE gone down in many areas over the last 3 years.

Depends where, prices in London are stratospheric for years now, hence not supported by local income but mysterious anti gravity forces. if interest rates spin out of control, we may see a significant drop, otherwise, people will quite happily pay the interest on their mortgage which probably cost less than their summer holiday, and sit tight.

Completely agree Raifa. It depends.

Mainly it depends on area, as regions can respond very differently.

Although the type of property has a significant bearing too. It could well be that large detached houses go up in price, whilst purpose-built flats fall in price in the same location.

Will house prices go up or down is a simple question, but often a very complex answer.

Prices are high where I am due to two things:

1. Stamp duty holiday (this will go away of course)
2. being half an hour away from London by train. SO many coming from London to buy houses and get more for their money. (This won't change)

I think prices will eventually stabilise, some areas in cities will see more of a decline. Same in super-rural areas far away from any jobs.

However I'm trying to move now and aware we will probably pay slightly over the odds compared to future prices. But I need the space and I'd rather have the house than not have it!

Prices will go up, my entire life they have kept going up,
Until there are more houses than the population needs they won’t come down.

@Chumleymouse

Prices will go up, my entire life they have kept going up, Until there are more houses than the population needs they won’t come down.

Yup. They may not shoot up in the foreseeable, but if the drop were to happen, it would have happened by now. I don't see a massive difference in the current market since pre-corona.

I also think that those who decided to 'wait it out' will be disappointed.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts😀

A home is the most solid investment you can make. It’s where you live but also an asset.