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Original poster

Will the bubble pop or am I mad to not buy?

67 replies

User112 · 31/12/2021 01:01

Houses around here are coming up for silly prices compared to what similar properties sold for last summer.

Should we just suck up and buy now ?

OP posts:
snapsieplopp · 31/12/2021 08:51

Location is important though as cheaper areas will likely see more growth.

Bluntness100 · 31/12/2021 08:53

Buy, the internet is full of people who waited, got priced out and were then out forever.

blueflowersinthesnow · 31/12/2021 09:02

I've been reading forums like these for the past ten years or so and there has always been a group of posters predicting an all-out crash and another more conservative group predicting a correction. Neither has happened though.

We bought in 2015 and were worried we had timed it wrong but prices have only gone up and up since then. I'm a millennial and we are the ones who were supposed to have it hard financially but it just seems to be getting worse for subsequent generations.

I'm intrigued to see what will happen but given the high demand and low supply it seems really unlikely to me that prices will dip significantly so if I were you I'd go for it.

snapsieplopp · 31/12/2021 09:07

Tbf my part of London did stagnate since Brexit so I'm glad I didn't buy then.

snapsieplopp · 31/12/2021 09:07

Fortunately I bought before

DazzlePaintedBattlePants · 31/12/2021 09:23

The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.

To be honest, I can’t see how prices can continue such a stratospheric rise as energy and food prices rise so strongly, let alone if the Bank of England increases interest rates as well. If banks are prepared to offer silly multiples of salaries, then I do think we’ll continue to see some rises.

For prices to fall, you’ll need to see something happen to personal finances that makes people unable to service mortgages - either the banks refusing to lend (as per the last reduction of house prices in 2009), a large interest rate hike, or significant unemployment.

MerryChristmas21 · 31/12/2021 09:29

I'm looking to move, but there's just nothing coming on the market that's affordable in the area I need to be in. House prices are MAD here (SE), I can't see them dropping though.

Crazykatie · 31/12/2021 09:32

Worst case, assuming there isn’t a general recession, is a period of level prices, even that will cause some negative equity which we are all afraid of.

Wether you are a first time buyer or moving house the advice is the same, buy, but don’t over extend yourself

grey12 · 31/12/2021 09:34

Same as @DipYourPenisInMyBeaker, we waited because of Brexit and it was a mistake Sad still living with inlaws.....

Azpil · 31/12/2021 09:34

We were told there was an unsustainable bubble in the area we wanted to buy 2 years ago. We needed to move so sucked it up - £500k for a 3 bed with no parking and small garden. It was revalued at £600k after 18 months. No, the bubble didn’t burst.

RobinPenguins · 31/12/2021 09:35

If I was buying with a view to staying there a long time I would probably just do it now. If there’s even a chance I might have to sell up and move in 2-3 years I absolutely wouldn’t.

RobinPenguins · 31/12/2021 09:36

Interest rates will be coming up this year (well it’s already started). That’s something I think will take some of the heat out of the market and is the difference compared to the claims of the past few years.

KleineDracheKokosnuss · 31/12/2021 09:39

I no longer think prices will fall in places people want to live. You can pick something up in the less popular areas, but for popular areas it’s still a seller’s market and staying that way.

Buy now. We just paid more than I had wanted for a house that still needs work but at least we will be settled.

footcushion · 31/12/2021 09:40

I think if you are not happy in your current accommodation and you find something you like and you can afford it then you should buy it - get on with living your life - house prices might start to stagnate, it's unlikely in times of restricted supply that they'll fall by much and the good ones will always get snapped up.

tenredthings · 31/12/2021 09:45

@sweetheartyparty

Only if you have sufficient headroom if interest rates and cost of living rises. I think we are in for a sustained rise in both. House prices will drop if buyers at the bottom of the chain can't get on the ladder and inflation, tax rises and interest rate increases will have a huge impact. It also depends on the banks risk appetite on how much it will lend for a property. House prices are governed by availability of credit not by supply and demand.

