Would you buy now or wait to see what the market does?

[noautumnglow]

We're currently in rental after selling my house a couple of years ago and our purchase falling through. We've viewed the most perfect house in a lovely location and really want it. But are concerned about ending up in negative equity as house prices are falling currently.

There's no rush for us, except our age ( late 40's so mortgage term will be affected) plus we don't want to miss out on this house! The house has been on the market since August and they haven't dropped the price yet.

Thanks all, some really helpful things to think about there. The You Tube clip with Charlie was particularly helpful, he talks a lot of sense.

So I got to the point of thinking, as Charlie advised, no reason not to make an offer of the max we can afford. BUT I now have a MIP but don't think we can afford the monthly repayments of £1500 to £ 1600 on our combined income of £72k per year. We only pay £825 in rent now. Due to our ages only a few lenders will lend into retirement which meant the longest term we could get was 17 years.

Looks like we'll be stuck renting for the foreseeable.

Put in an offer below asking price.

Another year renting is money down the drain just as much as a drop in value could be. You may as well live in a house you love, that belongs to you. Stability, freedom. Lots more to be said for owning a home than mere market value.

Absolutely wait. High chance of overpaying in next six to 12 months.

Why worry about what a house is 'worth' while you live in it?

The only thing that matters is what it's worth to you when you acquire it, and what it's worth to the most enthusiastic buyer when you come to sell it. For the entire period in between, it's irrelevant.

And that house you really really want doesn't have a moving, floating 'value' that tracks some index. It is subject to specific, time-limited opportunities where the current owner may be tempted to sell it if a buyer meets their valuation. You can't just wait 18 months and then insist to them that they must be prepared to accept a lower offer than they were previously willing to consider just because you read on the internet that someone else sold a different house at a different price. It's the same owner, in the same house, with the same emotional attachments and ambitions driving the same expectation of achieving a selling price. All the buyer will have achieved is to run down the clock on their own mortgage term.

If you see a place you like and can afford, offer on it there and then. If the seller accepts - great. If not, move on.

@noautumnglow that is a huge difference between your rent and potential mortgage payments. Are the monthly repayments you quoted if you were to offer 235K? Only you and your DP can decide what it is affordable depending on dependents and other outgoings.

Of course negative equity is a thing and something to take seriously in a falling market if you have a small deposit. It's not just an issue if you are selling but also if you are re-mortgaging, can't make the monthly payments or if one of you is made redundant. I'm sure you already realise this. If you lose this house, there will always be others, possibly lots more in Spring. The chances are very high that the market will continue to fall; even Rightmove and various estate agents are predicting falls and they will do their very best to place a positive slant on the housing market.