It's great to be an FTB now!

[CrashedOutAndBurned]

We're lucky FTBs - we decided to save like nutters to try and shadow the housing market. We have just about been able to do this and could have stretched to a hutch in the April 2004 peak.

Times are much better now - each week we see prices slowly fall. The 175k house now 168 and unsold for weeks and weeks. We see new spacious flats on the market - still overpriced, but much better value than a couple of months ago. We feel some of these sellers MUST be open to SERIOUS offers now.

It's a whole different paradigm to the panic buying of April. Now instead of seeing our hard-won savings eroded by a hyped-up market, we see better properties slowly edging towards our grasp.

Will we buy after 5% falls, after 15% fall,s after 40% falls? Who knows? Who cares.? We're back in the driving seat, making the choices, relaxed, unpanicked.

It's a great feeling.

[rentboy]

Crashoutandburned,

Good isn't it. I'm looking forward to a buyers market.

I like the thought that if we are now past the peak then every month of falls are effectively earning us money, it makes a pleasant change.

[Dicky]

Also your savings in the bank are returning a nice 5% too, champagne and strawberries round, it's a win win situation . Commiserations to recent FTB's and BTL's who out bid me last year it must be awful for you .

[rockdoctor]

I was lucky enough to be a buying a flat in early 1996 (blind chance - I just came back from the Middle East into the bottom of the house price trough).

I can tell you that you can look forward to friendly, helpful estate agents, letter box bursting with details sent through every week by same friendly agents. Phone calls from agents as soon as a suitable property comes on their books, 85-90% offers seen as 'reasonable', and offers of asking price seen as 'robust', and pretty much guaranteeing you the sale. There is the possibility of gazundering the seller if the survey turns out a bit negative, and haggling over extra costs incurred. You can essentially ask the vendor to demonstrate that the property is worth buying, and if that requires extra survey work, then they will have to pick it up.

The happy days when the buyer was king will one day come back.

[evictee]

On 25/08/2004 at 10:29, rockdoctor said:

I was lucky enough to be a buying a flat in early 1996 (blind chance - I just came back from the Middle East into the bottom of the house price trough).

I can tell you that you can look forward to friendly, helpful estate agents, letter box bursting with details sent through every week by same friendly agents. Phone calls from agents as soon as a suitable property comes on their books, 85-90% offers seen as 'reasonable', and offers of asking price seen as 'robust', and pretty much guaranteeing you the sale. There is the possibility of gazundering the seller if the survey turns out a bit negative, and haggling over extra costs incurred. You can essentially ask the vendor to demonstrate that the property is worth buying, and if that requires extra survey work, then they will have to pick it up.

The happy days when the buyer was king will one day come back.

Sounds great, looking forward to it!

Any day now...

[GregBowman]

On 24/08/2004 at 23:01, CrashedOutAndBurned said:

We're lucky FTBs - we decided to save like nutters to try and shadow the housing market. We have just about been able to do this and could have stretched to a hutch in the April 2004 peak.

Times are much better now - each week we see prices slowly fall. The 175k house now 168 and unsold for weeks and weeks. We see new spacious flats on the market - still overpriced, but much better value than a couple of months ago. We feel some of these sellers MUST be open to SERIOUS offers now.

It's a whole different paradigm to the panic buying of April. Now instead of seeing our hard-won savings eroded by a hyped-up market, we see better properties slowly edging towards our grasp.

Will we buy after 5% falls, after 15% fall,s after 40% falls? Who knows? Who cares.? We're back in the driving seat, making the choices, relaxed, unpanicked.

It's a great feeling.

All good but don’t relax - we sold to rent in 2007 and bought in late 2009. In 2010 various measures meant it all took off again.

Not sure about the comparison between 2004 though ? a long time ago 

Take your time but always remember the good stuff isn’t at the margins and hence will fall slower and less than the average 

Ha ha just seen this was a 2004 thread !

Edited May 10, 2019 by GregBowman

[spyguy]

On 24/08/2004 at 23:01, CrashedOutAndBurned said:

We're lucky FTBs - we decided to save like nutters to try and shadow the housing market. We have just about been able to do this and could have stretched to a hutch in the April 2004 peak.

Times are much better now - each week we see prices slowly fall. The 175k house now 168 and unsold for weeks and weeks. We see new spacious flats on the market - still overpriced, but much better value than a couple of months ago. We feel some of these sellers MUST be open to SERIOUS offers now.

It's a whole different paradigm to the panic buying of April. Now instead of seeing our hard-won savings eroded by a hyped-up market, we see better properties slowly edging towards our grasp.

Will we buy after 5% falls, after 15% fall,s after 40% falls? Who knows? Who cares.? We're back in the driving seat, making the choices, relaxed, unpanicked.

It's a great feeling.

Depends where you  are.

Im pretty sure that, looking at the asking and the selling prices, towns in the North I monitor will accept offers 20-30% off asking.

 

[Switch625]

On 25/08/2004 at 10:29, rockdoctor said:

The happy days when the buyer was king will one day come back.

2004, fifteen years and counting and perhaps the doctor may finally be right after all. FIFTEEN YEARS! I never once thought this madness could possibly go on for so long. Truly never have so few profited so much by fleecing so many.

[MattW]

Holy thread resurrection Batman!

31 minutes ago, Switch625 said:

2004, fifteen years and counting and perhaps the doctor may finally be right after all. FIFTEEN YEARS! I never once thought this madness could possibly go on for so long.

