Chisel - what do you make of this

Nothing! Cant get a web page

Yeah, must be gremlins in the system.

Was just an article about regional house prices. As mentioned before i would like to buy a home but not only am i wooried about how the economic outlook may affect prices i have the additional worry of living in a region where there does not seem any shortage of land for building and all around me there are unfinished housing developments.

What area of the country are you in Paddletoe?  Houses are more overpriced in certain areas than others.

I live in the north of ireland. I know overall in the uk prices have increased over the past year but i see no signs of it here. I was just curious what people think of the future of house prices regionally rather than nationally.

N. Ireland has a very big public sector payroll and with the liklihood of job loses in this sector i can see very little upside compared to the potential downside.

The other thing is that where i live developers are sitting on a large ammount of land with building approval which they had to stall plans for when the housing crash arrived.

I would like to buy and i am looking for any good signs but i cant see any, at least regionally where i live.

NI properties are between 0 - 5% down from this time year. That is not good.

#last

rent in N Ireland

20.8% down in the north of ireland according to the bbc regional price guide.

Your best bet would be to try and buy a repossessed property, then at least once you've tidied the place up and done any renovations the property should be worth more than you paid for it. 

If you are a cash buyer this would be the best way forward (other than sticking your dosh in gold/silver/oil until property prices have bottomed in your area and renting until then).

If you need to arrange finance this could be tricky because the quicker you can push through the sale the more favourable any offer will be.

Buying in a falling market doesn't have to be a no-no if you can grab a bargain, or somewhere that needs a bit of work.

I agree with 56.

Rent in N Ireland, unless a tremendous bargain turns up. on teh flip side, Ulster bank is willing to lend at higher loan to values and better interest rate s than in the UK

I am presently renting a nice four bedroom house for £120 a week.

I have the cash to buy it without a mortgage and can probably get it for 105k.

Yield wise it makes sense at the moment to buy with interest on savings so low as net interest on 100k at present is about £2,700 compared to savings i would make on rent of about 6K annually.

However, if there is a double dip its going to affect n. ireland more than any other region.

In 18 months time the capital value of the house could be less than now while interest rates could be a lot higher meaning yield on savings of a 100k would be greater than savings in rent.

Very confusing times for a first time buyer like myself in a region likely to be hit very hard by massive public sector cuts.

Padletoe

Agreed , but lets face it .. You are probably young, are not going to sell for a while, and if you can buy at the right price you will end up with no rent or mortgage payment, and will feel happy with yoruself. To be honest, with no mortgage I really think this is a no brainer!

A little bit off topic but i have a relative doing pretty well for himself in London. He has a house in a very desireable postcode which is probably worth 3/4 million. He has pushed himself on in his career unlike myself who is happy go lucky.

But i think to myself he is probably no better off than me because unless he sells and moves away from London he is never going to see any of the money from the value of his house.

If a person always stays in London they end up moving from one more expensive house to the next but can never spend what a post code says their home is worth.

Paddletoe , Are you taking the you know what?

£105K for a four bedroom house?  Holy cow.  That's less than a third of the price of property round here.  Even if the land was free it would cost more than that to build would it not?

Paddletoe if you have the cash you should buy.  Would you rather have your money in bricks and mortar or worthless paper?

Having cash up front means you can push a sale through quickly, and people who need a quick sale whether a repossession or not will accept a lower offer than the true market value so you should be able to grab a bargain.

I know 105k does not sound a lot of money compared to many places in England but rent here is quite cheap which is why i have the dilema.

I am not looking to make money on the house but on the other hand i dont want to be a mug and buy a house now if the same house could be bought cheaper in six months or a years time. That would be like me paying for other peoples mistakes.

There are a lot of things about property and economics which are specific to n.ireland more than other regions.

Getting married in two months time and i am steering towards buying at the right price. I would just like more certainty about whether the general economy is going to get worse or better. I would just like some signs to know which way its going.

I do appreciate all the replies. I am certainly not taking the p%%%. Its a very big dilema for me.

Also although i can pay all in cash i dont have as strong a negotiating position for this particaular house than i would for another property. The owner has many other properties and is most definately not a distressed seller. He probably knows more about the true value of the house than me.

Paddletoe

With respect. Your relative obviously has more cash and a more affluent lifestyle than you .... But that is not the point is it!

Good luck to you this year.. You would be mad to buy the home from your landlord , unless you can get a good price. If you do not ask though , you do not get!!

Start looking elsewhere ... Good luck