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Probably the most valuable google search you ever did. Welcome to HPC!

"Welcome to the SUNDAY MARKET - every Sunday, we we hold exclusive previews for a selection of properties that have just come onto the market...full listings can be found on foxtons.co.uk" 'Exclusive previews?' Wow! This is no doubt to cope with the flood of new buyers that they simply can't schedule for viewings during the rest of the week. I for one will be putting my name down for some 'exclusive previews' - don't want to miss the boat as I will never be able to get on the ladder!

I believe Northern Rock are still giving 5.41% with their internet account...for how long, I don't know!

A great question and one I'd like an answer too as well! Come on, Mr Baron!

I STR'd in March this year. I had no mortgage and was therefore living 'for free' - however, I was looking to the next property (a family home in a decent area) and simply refused to borrow another 200 grand to fund it. Great if you've found a house that suits your and your family's needs, but I'm quite happy to sit on the sidelines living off the interest of a hefty deposit until I can pick up a house that doesn't saddle me with a massive debt. And I believe I speak for most STRs here..!

it's a tricky one to call; there will invariably be those who rush in to snap up what they perceive to be bargains..it's happening even now! I think you have to go by your own criteria and decide what YOU think somewhere is worth and how affordable it is. You can go by the old income multiple calculation for affordability, for example. Many STRs and FTBs on this site talk of the market bottoming out and dipping BELOW the 3.5 income multiple level. Again, it's a hard one to call, when and if that will happen...

I would be right behind you! Luckily, I have a place in Cyprus and am thinking of moving there permanently one day anyway (in 20 years!), but would ideally have a place of my own over here, too...

It'll be party-time next month when all YOY figures go negative...!

In all seriousness, I would like to see her put on the spot for the grossly inaccurate and misleading advice she's been spouting for the last year; she thrives within the safety of making cr@p TV shows, but surely there is other forum for us to tackle her and make her accountable for her crimes?! Does she still do London Tonight? Would be great to get her back on the radio for a phone-in...

Indeed - it usually means they're going to fleece you for a pamphlet telling you what you already know...

I'll stop you there. The landlord wants to sell it because 'he wants the money for another investment.' If he's got half a brian cell it sure as hell won't be property. You would be buying into a highly inflated market just as it's coming off its peak. Not the time to buy. You would be the greater fool and regret it for the rest of your life. That's IMHO, anyway...

Northern Rock still offers 5.41% on internet accounts, I think...

Are you for real? A hockey velodrome in Stratford is going to prop up the absurdly overprices properties in the UK for the next 7 years? Well done, London for getting the Games, by the way...

Even if these 3 properties complete at asking price, it doesn't buck the trend that prices are falling...fast. It merely confirms that there are still greater fools out there who believe this is a good time to buy or if they don't buy now they will be shafted. Muppets, the lot of them...

If you borrow 180K to purchase a property now and find that next year it is only worth 160K, you'd be down 20 grand...and prices would still be falling. Cheaper than renting? I think not.

I am sitting on my STR cash and could get back into the market now with little or no mortgage. But why should I with prices falling? Whatever the rate of interest, it's a no-brainer. It has ceased to be a matter of interest rates, it's about absurdly over-priced property. I'll wait, thanks!

With prices on the slide, the rent vs mortgage debate is a no-brainer and pointless discussing with people who've just bought. They simply don't want to consider that they may have made the biggest single financial feck-up in their lives...

I am in similar position (quite literally, as I live in North London, too!) having STR'd 3 months ago. I got as much as I could have expected for a house and am now living (renting) comfortably off the interest. Rents where I am (Highbury) are not too bad, but I don't see them dropping too much, sadly. There is a fairly steady demand for good quality accomodation around here. But as I said before, I console myself with the knowledge that prices are on the slide and that my landlord is subsidising my living. Good luck with the sale...

The 'rent versus mortgage' argument ultimately boils down to this: Buy at the top of a market (ie: now) and you will feel like you are throwing your mortgage money down the drain as the value of your property plummets. Your deposit will be eroded and you may even suffer neg. equity. When you eventually pay it off, you may regret buying when you did, particularly when you look at how much compound interest payment you've made! Buy at the bottom of the market with the prospect of CAPITAL GROWTH in your property, and your mortgage will seem like a better investment. Rent works in a similar way: Paying rent at the moment makes sense because your landlord is effectively subsidising you whilst property prices slide. The argument that 'rent is dead money' is keenly exercised during property price RISES. In conclusion, the decreasing mortgage versus rising rents theory really depends on when you take the plunge. In your situation, renting for at least another year is a no-brainer. Do it! And welcome to the site!

I think there will be 'freak' rises here and there owning to the fact that volumes of sales are so low; and because there are more sales going through at the top end of the market. Averages fluctuate more when there are fewer numbers. I got a grade C 'O' level maths, me.

Yeah, right. it's going to remain static for 7 years... dream on, Miles. All EAs will go bust on the current volumes they're (not) shifting. Hmmm. Maybe it's not such a bad thing, then...

"prejudging" who, exactly? Your 'debate' consists of showing me increases in the borough of Islington against an overall trend of falling prices, falling volumes, increased supply, YOY figures poised to go negative... these are the facts that tell us where we're heading. But don't take my word for it... "..buyers can now afford to take their time", Jeremy Leaf, RICS housing spokesperson "The slowdown is most being felt in London, where the annual house price rise is now only 2.9%..." Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Yeah, so happy you feel the need to visit a website called HPC (the home of wishful thinkers) and spend your time whin.......errrr .........writing letters to National newspapers KOTC <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Care to debate the issues within the letter? Make a well-thought out point for discussion? No, thought not.

My goodness. I've just read some of the drivel on there. It doesn't even warrant joining the discussion. It would be like repeatedly banging your head against a very big wall. The 'Lady Luck' character is quite something...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian_jobs_an...1508716,00.html And the wierd thing is, I was replying to someone who'd written in last week...who turned out to be a friend of mine!