Hi Guys,
I have been following this thread for a while now and am fascinated. I have held the opinion for some time now that a slowdown is unavoidable and will begin sooner rather than later. I cannot see drops of 40/50% by xmas that were predicted by some but I can see prices stalling for a few months before sellers panic and start to drop asking prices.
I was in the process of buying an apt myself but just pulled out last week. This was about 20% down to problems with contracts/management Company and 80% our gut feeling that prices are close to their peak. I'd also like to state that I was only buying so we could have a place to live and to avoid throwing 12k p/a into our landlords bank account, and not to make money on capital appreciation.
I am pretty good when it comes to managing finances and I work for a major bank so I would have decent knowledge of mortgage products etc, however looking back I can see that all my logic and my head telling me "do I want to pay €1500 of my salary every month to live in a shoebox of apartment with no outside space, crap build quality and a generally give up going for dinner/pints/holidays" was totally overruled by a desire just to have our own place, somewhere that is really "our home" and that we can alter/decorate/furnish just as we want it and to be forever rid of landlords bleeding magnolia paint everywhere!!
Even though everyone has called me crazy to give up on "getting on the ladder" (man I hate that saying), I feel as though a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Renting doesn’t seem so bad anymore, I may be paying out "dead money" every month but hey I live my favorite part of Dublin, we are close to all our favorite friends/pubs/restaurants/parks and 20 mins walk to work.
To all FTB's out there, everyone (i.e. parents/friends/family/colleagues) don’t have to pay your huge mortgage, live in your crappy ("1st rung on the ladder") apt, sit (or stand) on your cramped bus/train on your daily commute from the only area you could afford to buy in and they wont be with you when you are staying awake at night worrying when interest rate rises are robbing you of what little disposable income you have left.
Once you take a step back and look at things with some semblance of logic you will be able to forget about everyone else and do whats right for you and makes you happy!!
Maybe I have made one of the worst decisions of my life but only time will tell, so far I couldn’t be happier!!
BTW, that couple spending 2m on house, they're just like 1000's of others throughout UK/Ireland who watch property shows on BBC/C4 that show saps that don’t have a clue how to manage a project/budget, don’t have a clue about the market they are entering or construction and still manage to make 6 figure profits, and they think to themselves, "I’ll have some of that easy money too".