Annual house price growth has returned to its lowest level since the pandemic, Land Registry data shows.
The latest figures from the Land Registry shows property price growth slowed from 1.9% to 0.6% in July 2023.
That is the slowest rate since the pandemic, when prices rose by just 0.69% in April 2020.
My best ever property deal (and the mistakes followed)
Here, the key is to gather as much information as possible about the property. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, although there are always elements you won’t discover until you start pulling things apart. Of course you need the views of builders, surveyors and maybe architects, but go further afield. Ask your neighbours about the issues they have experienced with their properties and what they wish they had known when they moved into the area.
If the road is made up of terraced or similar properties it is likely they will be affected by the same problems. A house I owned in Wandsworth was situated on a road with a slight decline that we later discovered used to have a river at the end, causing problems for the properties nearby. This isn’t something an estate agent is going to tell you. Ask around.
But over the thousands of properties I have helped view, buy, sell or renovate, the mistake I see the most often is when buyers choose properties based on the life they are currently living rather than the lifestyle they may like to have in years to come. Take a couple of young professionals buying their first home. They may choose somewhere with an easy commute, close to their friends and favourite local pub.
But those things can be quite temporary, whereas choosing a house needs to be as long term a decision as possible. My advice, and I know it’s not easy, is to try to think five years ahead when you’re buying property.
It may seem outlandish to buy a three-bedroom house close to good schools when there’s just two of you, but it’ll save you more than just stamp duty if you don’t have to move again as your family grows. And while it may be painful to pay a premium to be in a family-friendly area, these properties usually hold their value. It is unlikely to be a sunk investment even if your plans change.
Further down the line, buying your forever home with space for maybe your parents to move in, or for older children to return home to after university might not be something you are thinking about now, but it will give you more options later on.
However, another common mistake is to constantly think about the value of your property rather than what will increase your enjoyment of living there. I’ve done this myself. At one point I was digging a basement in a property, paying rent on one house, a mortgage on another bigger family home.
I had it all worked out but when the 2008 property crash started my business dried up; suddenly I was ploughing money into a property that was dropping in value by the day. Everything was moving in the wrong direction, I was terrified. I knew it was the right work for the right property, but I couldn’t see past the finances.
My advice here is to remember that unless you are looking to sell, the value of your house at a particular point in time isn’t important. We all know how quickly this market moves, as long as you can sit out a dip and it is the right home for you then, while it doesn’t feel nice, it doesn’t necessarily matter.
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