To buy a house in 2022 or wait?

TheTruth89 · 09-07-2022 7:17pm #1

Hi all

Im looking to purchase a house, but with the current state of the economy im wondering would it be better to wait... will there be drop in property prices or is it set to get worse?

you2008 · 09-07-2022 7:33pm

wait until the drop in property

NIMAN · 09-07-2022 7:40pm

No-one can say with 100% certainty that house prices will drop anytime soon, but there has been talk of a recession on the horizon, be it end of this year or sometime in 2023, and this will certainly affect prices.

Only you know best how such a recession might affect your ability to pay your mortgage. Is your employment secure?

On the alternative view, if you stall until next year, you might end up asking yourself the same question next year, and the next.....

TheTruth89 · 09-07-2022 7:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119314590#Comment_119314590

Yeah im lucky enough my employment is pretty much recession proof, so in that sense i can afford to wait and save. Just trying to weigh up if a recession would make a significant difference to the house prices here.

odyssey06 · 09-07-2022 7:56pm

There is no one answer, it depends.

There's many factors.

House prices could drop. But interest rates could rise.

How happy are you in your current living arrangements? You could hold tight, in a year you might be able to afford more bang for your buck. Or prices and interest rates could have gone up - more makes things less affordable for you.

Are you able to afford a property & location you'd be happy to live in long term & can move into without extensive renovations? If so, the I would go for it.

What I would not do is buy somewhere just to 'get on the ladder'. The risks of negative equity are too great imo.

Also I would not buy a property in need of extensive renovations. Price of such work has gone crazy.

Sierra Oscar · 09-07-2022 7:56pm

A lot of it depends on your current circumstances. Are you renting or living at home? How much is your rent and how much would your mortgage repayments be?

TheTruth89 · 09-07-2022 8:17pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119314657#Comment_119314657

Funny you mention that there was actually a few places i was looking at that had a nice bit of land around them but needed a nice bit of renovating. I really liked those places they had a lot character and potential are prices really that crazy ? I'm trying to avoid housing estates and aiming more at somewhere in the sticks but not too far in the sticks 😅, at the moment I'm renting off a relative for a very reasonable price so my current situation is very easy going and affordable its allowing me to save quite abit every month,

I'm fortunate enough i am under no pressure to buy but now that I'm in a position to I've got the itch to.

Mandzhalas · 09-07-2022 8:29pm

We are going to wait until spring/summer 2023. Would wait longer, but fear of landlord selling house we currently renting is haunting us.

Can afford property of 450k max, but not a single 4 bedroom house I've seen this year on daft was worth it. I really hope there will be 10% drop in next 9-12 months.

odyssey06 · 09-07-2022 8:38pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119314728#Comment_119314728

I wouldn't buy a place that needed a lot of renovation to live in \ needed renovations that couldn't be done while you were in situ.

If it's renovations you can pick and choose your moment to do - that's a different story.

You'll see thread on boards where people have gotten extension \ deep refit quotes and month or month going up due to increase in materials costs.

If you're under no pressure to buy and you don't see somewhere "must buy" then in your shoes I'd hold tight.

landmarkjohn · 09-07-2022 9:52pm

I don't think prices will come down much in next couple years, demand is too strong and will remain strong. 3 in my family alone are trying to buy houses, 2 in Galway and 1 in Dublin. Prices may flatten for a while if there is a strong enough recession and interest rates jack up a bit.

The thing that would change the game is if the money markets froze for some reason (nuclear war or some other thing that no one ever imagined) and there was no access to funding.

PSFarrell · 09-07-2022 10:53pm

If you can afford to buy in an area you like at a price you can afford then go for it. Certainly inside the m50 in Dublin the supply is so low and demand high.If you are looking at places that need a lot of work I would run a mile. I visited a house today back on the market at 500k after going sale agreed at 585k in April. The reason the estate agent told us was the potential buyers were quoted over 200k to renovate. Which would put it over the price of most turn key properties in the area.

macvin · 09-07-2022 11:03pm

Someone who bought in 2006 near the peak of the market, paid less for a house than someone who waited and bought in 2012.

