Would you hold off moving house for now ?

[needmysleep]

With the current economic chaos and sudden rise in interest rates would you hold off on moving house for now ?

I am unsure, most likely I will wait and see what happens. I was hoping to relocate next year after DS goes to Uni, I currently have a 90 mile round commute to work. The area I would be moving to is more expensive however and I just do not want to add to my mortgage even though i fixed in August for 5 years and can port my mortgage. I only work 3 days a week and drive a diesel car so fuel costs arent too bad its more the time spent commuting.

I bought and sold in 2008 and it took 6 months to sell, same as now a lot of mortgages were pulled and first time buyers were limited. That said we did eventually move and whilst we had to reduce the house we bought (much larger) also reduced, the market then bounced back and we sold 5 years later for much more.

We have ours on the market but are talking about taking it off.

Our move would be a want rather than a need at the moment (from small one bedroom flat to 2 bedroom flat) but I'm worried about a) being approved to port my mortgage and b) what we could ultimately end up paying when my 2.49% fixed term ends at the end of 2023.

In our area we'd probably be doubling our existing mortgage to make the move, from £160k to £350k.

We're thinking we may just stay here, continue to save while we can, and try to make some small improvements so when we eventually put it back on the market it will be more desirable.

Of course if I were to finally get pregnant (long time TTC) then our hand would be forced into selling and buying the cheapest 2 bed we could find. But that's a bridge to cross when we get to it.

We have recently agreed a sale and went on the market. We are not impacted directly, but I am worried about getting a buyer.

I am in the same position. Wanted to upgrade from a 2 bed flat to a 3 bed flat in my area. My pets are currently in the spare room so wanted an extra room for a nursery though a baby would be in with me for the first year. I think I could wait as I haven't started to TTC but I did want to move before I had the baby. I could move when I get pregnant which probably wouldn't be for another 2 or 3 years and that would be when prices fall...

Be mindful of how childcare costs could impact how much you borrow or even reduced hours as you never know what you will feel like once baby is here.

If I needed to or very much wanted to move house, and could afford the mortgage (and get a suitable one) yes I would move house.

A house is a home, quality of life is important.

That was my initial reason for moving before I TTC but I may have to stay put. 30 this year and planning to have one child so I have time but I can't keep putting it off.

Yes. We want to move but have a social home and very glad we haven't moved yet and will be holding off to see where this goes. I'm so thankful that I have a secure home right now, it really is nice to not have to panic in that one regard.

I think no - anyone who was moving on a bit of a whim/a want as we saw in the last stamp
duty cut will be holding back because the rates aren’t worth it and maybe prices will
drop in certain areas. Everyone who has a good reason to move, or whose mortgage is close to the end of a fixed period, will stay in the process until the point they can’t get the mortgage they need or they manage to buy against all the odds. The gamble is thinking about how many years rates will stay high and what’s affordable against that until remortgaging (2 years? 3 years? I’m not sure).

We are going to keep trying - we were already finding it tough to get a bigger mortgage for various reasons, including my husband switching to being a freelancer, so given recent days we know there’s a good chance of hitting a point where the computer says no for a few months. We need a definite yes/no answer before Xmas as no point listing our current flat for sale if we can’t go anywhere! I’m fine living there in winter but summer is dreadful for my health as its a new build and like living in an oven (which also
means our selling window is limited). Was super naive when we bought it but at least we have a safe roof over our head until our mortgage fixed rate runs out end of 2023, at which point I’ll allow myself the grace of panicking.

We have been putting off moving for years. All geared up and now this. I think we will stay put for 2 years and work hard on reducing mortgage instead.

Sigh

Yes, I was going to move but I'll wait a couple of years.

Completely depends on your circumstances. We’re in the middle of selling our flat so hopefully it will go through. We’re going to move in with my in laws to save up and plan to buy again next year as hope prices will drop. We’ll just get a longer mortgage term to keep monthly payments lower

We are currently looking to move house - offer accepted on a bigger place and our house is on the market. We have four more years to go on a 1.19% rate which we plan to port and are only borrowing an extra 16k on top of this , got a 60% deposit due to two lots of inheritances.

However, our house has been on the market for a while, in an area where normally, properties fly off the shelves as soon as they go on. Quite a few houses round about us have been on for months and reduced their prices with no luck, including us.

We are financially in a great position to upsize but viewings have dried up as potential buyers hold off, so our choice to move is likely going to be taken away from us. Not ideal but can't do much about it.

Cant you accept a lower price & borrow more?

Unfortunately not, our lender has already told us this is the max they will lend to us.

Yes, we have. Too much uncertainty.

Yes we would hold off and we are. I don't want all my money tied up in asset that may drop in value, I want it in the bank where I can access it.

You always see the whole "well if you can afford it and you plan to stay there a while it's fine". To that I always say:

1. you might INTEND to stay there a while, but life throws us curveballs and nothing is guaranteed. I do not, personally, want to risk being stuck in negative equity and unable to move. Obviously that's always a risk but buying now means it's a much higher risk than usual.

2. if you DO end up in negative equity, it will be very very hard to remortgage.

We are renting and will continue to rent. OK, our rent might go up when our six month term ends in March, or our landlord might sell. But a) we'd have been paying more for a mortgage than rent anyway and (b) at least if our rent goes up we've the choice of whether or not to stay there, we can easily and quickly move somewhere cheaper if push came to shove.

I will reevaluate in the new year but I think it would be mad to buy now at what is almost certainly the peak of the market, unless your deposit is massive (30% or more) so you reduce the risk of negative equity.

This is something that always gets said on these threads too and I'm sorry but I think it's fantasy at this point. Demand can outstrip supply all you want but if people literally cannot get mortgages then they will not buy houses, it is as simple as that.

I would if I could but I can't.