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The iPaper - Expert comment: Is it a good time to buy a house?

ended 05. June 2023

The iPaper is seeking responses to the following question:

'Is now a good time to buy a house?' …..as well as thoughts on what could happen to prices next.
 


 

3 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Aaron Strutt
Product and Communications Director at Trinity Financial
Choosing the perfect time to buy is difficult, especially with so much bad news in the economy and increasing mortgage rates. One thing for sure is that many people want to get out of the rental sector and purchase their own homes. They want the security of having a property.
Even though there have been a huge amount of rate changes over the last week, many rates are still available, and they will settle back down again soon. If you are in a position to buy somewhere then it may not make sense to hold off, property should be considered a long-term investment and house prices go up and down. You just need to be selective about the house or flat you buy.
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Dean Esnard
Director at Magni Finance
Higher interest rates have unsuprisingly reduced buyer demand. This means buyers are in a stronger position to negotiate on the purchase price whereas a year ago, the majority of purchases were being sold at asking price or above. Whether you buy, remortgage or rent, there will be higher costs. Owning a property gives far greater security and long term growth so now is always the best time to buy.
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Graham Cox
Director at Bridging Hub
It's hard to give a blanket answer as it depends on the price you're buying out, how motivated you are to buy, the vendor to sell, and so on. But in general terms, no. House prices are falling and the pace of falls is likely to accelerate over the second half of the year. By the end of 2024, they could easily be 15-20% cheaper than they are now.