This !

SquashMinus · 31/12/2021 10:08

I was scared off buying my first house in 2010 by so many people predicting another massive drop in prices. Spent 4 years renting to the tune of thousands and thousands of pounds; way more than I'd have lost with even a 20% fall in house prices. Ignored the doom-mongers in 2014 and bought and have never regretted it. No one actually knows what the market will do, so make what is a sensible financial decision for you. Weigh up how long you plan to be in one place, what rent will cost you, and never over-stretch yourself.

BrusselPout · 31/12/2021 10:20

We were told we were crazy to buy in 2016 because of Brexit.

I had held off buying when I was younger because I'd need 100% mortgage and people kept telling me that the market was going to drop, and as a result of this 'advice' ended up getting priced out for years as I just couldn't gather a deposit while paying massive rent and house prices were shooting up. This was my first opportunity to get on the ladder since (thanks to meeting my partner) and we ignored everyone this time. I'm so glad we did as our house has increased in value by 70k since and we are gaining equity in our own asset rather than paying off a landlords mortgage.

Listening to people when I was younger ultimately cost me a fortune as I missed getting on the ladder for years, missed buying when house prices were still reasonable, missed buying at the start of the house prices rising and had to pay rent for years. Take other peoples advice with a truckload of salt

userisi2 · 31/12/2021 10:23

Are you buying a home or an investment? If it's the former, buy when you can, don't panic, buy something suitable that you could stay in long term if the worst came to the worst and there was a crash so you can ride it out, but remember this is about buying a home. People are ALWAYS saying "wait until next year" "the bubble will burst" etc etc, it rarely happens but when it does it's only a problem if you have to sell, we always need houses, we are always short of them, so it always bounces back.

userisi2 · 31/12/2021 10:24

(Well it's also a problem for remortgaging so other advice I'd give is to fix long if you don't think you'll need to move again soon, especially with interest rates going up).

quiteathome · 31/12/2021 10:30

If you can buy, I would buy. As far as possible future proof- so somewhere you will be happy to live for a while. With space for growth.

Also really research your area in case you get stuck. If you like a house then find out what the neighbours are like etc. If it is a terrace house then this is worth doing. Even if it is a case of knocking on their door to say hello. My old neighbour was awful- whilst you won't find out much this way, you will find out if they have eight noisy yappy dogs this way.

DragonMamma · 31/12/2021 10:37

I would buy if you’re not looking to move in the short term. We bought our current house at the end of 2017 and it’s worth around 55% more now - we wouldn’t have made the same % increase on our previous property so we would have struggled to buy this one.

Just go for it!

plm456 · 31/12/2021 10:43

@snapsieplopp

Tbf my part of London did stagnate since Brexit so I'm glad I didn't buy then.
Agree. We're looking at flats in Marylebone and prices are 10-15% down. The rental market is crazy though. We're initially planing to rent the flat out until our kids leave home, so can't decide whether to buy now or leave it another year as prices may fall further before they recover.
Spaceman1 · 31/12/2021 11:23

A lot of the current price rises are due to the historically low mortgage rates and expectation that the worst of the covid restrictions are behind us. Inflation is quite high so we might see interest rates rise further, so if you do buy then lock in current mortgage rates for as long as possible.

chocorabbit · 31/12/2021 18:06

The new over-inflated prices during the pandemic I think were laregely ignored in our area as people just can't afford it. The hint was taken by EA and vendors. You can keep offering pre-covid offers and see what happens

BigotSpigot · 31/12/2021 18:19

How much do they need to drop to make it worth renting rather than paying a mortgage?

The other question to ask yourself is about your employment situation and ability to get a mortgage now or in the future. I had a major health crisis which means I cannot now work so would struggle to get a mortgage in the future. Similarly my husband didn't go freelance until we had our mortgage in place.

Finally, I would always say buy a home rather than an investment, and one that you can stay in for 5 or more years too.