Is now a good time to buy?

Although 51% of people don’t think that now is a good time to buy property, the surprising finding of the first quarterly Property Tracker survey by the Building Societies Association (BSA) is that 27% of people agreed to some extent that now is a good time to buy property in the UK.

This clearly shows the sharp division within the population, and despite the doom and gloom of many commentators, it shows that there remains a cadre of people out there willing to buy.

The survey will also track which factors are currently considered to be the greatest barriers to house purchase.

The most significant impediment to property purchase was considered to be affording the monthly mortgage payment, chosen by 70% of respondents.

Three other factors were seen as important barriers, but to a lesser extent than the monthly mortgage payment. The other barriers were getting access to a large enough mortgage or a mortgage at all (49% of respondents), raising a deposit (47%), and concerns about future falls in property prices (46%). However, just 12% considered lack of job security a barrier to buying a property at the moment.

Unsurprisingly, those that thought that it was not a good time to buy property at the moment tended to be more concerned about future falls in prices. Of those that disagreed strongly or tended to disagree that now was a good time to buy property, 59% cited the possibility of future falls in prices as a barrier to purchasing at the moment. Just 30% of those that agreed to some extent that now was a good time to buy thought this risk was a barrier.

Commenting on the findings, Adrian Coles, Director General of the BSA said: “People often view property buyers as a single group. However, the Property Tracker survey shows that is not the case, and while most people don’t believe now is a good time to buy, more than one in four people believe the opposite.

“The finding that monthly mortgage payments are currently seen as the main barrier to house purchase demonstrates the extent to which household finances are being stretched, as well as a reflection of the increased price of risk now incorporated into mortgage rates.

“A significant proportion of respondents said that expected future falls in property prices are a reason not to buy. However, the fact that a lack of job security was relatively unimportant in preventing property purchase suggests that concerns about the wider economy are not currently undermining the housing market.

”With this new quarterly survey, the BSA should be able to track how the perceived barriers to property purchase change over coming quarters.”