Thoughts on Housing market in particular Flats

[Esquire]

Morning all,

Looking into buying a commutable flat for work purposes and for my daughter to live for a while . I'm done with renting.

So, given all that happened in the recent budget surrounding finances and the housing market. What's our view on prices from here?

It won't be somewhere I'll have for many years, maybe 7/8.

TIA

[TownIdiot]

First two questions, with many to follow no doubt

Commutable to where?
What's the budget?

[Dbag101]

Be very careful about hidden costs with a leasehold flat. Service charges can be a nasty surprise ( for example ).

[Esquire]

TownIdiot said:

First two questions, with many to follow no doubt

Commutable to where?
What's the budget?

Thanks.

Commutable to London ( have roughly identified the area) budget around 400k so it's not in London, it'll be a 25 min train ride.

Leasehold flat very likely rather than part freehold.


Is there new ruling coming in on costs of leasehold top up costs ?

Renting for longer not an issue but just feels like it's a waste of cash although maybe not if the market gets flooded with flats for sale given Labour want to screw anyone that has money .
IE 2nd home owners
No mortgage required

Edited by Esquire on Tuesday 26th November 10:21

Edited by Esquire on Tuesday 26th November 10:29

[TownIdiot]

400k could get you a flat in a London Borough.

Choose wisely and I'd have thought it would always be a decent asset, but I don't think anyone's crystal ball is showing strong value growth in this market

[Esquire]

TownIdiot said:

400k could get you a flat in a London Borough.

Choose wisely and I'd have thought it would always be a decent asset, but I don't think anyone's crystal ball is showing strong value growth in this market

For certain reasons we need to be more suburbs.

I'm tempted to sit back for another 6 months and see how it plays out but then if rates do start heading lower then buyers might jump back in .
Also buying the flat in a child's name as a 1st the buyer means no stamp duty under 450k until April next year.

[TownIdiot]

Esquire said:

For certain reasons we need to be more suburbs.

I'm tempted to sit back for another 6 months and see how it plays out but then if rates do start heading lower then buyers might jump back in .
Also buying the flat in a child's name as a 1st the buyer means no stamp duty under 450k until April next year.

In that case I'd buy a house rather than a flat.

And whilst that is true regarding the stamp duty, they also lose their first time buyer privileges and they own the flat.

[ThingsBehindTheSun]

I live in a London Borough. One thing I will say is that over the last five or ten years flat prices don't seem to have gone up that much. Houses on the other hand (especially around the £1 million+) seem to have massively increased in comparison.

[98elise]

Look at auctions. There are a lot of bargains going through, and a lot of unsold property. Most auction houses will list their previous results.

I bought a maisonette at auction in my area, which one of my kids will buy off me once the tenant leaves.

I paid 95k, and the cheapest one sold on rightmove was 170k. It does need a top to bottom refurb though. It has woodchip everywhere, and the cheapest kitchen and bathroom from the 80's you can imagine.

Edited by 98elise on Tuesday 26th November 13:31

[Esquire]

TownIdiot said:

In that case I'd buy a house rather than a flat.

And whilst that is true regarding the stamp duty, they also lose their first time buyer privileges and they own the flat.

Only issue is I really want just a midweek bolt hole rarher than a garden etc to deal with.

With regards 1st time buyer status, yes that's been mentioned so the plan would be to pay that for on my child's behalf as and when she buys her first place.

Have also noticed houses appreciate far better than flats .
Just hoping for no net costs (loss) over the term of ownership

Edited by Esquire on Tuesday 26th November 11:05

[TownIdiot]

Esquire said:

Only issue is I really want just a midweek bolt hole rarher than a garden etc to deal with.

With regards 1st time buyer status, yes that's been mentioned so the plan would be to pay that for on my child's behalf as and when she buys her first place.

Have also noticed houses appreciate far better than flats .
Just hoping for no net costs (loss) over the term of ownership

Edited by Esquire on Tuesday 26th November 11:05

In that case I'd look for a good established part of town, rather thank swanky and new.

And hope your offspring doesn't tell you FRO in the meantime.

