Anyone noticed the market has changed?

[yaxe]

We are in the process of buying (have sold) & it was mad in March, lots of overbidding etc. I've noticed now reductions & stuff is staying on rather than going in a wk. It's making me a bit nervous tbh.

Most people in rural communities don't want to be cleaning and gardening and taking seasonal work though. They want to own their own homes to bring up their families. So they move away to places they can afford. Goodbye young talent, goodbye new businesses, goodbye rural schools, goodbye post offices and village shops.

Hello ghost towns populated by the very rich from May - August and the very poor who live there all year round doing casual and seasonal work if and when they can. Go visit

'I'm trying not to be a doom monger but we are in the shit financially. No one knows how this will play out'

Agreed, no one can predict this exactly. Sometimes unexpected events happen eg Covid and sometimes political responses are unpredictable eg locking down most of the world economy.
However, the economies across much of the world are clearly in serious trouble and the UK is one of the worst situations.
I think we can all see why people are drawing parallels with the 1970s but it isn't the same in that the reasons for high energy prices are different, wages went up very rapidly then and are unlikely to now, house prices rose in the 1970s (and before) relative to wages but, since the late 1990s (see the graph that @ArseInTheCoOpWindow linked to above), have risen totally out of proportion to incomes, there is much, much more debt at every level and much less resilience in the system for various these reasons and others.
I fear that things will go very seriously wrong in this country, very likely later in the year to such an extent that it is highly likely to affect house prices, possibly very significantly. The argument that house prices have never fallen so it will never happen makes no sense at all. The economy has also never been at this particular juncture before. The current political bunch are particularly incompetent which makes it even worse!

@southlondonerhere - I'm really sorry to hear of your very frustrating situation.

Some people were asking about landlords?

I am a landlord, through circumstance rather than a particular desire to be.

The economy plus the government essentially waging war on landlords means we served a section 21 on our tenants late last month and will be selling.

Not of it means going to Wales!

I know people will be hesitant about buying now, due to talks of an impending crash. However, mortgage rates could also increase which my offset buying now. My eldest dc brought a flat in February and got a five year fixed term. Since then, the increase rates have increased three times, which had he not fixed, could add £50 per month on his mortgage (I think), or £600 per year, £3000 over five years, and that’s without any further increases. Therefore, by buying and fixing when he did, he has already ‘saved’ £3000.

I hope all my maths (and logic) adds up!

The thing is, the long term houses are just out of my reach and I would have to make big compromises possibly something smaller than our needs to buy at current prices so I would mind a lot if prices came down. If I could by a forever home I would not mind.

Can you afford something that will do for the next 10 years @ElephantGrey101 ? We did that 5 years ago and are quite happy. Slighly bigger would definitely be better, but we can't afford to move anymore!

We were planning to buy in 2 years, with a decent deposit. Moved our plans forward because of the impending recession and are just going for it with the little we have.

With rising interest rates it’s going to be harder to get a mortgage - getting in early means you have a chance of a fix. Prices crashing only benefits cash buyers, and there won’t be much on anyway as people will be staying put.

Unless you’re in social housing with a guaranteed contract there’s no stability with rentals either. The competition for those is insane, especially for family homes in good school areas.

If a one-bed is all you can afford, just about probably not a good idea as you’ll definitely need to sell within a few years. But a 2 bed - children can share at least until they’re teenagers.

It all depends on your risk tolerance quite frankly. I’d rather a smaller roof over my head, than none at all. Rent is very expensive and I didn’t want to be stuck, unable to buy for a few years.

Yep asking prices are definitely falling here lots of reductions we never were an offers over place so it's a good thing.

What previous poster was saying is that the house price inflation created by these buyers are vastly superior to the salary inflation she experienced,

I’m a landlord too. I think I’m a good one. 😬

The government are making things tougher and tougher for us. It’s the 5% of LLs who are renting out unsuitable and uninhabitable properties that drag the rest of us down with them.

We are being apparently slapped with a requirement of an EPC rating of no less than a C if we’re renting a place out. It’s not come into force yet, but likely to do so in the next few years.

My rental is a Victorian semi, which is a D and will it’ll cost £30k++ to achieve somewhere close to a C. It’s already double glazed, fully insulated, low energy lights etc etc. This country is littered with similar housing stock which will struggle to make the grade.

Then you chuck in tenants that you end up having to get rid of due to non payment of rent.

There will come a time when I’ll just throw the towel in.

Yes, we think we’re good too. Haven’t increased rent in 5 years. Repair everything AASP.

But it’s just not worth it. Especially with interest rate rates… we’re looking to get out before our fixed term expires, even though it’s likely we’ll pay an early redemption charge.

I really don’t see many “very rich” people wishing to spend their summers in wales

LL'ording on a residential mortgage should never have been allowed. It was always a business and should have been run on business terms and at business loan rates. The amateur LL model only worked with low residential mortgage interest rates and massive price inflation. And it screwed FTB.

She also said that they “being nothing” to the area

“Bring nothing”

and I disagree with “nothing”

exactly

You mean offered instead of paid? You can`t lose them if they have already bought your house.

I think most people realise that house prices at their present levels can`t work with rising interest rates, looks like you sold at the peak, well done! Take your time and grab a bargain, there will be loads of distressed sales as we move into a recession.

they have had to change to buy to let for many years indeed

I used to be a LL on my first flat that we still own, had numerous issues with a couple of bad tenants so we just used it for family stays/holidays.
We did consider renting again as a few people have asked, but no chance with the law changes.

My sister just done this and the rate Increased substantially