Yesterday, I was looking at the Sunday Independent and there was an article in it about how first-time house buyers were once again coming into the market and picking up houses at bargain prices.
I wonder if this is true. The article quoted somebody, if I remember correctly, as saying that there were queues for some developments - remember when you had to queue overnight so that you could buy your ‘dream house’?
Again, I find this difficult to believe. Admittedly, Spring and Autumn are traditionally the times that people go out and buy houses. The spring one is probably because Christmas is now over and things are quieter in people’s lives, so they are settled enough to buy a house. Autumn because they are determined to be living in their new house before Christmas.
The speculation is that interest rates will begin to come down in the middle of this year, perhaps by a quarter percent and then maybe another reduction by the end of the year.
It has been a good thing for house prices to stop getting higher, but at the same time, probably a bit of a worry for employment that house building has now slowed to half its previous levels.
I looked at daft.ie this morning and for the places I know about, the prices are still dropping. I’m thinking it will take a lot of first-time buyers to soak up the surplus housing before the prices start to go north again.
Anybody with thoughts, please leave a comment.
4 users commented in " Houses for sale "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI’m actually looking to buy my 1st house at the momoent, but Belfast is such an awful place to buy - there’s plenty of great developments, and alot of stuff on the market but they’re mostly in dodgy areas - certainly not in areas where I’d want to spent the next 5-10 years.
Its a waiting game that I don’t like playing - pretty soon the prices will rocket again and I’ll be forced to rent for another few years - absolute waste of money.
My first mortgage was for 20 years - a bit short, but it was possible to do. now it is impossible for anybody to have anything less than a 35 year mortgage. You then struggle for 10 years, after which, given inflation in wages etc., it becomes easier to pay. However, the later you leave it, the more rent you pay and the more difficult to buy. I think you have to start small. The house prices seem to be linked to some extent on affordability - which is dependent on prices and interest rates. The prices have come back a little, so when the interest rates come down a little, the market might go up again. Interest rates began to go up at the end of 2005, but it might be another year before people have confidence enough to buy. My guess is that the time to buy is soon, but I don’t know for sure.
RTE have an article today that says that the ECB people say that the inflation of recent times was due to energy (oil) and food price increases and is likely to be temporary. RTE then say that some economists are predicting a reduction in ECB interest rates by April.
A few estate agent friends have said similar things Doc.
I’m buying with the idea of selling it on in a few years and making enough money to buy somewhere I really want. As long as the interest in the mortgage is covered, I shouldn’t have a problem, fingers crossed.
The main issue I have is getting a decent enough area that I can rent a spare room if I need to.