The 2006 person had a tracker mortgage and didn't have to pay 6 years rent.

The 2012 person paid high interest rates and still pays 2% more than the 2006 purchaser.

Basically, ignore the headline purchase price. Look at the repayments. Long term fixed rates are very cheap. You can fix for 30 years under 3%

Unfortunately between buying and legals it could take you 4-5 months and the value fixed rates could be gone by then, so difficult to answer.

Rates could go to 5% fairly quickly. That will add €100,000 of repayments on a 400k mortgage. And that will put pressure on prices

drogon. · 10-07-2022 8:02am

50% of people in here will tell you, the prices will crash. The rest will tell you prices will continue to rise.

In honest truth nobody knows what will happen, my advice - if you can afford it and like the property go for it. At the end of the day it is going to be your home, not an investment.

dennyk · 10-07-2022 10:08am

The right time to buy a house is when you can reasonably afford a place (including both the purchase price and any necessary work) that you are happy with and that you are certain you want to live in for at least the next several years. No one knows what will happen to the market over the coming months or years, but if you're buying a place to live in it, rather than to sell on in a year or two, it's a lot less likely to matter.

callaway92 · 10-07-2022 9:18pm

Sorry for jumping in here but just a question about a purchase

We have been renting a house (for 2 years) that we really have fallen for and for the location (wouldn’t be a ‘prime’ location’

Landlord (private) said she potentially might sell house to another family member next July

Rental is above board etc. and nothing weird with it, but would we have anything like first dibs on it if it goes up for sale, or would her doing a private sale make things any different?

By right we could ask her now if selling to us is something she would consider, but I’m just curious

Thank you

handlemaster · 10-07-2022 9:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058253780/to-buy-a-house-in-2022-or-wait

The answer to that is very individual. Interest rates are sent to riee alot. Your paying rent ? Need to move now ? See thr property you want for sale now etc etc

Maz2016 · 11-07-2022 7:46am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119319107#Comment_119319107

I think as long as she gives you adequate notice to leave she is covered. She can sell to anyone she likes. U would recommend expressing your interest though

dennyk · 11-07-2022 12:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119319107#Comment_119319107

The fact that you are renting the place doesn't give you any "dibs" on purchasing it; the landlord can sell the property to anyone they want, whether it's a relative or some other random buyer. If they don't sell it in the end and put it back up for rent within a certain time period, they'd be obligated to offer it to you first as a tenant under those circumstances, but there's no such obligation for a sale.

If you are interested and you're in a financial position where you could go through with the sale right away (i.e. you wouldn't have to spend X months/years saving up a deposit first), it would certainly be worth asking, though. That said, if your landlord is thinking of selling to a family member specifically, they might not be interested. Even if they were going to sell it on the open market, they might still prefer to list it and see what the bidding comes to, thinking they might be able to get a higher price that way, so you might still have to compete with other buyers for it. It's still worth a shot, as the landlord might decide that avoiding the hassle and cost of an agent and listing the property and handling viewings and all that (not to mention having to give you notice and hope you don't overhold and blow up their sale) is worth the possible opportunity cost of not publicly listing it. I bought my own place from my landlord directly that way; they had no plans to sell as far as I know, but I made them an offer and they agreed.

Ray Palmer · 11-07-2022 12:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119315864#Comment_119315864

That isn't really true. A lot of people will say prices going down doesn't mean it will be cheaper or possible to buy later. Lots of factors are in play when buying and personal circumstances are the big issue. There were lots of people wishing a crash last time. When it happened they still couldn't buy due to a number of factors. Some of these people aged out of getting a mortgage by going over 40 and needing at least a 25 year mortgage.

Many people who went through negative equity are laughing now. It all personal choice and looking at economics really doesn't come into it the way some claim.

OP cover yourself as much as you can by making sure the house can retain value and recover quickly. Property near hospitals and colleges should always have rental potential for example. Look for a local disparity like one side of a road means a cheaper property. These often disappear later as people realise there is no real difference.