Has There Ever Been A Better Time To Buy A House?
Most people are probably fully aware of the problems within the housing market in the UK at the current time.
With the economy slowing down and the threat of a possible recession looming on the horizon, coupled with the lack of availability of mortgages and home loans from lenders, many of whom are still reeling from the effects of the credit crunch and house prices continuing to fall steadily, the factors which are stacking up against the housing market are well documented.
In view of all these facts, it may seem strange to ask the question in the title of this article, but the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) have gone on record as saying that “there has probably never been a better time to buy a house”
Now a cynical person such as myself might think that due to difficulties that estate agents are facing at the moment through a lack of business causing office closures and redundancies within the industry, that this statement has been made to try and save their own skins and although this may be true, they do actually have a good point.
Due to the fact that it is particularly difficult to secure a mortgage or home loan on a property at the moment and confidence levels within the housing market are at an all time low, there are a record number of properties available for sale currently, with a ratio of fifteen properties for every one potential buyer. With a million houses up for sale at the present time, it is certainly a buyer’s market and someone who is in a position to buy a house and has been granted a loan to fund the purchase is in an incredibly strong bargaining position.
Also those individuals selling their house are starting to realise that they are likely to have to accept a reduced offer if they wish to complete the sale, as it is unlikely that anyone else will come along with a better price.
According to the Nationwide and the Halifax, house prices have dropped by over 6 per cent since this time last year and it seems that vendors are beginning to realise this and price their houses accordingly.
So perhaps it’s true, if you’ve got a reasonable deposit available and you are in the enviable position of being accepted for a home loan, there really hasn’t been a better time to buy a house!
