Buying a small house in the current climate - good idea?

[muffindays]

Complete novice when it comes to property. FTB. Have approx £130k budget to buy a small house, looking in midlands or a bit further north. Age 43, LP. Hoping to get a 2 bed terrace as a minimum, preferably in a small city (don't drive). Have one DD, 8. Need to bear in mind areas for decent enough schools and hopefully safe area but I'm not too worried if an area is slightly rundown.

Seems to me house prices have rocketed and just wondering if there might be a crash any time soon or would I be wise to wait and see a few months?

Currently in a private rented fairly expensive property down south. So money is going on rent and not much else.

I know nobody knows but I am loathe to spend loads then lose out in a few months. What do people think?

No sign ahead of any crash - why would it? The stamp duty has pretty much ended, though if you can buy a house for your budget then that may not have affected your area anyway. Brexit hasn't had much affect, end of furlough ditto. Low stock in many areas is also keeping prices up. I think now's as good a time as any to be buying.

Loads of advantages to a smaller house, especially just for the two of you. Cheaper to hear, easier to clean. If you are buying it to live in rather than as an "investment" then it doesn't matter too much if it increases in value, and you'll have something to leave to your DC eventually.

@GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal

Loads of advantages to a smaller house, especially just for the two of you. Cheaper to hear, easier to clean. If you are buying it to live in rather than as an "investment" then it doesn't matter too much if it increases in value, and you'll have something to leave to your DC eventually.

Agree with this. Are you looking for a home or an investment? Short or long term?

And that house price crash? Well, unlikely to happen, more likely a bit of a plateau for a while. But if you can afford to buy a home as a longer term thing, then I wouldn't worry too much.

I've said it before but I'll say it again . In the long term, property always increases in value.

I also think the Tory party will do every thing in their power to avoid a crash - high house prices are really the only thing that keeps them in power.

hi all, definitely not looking for a straightforward investment but for a home for at least the medium term hoping to work up the property ladder in the longer term. I'm just so fed up of spaffing £900 a month in rent.... and desperate for choosing some nice carpets!!
thank you, I will look. I'm just worried that I will buy at a premium and then house prices might drop.

I bought my first house on my own with 3 kids in March 2008, right at the height before it all started crashing in April. Ex-council, good area, bought for 117k, I quickly fell into negative equity. I had no plan on how long we would live there, I just lived knowing it was ours. Had I sold after 1 or 2 years I would have made a loss. In the end, I lived there for 9 years and sold for 160k and with mortgage repayments had 110k in equity which allowed me to buy a 4 bedroom detached. I wasn't being smart with my money, or watching the market. I was just giving my kids a nice, safe home close to school and didn't want to "waste" money on rent. My advice, just concentrate on this purchase/ home for now, you can't predict the market (especially in these times) so don't try, just make what you consider to be a sensible choice of home and enjoy it.

@greenybluetowel - thank you so much, totally agree with all you've said.... :) good to hear from some other people. Unfortunately in my family nobody close to me has bought a house so it is all a complete mystery to me and feels a bit like doing it blindfolded. Fortunately I can come onto mumsnet and ask advice from mners :)