Is it foolhardy to sell my house now?

[michaelm]

I plan to sell my house in the new year and hopefully buy a house in another area shortly thereafter. I realise that finding a buyer and securing a mortgage are major hurdles but I'm sure I'll manage both. There are good logistical reasons for me to move but I'll either find myself renting and sitting on a sizeable amount of cash (until I find the right house) or, if I find a house quickly, I'll have a much bigger mortgage payment than currently.

In either case and given the question marks over Ireland's membership of the euro, the future of the euro itself and talk of a sovereign default, I wonder if I'm being foolhardy in my plan to move at this point in time or if now is opportune. I be interested in any opinions on same.

 

[Vanilla]

The property market is fairly stagnant at the moment and house prices have dropped substantially. You'll see on daft.ie reports of how asking prices have dropped. Asking price is different to sale price so we don't have a full picture but from what I've seen, the sale price is less again.

You know all that, probably, but if you are selling to buy, the same will apply to the property you buy so it should balance out. Stamp duty is less now for a second time buyer if the house is over 125k so you may benefit there.

The only advice I'd give would be to put it on the market,which should cost you little more than advertising costs and take it from there. We have clients who missed the property bubble and whose properties have been on the market for over 3 years- many of them- and for the last 3 months or so the only property enquiries we've had have been for the very low end of the market. But hopefully you will have more luck.

 

[Bob_tg]

I think the OP's question is about whether is a good idea to sit on a wad of cash given current macroeconomic risks v put it back into property. A huge question that, and one I wouldn't dare to answer.

However, one key factor will be the length of time between selling your house and buying the next one. The longer you wait, the greater the risk is to your cash. Of course, some would argue you might still be better sitting on the cash than sinking it back into property.

I agree with Vanilla...put it on the market and see what happens.

 

[Towger]

But the advantage of selling you house first is your not in a chain, know where you stands and can move quickly when you find a house you want.

 

[michaelm]

Thanks for replies. I am concerned about sitting on cash but am prepared to rent for a year in the hope that the right house comes up. I reckon I'll sell my house within five months (to non-chain buyer). I don't want to be part of a chain when buying either.