When it comes to buying a house, there are so many things that need to add up in order for it to be the right time to make a purchase – especially, if like us you are looking to buy your first home and get on the property ladder. Obviously, we no longer live in London and Nottingham is considerably cheaper, but that doesn’t mean that it’s easy – and Covid-19 thrown into the mix hasn’t help at all.
What Is Happening Within Estate Agency?
During the first UK lockdown in March 2020, estate agency was an industry affected – they were unable to continue to operate which meant viewings couldn’t take place and new properties struggled to come to market. When the industry re-opened, the Government announced a stamp duty which meant that for properties up to £500,000 completing before 31st March purchasers would save on the stamp duty they would usually be required to pay. This led to a massive uptake in people wanting to move, so as you can imagine many new houses come to market. With people keen to shift their home, prices came down as people wanted to attract a buyer – especially if they wanted to sell their existing home in order to buy a new one. However, now the average time for conveyancing is over 100 days, many people who are already Sold Subject to Contract won’t complete in time – meaning that they won’t benefit from the Stamp Duty Holiday. Estate agency is open within this lockdown, but with people reluctant to get out and about too much, people self-isolating and lenders being reluctant to lend, it can be tough to know exactly what the property market is likely to do in the long term future.
What Does This Mean For People Wanting To Buy?
As renters, we often keep an eye on houses for sale and what the mortgage options are – because we’d love to own our own home one day. Over recent months we have noticed the price of comparable properties creep up. We also know from speaking to mortgage brokers than lending options are lessening, as lenders have put up the percentage deposit they need in order to secure a mortgage. A couple of years ago, there were numerous options for getting a 5% deposit mortgage, which for properties in the Midlands and the North could be more affordable than you might imagine. However, this mortgage option doesn’t really exist now, with lots of lenders asking for 10% or more as a deposit.
We’ll certainly be keeping an eye on our options and seeing what happens financially. There are talks of the Government extending the Stamp Duty Holiday which may help but as this article in the International Business Times discusses, it really is hard to know what any financial industry will look like in the future, and property is one that is likely to change. Is now the right time to buy a house? If you can afford so, then it may well be – but just be prepared to do some hard work securing lending options as it isn’t as easy as it once was.
