Is Now the Right Time to Buy Property

It’s the question every First Time Buyer or would-be Property Speculator would like a crystal ball for! Is there a straight answer?

For many areas of the UK, full confidence in the property market has yet to return after prices started falling at the end of 2007 - but location is so important. For in-demand locations, especially those in the South East and in London, prices have been rising again since mid-2009 onwards.

The upside to the lack of confidence and falling prices is that mortgages are appearing to get slightly easier to secure. Borrowing money at the moment is cheap by historic standards, so if you are lucky enough to qualify for a good mortgage deal, now is not a bad time to buy provided you can accept that prices may still fall in the short term.

Mortgage rates are especially good for those with a 25% deposit, and interest rates for Buyers with a 15 per cent and 10 per cent deposits are also starting to improve too. If Banks are willing to relax their new, tough lending criteria, this could bring Buyers back into the market for whom property looks affordable. More buyers can only be good news for the UK property market.

Perhaps the main question at the moment is whether Buyers are brave enough to take the plunge while the effect of this Government’s spending cuts are still filtering through the economy, and the Banks might still face tougher regulations.

So should you buy now? As always, there is no straight answer! It depends upon long you plan to own the property (whether you are buying to provide yourself and family with a home, or as an investment), whether it personally suits you - and most importantly whether you can afford it.

If you are thinking of taking the plunge, you should bear these factors in mind and also ensure you can cope with the possibility of future interest rate rises, and a flat market.