Sogy

Yep. And now not only the Far East, but the much nearer East as well. They don't go on strike every now and then, you know...

This means you are A LOT luckier than most terrace owners, because your house WILL sell, while those thousands of dreary dog kennels will not (until they reach the income multiple, of course, somewhere on the other side of the £100K barrier). However, if I were you I'd try to sell it now, and sell it quickly - reducing it below what similar houses are being "sold" for now. that way you can catch someone who (a) has money, ( does not care about losing it, or wants a house RIGHT NOW. Of course, you need to mind that there's no chain involved, and the buyer looks and feels honest, and can get a mortgage. Unfortunately, an average FTB just cannot buy from you, someone moving will have trouble selling their old house, and every day there are fewer and fewer people beleiving in a "spring revival" - so you'll be having fewer reckless buyers and more anxious fellow sellers. Wish you good luck!

Of course, we don't want to outbid you, Tara! And if the seller is a BTL, we wouldn't be willing to pay even that!

He certainly can offer you a good choice!

... We ain't not buying one for £180K either... ... nor for £160K... Oh, yes, we may bother to go viewing one for £150K if it's really well pre-sen-ted, has a good sized garden, and is located off the de-si-rable Creagagh Road or something similar. Which is, I think, about 1 price-year away.

That's me But, sorry, we're not buying a terrace for £200K.

Well, I was wrong saying that England subsideses NI. It is now the other way round: -------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, Limavady in Northern Ireland saw the largest percentage increase (289%) in stamp duty revenues. And 24 LAs experienced at least a doubling in the amount of duty raised in their local area between 2005/06 and 2006/07. 22 of these areas are in Northern Ireland, where house prices rose substantially between the two years. Meanwhile, Isles of Scilly (270%) and Ashfield in Nottinghamshire (121%) were the only areas outside Northern Ireland to record a more than doubling in stamp duty revenues last year. --------------------------------------------------------- (from http://www.moneyextra.com/news/news-25-areas-035784.html)

And this is what I WOULD buy: http://www.propertynews.com/brochure.php?r...mp;p=PWBPWB0655 if it was for £120K, instead of or £200K. After all, I reckon, fixing it up should be another £30K...

Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCARY STORIES IN THE PRESS!!! 26/10/2007 The press is again reporting sensational scare stories about the state of the housing market Havent we heard this all before? Heres a few examples of headlines from the local press over past few years: NI housing market 'static' Monday, March, 01, 2004 House prices 'to fall 20% in 3 years' Friday, June, 18, 2004 'Slowdown' in house price rises Thursday, August, 31, 2000 House prices 'to slow down' Thursday, January, 03, 2002 Fall in Ulster house price bucks national trend Wednesday, October, 15, 1997 Rate rises 'could see house price slump' Thursday, September, 23, 2004 New warning of crash in Irish property prices Friday, September, 17, 2004 This is what actually happened: 2004 15.8% increase 2005 22% increase 2006 37% increase Source: University of Ulster These record breaking price rises have inevitably resulted in a slower pace during 2007. Amongst other factors, an over supply of property on the market, and the associated forests of for sale signs we have seen springing up everywhere, has caused concern and caution about the state of the market. This situation will change but for now there is an opportunity for first time buyers to make an easier purchase than in recent years. TOP TIP: For first time buyers, NOW is a good time to buy! * There are plenty of properties on the market to choose from, but this wont be the case for much longer! * Prices have stabilised, there are few bidding wars. * There arent as many investors trying to buy, so there is less competition for first time buyers. Contact Watson Property Sales for advice, Tel 9045 0045 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (from http://www.pooler-watson.com/, click on News)

Welcome Young FTB! You are wisely doing your homework, I see, and I suspect we can buy at the same time (a couple years down the road)! The NI housing bubble was as pure and distilled a hype-driven bubble as you can find, ripe for future texbooks. There were no economic reasons for the prices here to reach the SE England levels. Now, at the time of golbal financial turbulence, it is bound to burst as spectacularly as it has risen. The people in NI are not stupid (in fact, I find them amazingly smart and quite well educated), and they have seen hard times. It is just that they got carried away by the euphoria of the peace process. And they have never (well, in the last 40 years) have seen an economic boom and a following bust. This is why we have seen young people bid crazily against the speculators, using their parents MEWed money. Now: no more speculators, no more MEWing, no more hype, no more lenient credit. Plus a global housing correction. So, relax, watch the drama unfold, and try to keep your family and friends away from "using the historic opportunity" too early. You will buy yet!

