Will it be too late if you don't buy a house now?

Question

My question is limited to those living and working in London (I think the housing situation in other regions are less tense.)

Will it be too late if you can only afford to buy a property 4 or 5 years from now? For example, you may not have enough deposit at the moment, so you can't buy yet. But after a few years, when you save enough, then the price may increase too much, you can't buy a (good) house, too.

So, is there hope for those who can't buy now?

Answer 1

Not looking good. I bought my house 2 years ago - I was mortaged to the max and it was all I could afford. My salary has only increased slightly but the value of my house has almost tripled so had I not bought then, I never would have done!

Answer 2

The housing situations in other areas of the country are just as bad as London if not worse. Prices in some parts of Manchester for example are very high, but peoples' wages are nowhere near that of the equivalent in London.
I cannot see the prices of houses increasing hugely again, they are already at too high a point now, and most first time buyers can barely, if at all, afford a basic two bedroomed starter property.
Mortgage rates are low at the moment but if they rise, you will see a whole host of people in major financial trouble because their mortgages are huge and at higher interest rates they won't just be a millstone around their neck, they'll be strangling them as well.
At the moment the housing market for first time buyers is flat, but the people that are buying houses are couples in their 40's 50's and even 60's, who's children have left home, they've paid off their mortgage which was minimal anyway, and they're sat on a house that's worth say 200 grand, that they paid 10 grand for 25 or 30 years previous, or even less than that. They've got so much spare money and want to downsize etc as there's only two of them left, so they buy a house at 100 grand, pay cash for it, and they've got 100 grand left that's all theirs.
People at this age then look at their children and wonder why they can't afford a house. They say things like "my daughter's on a good wage and so's her partner, but they're in debt and can't afford a house of their own, I can't understand it at all, it was much harder for us" etc etc. Trust me, it's much harder now than it was 30 years ago. The cost of living is astronomical these days, but companies are under so much pressure to keep down costs, that wages aren't going up by hardly anything. The gap is increasing, which is why people are running up more and more debt.

Answer 3

The situation of 'shall I wait until the prices come down/I can better afford to buy...' has always existed - and will not improve at a later date ... in fact (as I don't know your age) you might put yourself at a further disadvantage because in lending terms you will be that much older too .... however, although it's difficult to afford to buy outright - have you considered the buy/rent situation ? Many housing associations (often linked in with council renting) offer this as an alternative to outright buying - you effectively part buy/part rent for a set period and then, when that time is up have a choice of either selling, continuing as you are or taking on a full mortgage.... contact your local council for details of housing associations that operate this scheme - maybe your council themselves might do too ......

Answer 4

probably little chance of ever affording a mortgage certainly in london. your best bet is to buy a holiday home in eastern europe romania prices are very cheap and are expected to increase massively when they join the euro. rent it out and sell it 5 years though whether that will be enough to buy a house in london is unlikely.

We are heading the same way as the rest of the world where most people rent property prices will therefore stabalise and rental income will decrease as the market expands.

Answer 5

Wait the housing market is dropping.give it 6 months and prices will be going down

Answer 6

If you have the deposit and can pay your mortgage on regular monthly bases then don't wait even one day get looking and when you find the place you want go for it. you won't be sorry,

Answer 7

u should buy now cos with the olympics coming up prices are soaring sky high

Answer 8

tough question, if you buy you will always be on the ladder. and when you sell you can put the profits to your next home