House prices

[Taxman1]

Does anyone think house prices are going to go far down soon ? I am thinking of moving.

[Ethel]

It doesn't make much difference if you are moving - the house you buy will be cheaper as well.

[lukey121]

Yes they are going down.
They will go down at least 30% in the next three years. Some are falling by �100 a day right now.

[lauralane]

I would not buy right now.
The house my friend just bought is worth less now then when she bought it a month ago.
The answer is YES the are comming down.

[WoodYouLike]

They are coming down to a more realistic value - the over-rating will finally grind to a halt. And banks finally realise that giving out mortgages 5 - 6 times the wage-amount is asking for trouble.

The best option now is "don't move - improve" attitude. Adding wooden features for example will increase its value (or at least keep it from falling down sharply) and in the event you want to sell it decreases the time it is on the market.

[Velvetee]

I think it depends where you live. Here in London, my properties have increased in value by about 10% over the last 2 years, but two properties I own in Leicester have dropped by between 12% and 15%.

I think it's hard to predict the market, but I think it is getting harder to sell your home, as people are waiting for a crash before they buy, the property will only be worth as much as people are willing to pay. My neighbour has had his place on the market for about 6 months, no one seems interested.

[Twenty20]

House prices are, on average, still higher than they were a year ago so although the market has slowed its hardly a crash. It's anyone's guess what will happen over the next year (never mind 3 years as someone has predicted here).

Also, there seems to be some confusion between mortgage and house prices on here. So long as you can repay the mortgage each month, whether your house is increasing in value or decreasing is largely irrelevant. Youre not going to become 'bankrupt' or 'homeless' if you are repaying your mortgage, this would only happen if you can't keep up the repayments. Your work situation would have more influence on this than the theoretical value of your property.

Only you can decide whether now is the right time to move, it depends on many factors - are you moving for work? are you moving to a larger property? are you downsizing? are you looking to make money in property or is it simply a place to live?