[Esquire]

TownIdiot said:

In that case I'd look for a good established part of town, rather thank swanky and new.

And hope your offspring doesn't tell you FRO in the meantime.

We are very familiar with the area having previously owned there and it's easy access to major roads and Trainline services.

Have earmarked a flat although just wondering if we see a glut of new listings come the new year.

BTL's selling up for example

[TownIdiot]

Esquire said:

We are very familiar with the area having previously owned there and it's easy access to major roads and Trainline services.

Have earmarked a flat although just wondering if we see a glut of new listings come the new year.

BTL's selling up for example

Difficult to advise when you know the area and we don't.

Fwiw I'd expect plenty of offloading of BTL's but not enough to totally fk the market.

[muscatdxb]

I’m a BTL landlord who buys commutable to London. My flats haven’t gone up in value since 2018 and barely moved since 2015. I don’t mind too much because rents have rocketed and I don’t plan to sell, but I wouldn’t expect capital appreciation.

On the plus side it must be one of the safest assets to put your money into and it’s a chance to avoid £2k+ in rent so I would do it.

[Esquire]

muscatdxb said:

I’m a BTL landlord who buys commutable to London. My flats haven’t gone up in value since 2018 and barely moved since 2015. I don’t mind too much because rents have rocketed and I don’t plan to sell, but I wouldn’t expect capital appreciation.

On the plus side it must be one of the safest assets to put your money into and it’s a chance to avoid £2k+ in rent so I would do it.

Tks great insight from a BTL owner.

2k plus costs = £30K a year in rough numbers for somewhere I spend 4 nights a week on average.

Original plan wasn't to buy, however plans have changed so if I don't buy I'll be renting for a few years longer which in a way makes no sense.

[okgo]

Suspect you’ll make nothing. Just like the last decade, people have made nothing. I bought a flat in the burbs in 2013 and sold 2017. All the gain was in the first two years. It’s worth little more than what I got nearly 8 years on.

Flats in the suburbs are a fairly stale buy. People who want flats don’t want them in the place they’ll have to end up when they have kids because they couldn’t afford a house in London.

[TownIdiot]

Esquire said:

Tks great insight from a BTL owner.

2k plus costs = £30K a year in rough numbers for somewhere I spend 4 nights a week on average.

Original plan wasn't to buy, however plans have changed so if I don't buy I'll be renting for a few years longer which in a way makes no sense.

I suppose you have to consider the amount you won't be earning on your 400k

That's say 16k before tax, more of you invest well.

But if you have the cash available, it's surely got to be preferable to have your own place to do what you want with than to have to deal with a landlord?
Peace of mind is worth a lot

[Esquire]

TownIdiot said:

I suppose you have to consider the amount you won't be earning on your 400k

That's say 16k before tax, more of you invest well.

But if you have the cash available, it's surely got to be preferable to have your own place to do what you want with than to have to deal with a landlord?
Peace of mind is worth a lot

For sure.

Weighing up the interest ( minus tax of course) and the flexibility although paying rent VS a purchase .

Maybe trying to pick the bottom of the market isn't the smartest move in the grand scheme of things if you consider 2 years rent costs me 50k.

Edited by Esquire on Tuesday 26th November 13:21

[ThingsBehindTheSun]

muscatdxb said:

I’m a BTL landlord who buys commutable to London. My flats haven’t gone up in value since 2018 and barely moved since 2015. I don’t mind too much because rents have rocketed and I don’t plan to sell, but I wouldn’t expect capital appreciation.

I would agree with that. Plus people I know who have bought flats in my area have struggled to sell them when they want to start a family and buy a house. The other thing they have realised is the amount of money required to move up the ladder to a house from a flat has increased every year to the point they have to move further out.

On the flip side I know someone who bought a four bedroom house back in 2017 for £700k and have just sold it within a week for £1.2 million,

We have a two bedroom Victorian terrace which has gone up in value, but not by as large a percentage as the three and four bedroom houses.

Never underestimate the demand for nice family houses in nice areas with easy commute to London.

[okgo]

It seems so simple when you think about it.

Buy the property that people want in the area they want it and you’ll not go too far wrong.