Am I mad to buy a house just 6% under the asking price?

[barryl]

they went about their business, it's not up to them to protect FTB's

maybe,but the ftb is imo the most important buyer in the chain.100% mortgages and interest only options (for ftbs)are a terrible idea.As stated by another poster ftbs will in most cases spend the total amount tha a bank allows them

 

[Mr DT]

ftbs will in most cases spend the total amount tha a bank allows them

That is not just a FTB thing!!! I know people who "had to have that house" and ONLY looked at the monthly repayments, NOT what they were paying back to the banks over 35-40 years!!

PLUS, in recent times FTB's who "just had to get on the ladder" had no choice but to spend the total amount because there were people in the que before them, (40% of them investors who are now being stung!!) Of course they didn't have to get on the ladder but "ya be mad not ta, property only goes up ya know"

Back to the original question. If you can afford to buy the house at 3-4 times your salary and over no more than 20 years and are in it for the long term....... go for it!!

I would love to know if the OP can do this.......? Back to you OP

 

[Kemo_Sabe]

"The market" may dictate the price, but we all make up the market. No buyers; no demand. No sellers; no supply.

I suggest you may be somewhat out of touch with what's happening on "the market"

there are 70,000 properties for sale (well over 1 year's supply) on Daft.ie alone.

Take a look at the for sale graph on Daftwatch.ie and you'll realise that your 'no sellers' comment is factually incorrect. There are tens of thousands of sellers.

 

[DerKaiser]

re-read before you jump down their throat!!! drew is making a general supply and demand point, not a comment on the current state of the market

 

[Kemo_Sabe]

re-read before you jump down their throat!!! drew is making a general supply and demand point, not a comment on the current state of the market

no, he's making a personal point (I can't get what I think my property is 'worth' therefore I refuse to sell)

this is clearly the opposite of what's happening in general

 

[Drew]

Actually that was a general point, responding to a comment that individual decisions have no bearing on the market.

I never said there were no sellers. I'm not blind, I can see there are lots of properties for sale. I wonder, though, how many are actually proceeding to sale? Houses that would have been snapped up not too long ago are languishing for months, or not selling at all. I was simply saying I'd be surprised if lots of sellers don't withdraw from the market soon because it's clearly not a good time.

My feeling that my property is worth more than I'd get is not because I paid a huge amount of money for it (I didn't). I'm taking lots of factors into account, including relative values in the current market. As in any transaction, I'm entitled to take the view that I'm not getting a good price and withdraw. And my prosepective buyers are entitled to take the view I'm overpriced and go elsewhere.

Don't know why that seems to have got some people's backs up...

 

[Kemo_Sabe]

I never said there were no sellers. I'm not blind, I can see there are lots of properties for sale. I wonder, though, how many are actually proceeding to sale? Houses that would have been snapped up not too long ago are languishing for months, or not selling at all. I was simply saying I'd be surprised if lots of sellers don't withdraw from the market soon because it's clearly not a good time.

so you'll be 'surprised' if this massive backlog of housing inventory for sale doesn't start to reduce 'soon' (as sellers remove their properties from the market)? What % chance do you give to being wrong and the inventory for sale continuing to increase? 10% chance, 20% chance?
I'll be very happy to take those odds against a named date inthe future (say 31st December) to any money you care to wager

an interesting counter-trend argument but the facts are against you.

Check the angle of the 'for sale' graph on daftwatch - the rate at which the sale inventory is increasing is getting ever-faster.

 

[amolrpatil]

I can understand where you are coming from. Even I am a foreigner. I know what it means by buying a house in a foreign country. From all the news reports, market is falling like pack of cards. In few locations like Tallaght/Citywest it has dropped by 15%; in south side say in Shakill etc area it has fallen by 9-10%.

Of course you can not trust any such reports just like that! It is not easy to speculate in such markets. Hence study the market and decide as per ur intuitions. You can derive ur conclusion where market is leading in next few months based on following points:

1. Subprime crisis.
2. Oil prices. It has already reached $147 and it is speculated that it will reach $175 mark.
3. Lisbon treaty refusal (considering Ireland got its big share from EU; it will be interesting to see how things go around in EU politics)
4. Negative sentiments in the market.
5. Construction workers going back/construction boom over?
6. Many jobs offshored.
7. US elections early next year.
8. As per official figures, there have been 2 quarters of market downturn (they call it inflation!).
9. ECB is increasing its interest rate this week.

Believe in ur intuitions. If at the beginning of the deal you are feeling nervous then think twice. Its your money. Dont worry about mortgage. Banks will give you mortgage even in the recession. Because its their business. They will hike their rates. They would love give u mortgage. Last inflation lasted for 2-3 years and believe me market really needs a correction now. And it will correct itself. Prices will drop down more. By the end of 09 things will start getting towards normalcy. So IMHO if you are not sure about ur decison, wait. Keep ur money in bank and enjoy 4%.

As inflation kicks in even savings interest rates will go up. The day you buy your house you should start thinking of selling it and the money it shall fetch u. During inflation, its a good bet to keep ur money handy and invest at right time and time is not right. Right now...

Regards
Amol

 

[SunshineSupe]

You can derive ur conclusion where market is leading in next few months based on following points:

1. Subprime crisis.
2. Oil prices. It has already reached $147 and it is speculated that it will reach $175 mark.
3. Lisbon treaty refusal (considering Ireland got its big share from EU; it will be interesting to see how things go around in EU politics)
4. Negative sentiments in the market.
5. Construction workers going back/construction boom over?
6. Many jobs offshored.
7. US elections early next year.

No huge deal but US elections will be in early November 2008, not early next year.