tara747

p.s. good luck with whatever you decide.

That's not a bargain price. It should be cheaper. Half the boom price is not cheap. We need to get out of that mentality (some of my older colleagues are saying 'oh houses are so cheap now' but they all bought theirs for about £60K - such hypocrisy). I also think that NI's reliance on the public purse will bite us on the bum soon. There are going to be HUGE cuts in public spending and public sector pay freezes/cuts - look at the ROI for an idea of what will happen here. Pension levies, pay cuts, VAT rise, probable other tax rises, the disastrous effects of the ending of the govt stimulus package, rapidly rising IRs when the recovery kicks in etc etc... believe me, NI will suffer. £140K is 7x the average wage here, that house needs work as well! Keep your powder dry and keep saving and waiting is my advice. That's what I'm doing anyway.

Aw shucks! Your wedding? Can you put that on the mortgage these days????? When was it?

I'm mostly lurking these days as not allowed on HPC at work (grrr) but couldn't resist answering this. Bergy - firstly welcome to the forum. Secondly, I see your dilemma as you would probably be happy to reduce your price if the developer would reduce his. And you want to protect your family's finances - totally understandable. But put yourself in a buyer's shoes. You say your house is a FTB type house. Would you honestly expect a FTB to be able to afford £140k? Some couples probably can't even afford that. You paid £76k for it 7 years ago (BTW, why is your outstanding mortgage £88K?), do you really think that it is worth double that amount 18 months into this property crash? You deride the offers you have received, maybe you should consider them seriously before those buyers move on and spot somewhere else. How much do you realistically need to make the move? Have you got savings you could add to that amount to buy the new house? Could you save an extra few £££s between now and then? I am just playing devil's advocate and I wish you luck in securing a house at a decent price so that you can sell up and move. Keep an eye on the developer and approach him again with an offer, you never know.

Ho ho, they're already averaging £138k - so who knows where they'll be by the end of 2009!!!!! I reckon £110k average by December, anyone else fancy a guess? As for the job losses, very grim indeed. I agree with Malthus, it will have a massive knock on effect on the local areas, esp Bombardier. 1,000 jobs - bladdy hell. Sympathy to those affected. The govt and banks really have a lot to answer for.

Why would saving for a deposit become a futile task? If wages hadn't yet caught up, people would be far worse off, therefore house prices would prob still be falling. Saving for a deposit would still be a sensible thing to do. Or have I got it wrong? Sorry I haven't posted in ages, just been really busy. I am lurking away though!!

Unfortunately 50% may be about right - and it might even get worse. Sorry, I know that's not good news if you're a buyer in the Bakery, but £360k for a 2-bed flat was the very top of the market here (and then some). A 2-bed flat in Belfast will eventually be worth no more than £100k (absolute maximum) in my view. The market is on the way down and is expected to undershoot. What is your situation?

Which EA, can you say? Good for them.

BT9 seems to be very popular round these parts. I live in that hallowed postcode, lovely house and cheap rent etc but wouldn't buy in the street I rent in (too many renters would put me off a street ironically!). I would be interested to know which part(s) and street(s) you would buy in given the chance and right price, and what type of house you are looking for? I am just assuming that nobody here would buy a flat And what is the max you would pay for said street(s)?

Will this not just make banks even more tight with their cash and make it even harder to get a mortgage? In order to avoid being caught out like this in future, they will clamp right down on their lending criteria, thereby exacerbating the HPC. Happy days.

Yes, that's why I'm suprised that 3 people have voted for 35% or less! That's happened already! So do they think that there are no more falls to come?

I thought the poll was asking what we thought the fall would be from peak, not in 2009 only. That's why I'm a polar bear...

WTF! No flooring at all! This is a completely new one to me. I thought that the entire flat would have been tiled, carpeted, wooden-floored or whatever. If you think that TQ is going to be so special and genuinely believe in it (etc), then why are you not happy to pay the original purchase price? That's great then, a ready-made resale market for you. See my post above. I'm on your wavelength PP, not seeking to move out of Belfast but am seeking a HOUSE, not a flat. Flats are going to be the new social/student housing, I would not live in one if you paid me. Good point PP and one that I hadn't considered! Reduced profit for developer = unable to complete rest of TQ = dreadful living conditions for existing inhabitants, stuck in a half-developed area with no amenities as there wasn't enough profit to provide them! Scary. The buyers may be in a real Catch 22 situation. Pay more than the flats is worth or live in a ghost estate in (let's face it) a s****y area. Dee Street is not exactly the King's Road! As ever, good luck to you all and do keep us posted.

Quote: ------------------------- Historically you would need to wait longer; however the low interest rates available and recent Government decisions will see less repossessions and forced sellers (motivated vendors) than normal; thus helping to stabalise the markets sooner. ------------------------- BallymenaBoy, what do you make of today's report that an average of 20 PER CENT of properties on EA books are there because their owners can't afford the mortgage? Some EAs have admitted that up to 50 per cent of their clients are forced sellers. LINK here if you want to read it...

Fantastic article.

29 users on this forum right now! Get posting y'all.

LOL at SourMash!

Where was this comment to be found PP? Thanks.

OMG. How is he taking it?

Thanks paul. Just look at the quarterly drops for each region, esp. North Down, Antrim/Ballymena, Mid Ulster and Lisburn!!!! Now picture the UU report in 9 months' time. This is accelerating baby!

That is an alarming amount of money for 12 flats alright. So if an 'independent valuation' (define that if you will) says it's worth £250k then you won't seek a price reduction. Surely your own eyes can provide you with the most independent valuation, no? What are your eyes (and your gut) telling you about the value of these flats? Are those 2 bed units actually selling at £165k-£185k? Are you privy to this information? I think that flats are the most overpriced of all types of property in NI. They will continue to fall long after houses have recovered. I would say fair value for a 2-bed 850sqft flat in Victoria Place would be no more than £100k - max. TQ's location is nowhere near as good and it is all about location in any property market. So TQ flats should be worth less. Even if they have a 'nicer spec', does that cancel out the s****y location? In my opinion, no. Just my two cents' worth. If I were you I would be trying my damnedest to get out of completing on TQ. Good luck.

I have nothing to add really! The replies summed it up pretty well.

I love this bit: ------------------- For many homebuyers, these calculations could be too painful. For example, prices in formerly evervescent Northern Ireland will have slumped by an average of 33 per cent by the end of this year, according to Savills. This would be more than twice the average nationwide drop. -------------------

I was not saying that you speak for us or from a script - just that what you say resonates with what a lot of us are thinking. IMHO. Nothing more old chap!

I am seeing new names on this site every day - good to see something positive has come from that cringeworthy Nolan Live show. Hello, and welcome.