Time to buy a house?
The Government has announced that house price inflation in the UK is back to 10% as reported on the BBC website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10317283. That is the highest rate of housing inflation for 3 years, essentially the last time it was this high was just before the crash.
Analysts have predicted house prices will have reached previous levels within 4 years and with the country, and the world as a whole expected to come out of it’s recession with all guns blazing it is likely that prices will now be rising for the next decade.
During the recession a lot of home owners were turned into unwilling landlords as and when they had to relocate themselves; I know I did. As I sat looking through Wembley flats and houses for rent I was left with the distinct impression that I was getting into the landlord game for the long haul. The realisation that being a landlord is not all bad has, with the easing of financial constraints brought on by the recovery, led me to start considering whether now is in fact the ideal time to buy.
It is often accepted that housing cycles work on a 16 to 18 year boom and bust and history shows us exactly that. lengths may vary but essentially early adopters drive the market, confidence returns and the boom comes. Experienced buyers liquidate their assets after a decade and sit back waiting for the collapse which always comes with the inevitable over confidence and they then jump back in again, picking up the bargains and the cycle starts over.
With that in mind, and with a long term view I think I may have to go looking at what i can afford.
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