Hi Da Man
Like you – I am an Aussie living in London and watching how the real estate is going in Sydney. I already own a property in Sydney and in the past 5.5 years I have been away, have seen it grow dramatically. So much so in fact I demolished the old home and built new which means I will be returning to a lovely home built with overseas funds. Great earning sterling. In fact, I would encourage young people to work in the UK, save as much as you can and return to Oz with a nice healty deposit all thanks to the positive exchange rate. However, I digress. I have been watching the property market and prices are stabilising if not coming down. I have noticed this over the last couple of months in particular. I fear people who have gone in over their heads are about to feel the pinch as the mortgage rates creep ever so slightly up and up. No, I don’t believe the rates will ever reach the heady heights of the late ’80’s, the Government has too much to lose to let that happen again (any Government) but it will put the brakes on people for a bit as they ‘regroup’ and pay back some of the high mortgages taken out to own 2 or more properties. This, da man…give people like you and I an opportunity. We can offer ready cash as a hefty deposit and not extend ourselves too much and still end up with a nice property which will continue to grow in the next 5-10 years. If nothing else, we may have to do this to help our children who are going to find it almost impossible without taking out mortgages of $300K or similar! Wait another 3 months, I think it will then be time to make a move.
Chris