Same here! It's astounding how many props the Government can pull out of the bag and keep the plates spinning for so long.

At the same time, they are disincentivising (spl??) the proles from saving up for the massive deposit/downpayment required. Yesterday evening I was looking as cash ISAs. 1% interest offered from my favoured bank. So £10 on a balance of £1,000. F***!

[btd1981]

I'm glad I found this website, it saved me a fortune.

[rantnrave]

Its not as great as it was in the 1930s...

https://www.propertyindustryeye.com/a-little-piece-of-history-the-semis-that-proved-a-bargain/

[Captain Kirk]

3 hours ago, Switch625 said:

2004, fifteen years and counting and perhaps the doctor may finally be right after all. FIFTEEN YEARS! I never once thought this madness could possibly go on for so long. Truly never have so few profited so much by fleecing so many.

Yes, it's truly insane. I remember back in 2002 a friend of mine got divorced and had been offered £78K on her 3 bed semi. She was really excited about it because it was double she had paid for it in the late 90s. That was the first time I became aware that something was up.

It should have been nipped in the bud early, but it wasn't. It should have been nipped in the bud after the GFC, but again it wasn't, and instead TPTB pulled out all stops to keep the insanity propped up. All it has done is cause misery for millions. Now it's generational.

[simvastatin]

LOL,

I wonder what happened to the OP

[longgone]

Things seem to be shifting again after the Brexit delay and no deal off the table. 

[mjn]

I'm in 2 minds weather to buy a house I've been waiting too long for a proper housing crash and it doesn't seem to happen. I can see it I will buy a house and within a year they would crash 50 percent or I could chose to sit on the fence and they would increase 50 percent. Then there's my age every year waiting for the crash is one year of wasted life. I feel sorry for all the other ftb in the same situation 

[longgone]

1 minute ago, mjn said:

I'm in 2 minds weather to buy a house I've been waiting too long for a proper housing crash and it doesn't seem to happen. I can see it I will buy a house and within a year they would crash 50 percent or I could chose to sit on the fence and they would increase 50 percent. Then there's my age every year waiting for the crash is one year of wasted life. I feel sorry for all the other ftb in the same situation 

Every year is another year closer to the crypt house owning or not. 

 

[mjn]

13 minutes ago, longgone said:

Every year is another year closer to the crypt house owning or not. 

 

Do we need a new political party called the cheaper  housing party lol that built and sold housing at 50 percent cheaper than the average housing price but then that would crash other house prices that were sold before putting millions into negative equity how can we solve this problem 

[markyh]

On 10/05/2019 at 07:20, MattW said:

 

At the same time, they are disincentivising (spl??) the proles from saving up for the massive deposit/downpayment required. Yesterday evening I was looking as cash ISAs. 1% interest offered from my favoured bank. So £10 on a balance of £1,000. F***!

Ummm , bitcoins gone up 20% in the past week, just saying. Buy one now, you will have enough to buy a family house outright within 2 years.

[MattW]

7 hours ago, markyh said:

Ummm , bitcoins gone up 20% in the past week, just saying. Buy one now, you will have enough to buy a family house outright within 2 years.

I thought that the bitcoin ship had sailed around 3 years ago.

[markyh]

2 minutes ago, MattW said:

I thought that the bitcoin ship had sailed around 3 years ago.

Why? $100k+ within 2 years from $7.5k not enough upside for you?

could’ve had it for under $3.5k in January. 

[Dorkins]

18 hours ago, mjn said:

Do we need a new political party called the cheaper  housing party lol that built and sold housing at 50 percent cheaper than the average housing price but then that would crash other house prices that were sold before putting millions into negative equity how can we solve this problem 

In theory that should be the Labour party, prioritising the real value of wages over the real value of capital. In theory.

[MARTINX9]

On 11/05/2019 at 23:21, mjn said:

Do we need a new political party called the cheaper  housing party lol that built and sold housing at 50 percent cheaper than the average housing price but then that would crash other house prices that were sold before putting millions into negative equity how can we solve this problem 

Its called the Brexit party - leave the EU on WTO terms and curb immigration and watch those prices fall. You will be waiting several lifetimes for the other parties to 'build more houses'!

[dugsbody]

4 hours ago, MARTINX9 said:

Its called the Brexit party - leave the EU on WTO terms and curb immigration and watch those prices fall. You will be waiting several lifetimes for the other parties to 'build more houses'!

Good luck with that. You still don't understand the real reasons for high house prices globally. 

[longgone]

6 hours ago, MARTINX9 said:

Its called the Brexit party - leave the EU on WTO terms and curb immigration and watch those prices fall. You will be waiting several lifetimes for the other parties to 'build more houses'!

Are the immigrants flowing into to Britain with 100`s of thousands of pounds ready to pounce on uk property or are they borrowing funds from UK banks. 

[Andy T]

On ‎10‎/‎05‎/‎2019 at 06:44, Switch625 said:

2004, fifteen years and counting and perhaps the doctor may finally be right after all. FIFTEEN YEARS! I never once thought this madness could possibly go on for so long. Truly never have so few profited so much by fleecing so many.

It's not really fifteen years though is it - UK prices fell in 2009 by 30% IIRC, and then were stagnant 2010 until 2012-2013, price rises started again late 2013.  Latest madness is therefore the last 6 years.