Help- buy now or later

[Waitinggame42023]

Just looking for any advice/opinions on what our next steps should be with regards to saving to buy a home of our own.
DH and I have around £14k so far saved for a house deposit, and despite our baby (only child) starting nursery next month, we're in a position to start saving approximately £1k per month. We're currently renting in an small, expensive city in the North and pay a good price. However neither of us work here- we both work commute to other cities for work. Once the deposit has been saved, we're looking to move South to be closer to family.
We've been working on the basis that saving a bit bigger deposit will be the best option here- unfortunately we owned a house years ago (cost £90k and only lived there for 1 year before DH lost his job). So despite the fact that property would never have attracted SD, and having renting for over 8 years now, we will still pay Stamp Duty as a 'next home' when we purchase.

This, and a stagnating market, has put us off buying a cheaper 'for now' house that will do us for a couple of years as a stepping stone- we're thinking it's more money on solicitors fees, surveys, another payment of stamp duty etc, that we're less likely to make back from the property itself. So instead, we're saving a bigger deposit and leaving the move until before our son starts school, meaning we'll actually be in a position to but a house that suits what we want.
Would you say that we're doing the right thing? I'm only a few months in to a great Cash ISA rate that's just been slashed. And I keep reading on MN that property will rocket in the next few years. I just want to do the best for my family atm but it's tough to know what to do for the best! TIA

I always think it’s better to buy than rent if you can, unless you are in a job where you have to relocate often. Perhaps buy somehwere you can live for 5 -7 years or so for now, rather than trying to buy a dream forever home. That should allow you to build up equity to move up the ladder.

This is really hard as you are trying to figure out how life will be in the future, which is impossible. I would think that buying while you can it's a best option. Perhaps somewhere that already has good primary schools in the area, so even if the plan of upsizing in the timeline you want doesn't work out as plan for any reason, you have until end of primary school to realise what the next steps are. So, yes, somewhere you can live for at least 5-7 years as the post above said.

I don't know where the idea people think property is going to rocket in the next 3 years comes from.

The economy is tapped out. We can't tax people more (although Reeves will probably try) and we can't borrow more. CB rates might be falling but inflation is running higher. Mortgage rates are influenced by the international money markets and their view of inflation.

I think the market in general is most likely to stagnate/go negative. But no one has a crystal ball and it could go in the opposite direction. And that is only the overall market. Trapped within that are many micro markets that are still running hot which may be the case in any area.

I think the most important thing is to go for a place that is unlikely to attract negative equity. So perhaps avoiding stuff like leasehold flats and to a lesser extent new builds. Decent sized family houses on large plots should always be in demand even in a recession. Luxury flats much less so. Places that are bought should be places that can be lived in for a long time so if the market does go south people can wait it out till it rises again.

I don't think anyone needs to be in a state where they are either buying or not, like it is some sort of binary choice. I would keep my eye out all the time and if something looks to be good value and what I wanted then I would take the opportunity. To get the best deals patience, not getting worked up about the whole issue of moving to a set schedule and not making a place into a "dream house" that absolutely has to be bought at all costs all work for buyers. Being willing to walk away if the deal isn't right is what makes/saves buyers money.

This!

@Waitinggame42023 yes I think you're doing the right thing.

With the cost and stress of moving, I don't think it makes sense to buy somewhere if you would only expect to be living there for a couple of years. I can't see property prices "rocketing" in the next couple of years, possibly a gentle increase in some areas but not rocketing and you would be unlikely to get back all the money you spent on moving costs, legal fees, survey etc.

Thank you for your replies, it's helpful to read different perspectives on this.
I personally don't see any huge increases on the horizon, I think it's more likely we'll see stagnation or very slow growth at least for a few years. I guess that's the problem, as if we buy a tiny '2up2down' to live as a stepping stone, we could end up losing money with Stamp Duty, solicitor fees, we might struggle to sell etc. Yet if the market does rise sharply and we hold out, we've scrimped and saved to no end.

@Twiglets1 this was our exact thinking, for years we've been told 'buying is better', but now we're wondering if that's really true at all? We have a great rental deal, on a good house, in a lovely city, easy commutes to work, nursery etc. In a slowing market, moving in to a 'stopgap' house for a couple of years could actually lose us money (as well as comprising quality of life).
For what it's worth, we're not waiting for some idealistic 'dream home'. I've worked since I was 15 years old and grew up in poverty in cramped conditions. I've moved all over the country for work in the past, and now I want to finally be able to offer a stable, comfortable home for my where my child, where we can be closer to family.

Well for a lot of years buying was better - and maybe it will be again at some point, I don't know. But even in those years it wasn't necessarily better to buy for just a couple of years because even if you made money on paper, sometimes you didn't in reality once you took moving costs into account.