--What type of house would you like to purchase? A nice semi with a garden and in a decent location in Belfast or close to it. Can consider a fixer-upper --What can you afford? ie without going X4+ of income/3.25+ of joint income At the moment, something 170K-200K'ish. You know what that buys in NI today... --What drop in % terms do you need before it becomes affordable? Technically, can buy what I want after a 15-20% fall off the April peak. However, I don't want to buy anything grossly overpriced --If you can afford to buy but are not willing to, how long are you willing to wait until you buy? Most likely, will buy when the rent is close to the monthly mortgage payment.

http://belfast.gumtree.com/belfast/44/12371244.html "On with morton's estate agents at the moment for £155.000 but am willing to sell for less due to needing quick sale! Offers around £139.000."

Yes, and now that tables have turned, they will suffer from the non-binding offers (buyers bailing out because prices have fallen while they waited for the mortgage approval), gazzundering, and all other things nice that they (sellers & EAs) did to us for 2 years!

Them sellers want to sell, but us buyers are singing carols.

Now, this sounds glorious! ----------------------------------- >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>REDUCED PRICE!<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ***QUALITY SEMI DETACHED VILLA*** <...> This fine example of an extended semi offers the up-to-speed buyer a good opportunity to acquire a property before prices move substantially even higher. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.propertynews.com/brochure.php?r...amp;p=PNC144526

More specifically, from the hard-working and enterprising people of England, as the state doesn't collect much money in NI. As to the price difference: 1. £1 has not always been nor will always be $2 2. Most of America doesn't have nearly as strict a planning system as the UK. So houses go get built. 3. £240K will not last forever

Part ownership to the rescue! You own half outright, and the mortgage is only 5x your income.

More from our favourite author: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/homefind...icle3091024.ece NI housing boom marches on!

A bull is someone who believes prices will grow. A bear is someone who believes prices will fall. You seem to be more of a bull - for now.

I wonder if Helen Carson will inform the public of the proceedings of this meeting...

Champion, You know you are realistic if you have offers Yes, every house will sell, if the price is right. But the right price today is not last spring's right price. And tomorrow's right price may not be the same as today. Yours seems to be a better house than many. If you find/choose a buyer who will not play games, you will sell. My milestones (in a faraway land of the Tar Heels) were: 20 Feb 2007 - went on sale, $175K. Needed some work, which was "reflected in the price". 3 Mar - first offer, $5K below asking price, accepted. 15 Mar - buyer bailed out after inspection - "too much work on plumbing required" 20 Mar - back on the market, plumbing fixed for $1K 1 Apr - second offer, $11K below asking price. Accepted. 1 May. Inspection. Buyer wants another $7K off for various "important" fixes. Accepted. 23 May. Going, going, gone! $18K below the asking price. $157K. June 2007 - everything crashes in North Carolina. Oct 2007. Neighbours down the street still selling... since the summer of 2006. No, they would not budge!

In 40 years? Certainly. In 10? In NI? That I doubt. This is now immaterial. Just like the reasonable asking prices (and, I guess, valuations) were in the spring of 2006. Yeah, that's realistic - for the moment. Don't let that happy moment go! No, they don't need competition when they still have their own "investments" to offload... I was in the same boat a few months ago - in a different country, but in the same phase of a crash. Cannot help wishing you good luck, and giving a piece of advice: choose the most reliable buyer, not the highest offer. It's not sold until it's sold. It apparently got a bit stronger, but now quite a few "investors" are trying to rent their houses out, having despaired of selling them at what they think is "fair". So don't get carried away. I guess, he hasn't bought those for £150K? Or £170K? Looks like people are desperate to get out of Belfast and into Carrick! Yes, this is the best attitude, ever! We've only got one life to live. Nothing wrong with the post. Best of luck!

No, it wasn't. Starter houses not just 3 times more expensive now. They are 5 to 15 times more expensive now so you would have to pay more. Besides, you (and I) would likely to be paying extra regularly, to get rid of the mortgage altogether. So for us the mortgage size matters, not just the monthly payments. And - when the IR was 15%, wage infaltion and general inflation were way higher too. No, there are not many people like you, not many people with a financial discipline and savings. The vast majority spend as much as they can borrow, paying interest forever.

Thanks for the link, BB! Makes a delightful reading, and looks like the guy is doing the right thing - whoever cuts first has to cut least. Funny they are talking about "price brackets" - this should be a basic terrace, and in Carric at that... amazing anyone would pay a whopping £150K for this!

Yes, the banks need the market going, but not when they have to lend crazy income multiples to anyone who asks for a loan. So they are interested in a correction more than anyone else. That may be why this (and other bankers) would want to reach the sellers with a candid (if unpleasant) message.