To buy or not to buy...

[blisscake]

What is really going on with the housing market? Am ready to buy a house but can't commit as keep seeing prices falling. I know exactly the area I want to live in but our budget is about 20% below the asking prices of any of the houses we really like. As such are we letting ones that are not quite right but that are nice enough,in nearby areas slip away. I am holding out for prices to fall so that I can move into the village I want to be in. Is this just being wildly optimistic? What would be a reasonable offer for a house on the market at £370,000?

this might give you some tips

iamdingdong - what an awful site!
'Make your initial offer for the property close to the asking price, so there will be little time wasted negotiating and the seller will feel confident with your offer.'
It may well be part of the 'game' to some people, but to the sellers they would have cost them thousands of pounds on top of the emotional turmoil that comes with buying and selling. This site is essentially telling people how to con others - get them over a barrel and they will let you off thousands.
Why not just be upfront about how much you are willing to pay, rather than put someone through all of that stress. I can't imagine what would happen if someone did that to our friends who are selling - moving up to a bigger house as she is 25 weeks pregnant. They can afford the house, but it is at the top end of their affordability. If someone gazundered them, they would be devastated and lose all of that money in fees, not to mention the sheer amount of stress they would be put under.
Blisscake - please do don't do that to anyone, just be honest about what you will offer or wait it out.

Had read about gazundering - I think it's a terrible way to behave. Buying and selling houses is so stressful without this. I don't feel so bad about making low offers now - at least they've been genuine (if a little bit cheeky)!

Agree offer low because they are ludicrously overpriced and will be coming down over the next 2 years but NEVER gazunder

Will keep making low offers but need to be thick skinned. I hate having to deal with estate agents!

All papers reporting that prices are falling at the fastest rate since the last crash and at a greater spped.Inflation is heading up and mortgages are evenn harder to get.Gordon Brown has had ameeting with some of the big guns in banking and they will be producing a report proposing how they are going to prevent this happening again by autumn 2009!So until then I think it will be a fast descent.Don't buy yet

We have exchanged on our London flat and are supposed to exchange on our purchase in the south west next week. The survey of the place we are buying has uncovered a potential liability of 25k. Seriously considering renting in the place we plan to buy til the house prices there track London and start to come down. Of course the agents in the place in the SOuth West where we are buying are claiming they are unaffected by the market conditions

What should we do?! Feel bad for our seller but this house would be a real stretch with the potential of being a money pit.

kerala - you're the perfect buyer! why should you take the 'hit' on this. if I had doubts, I'd wait or renegotiate.

Rent and wait NOWHERE is immune from this as the financial system is in tatters and all the high house prices have been maintained with cheap credit which is gone for good I think.I saw in teh paper yesterday that £ for £ people are in as much trouble with 5% interest rates( because they have over borrowed)as they were with 10%+ .There will be bargains this winter with all teh spring bounce property that hasn't sold.I viewed a lovely maisonette last december at 255 I said I would be happy to pat 230 but it was a no.They took it off and it came back on yesterday at 234950 but the difference is now I wouldn't pay more than 200.