Hello,Not a consulting question but I thought a topic that the clever brains on this forum might have some thoughts on. I'm thinking of buying a house/flat in London. I'm a first time buyer so a bit anxious about getting it right. After a lot of saving and arm twisting, the budget's about £300k/£325k. Thinking Highbury & Islington, for the simple reason that I've rented in the area for some years and know it well. Thinking a flat carved out of a victorian house, hopefully a box size garden or patio and at a stretch 2 rooms. My question is, has the market bottomed out? I still think there's a lot of imbalances and it's going to fall further (just look at the ratio salaries:savings:average price). Then there are the upcoming CGT changes and a whole load of other reasons not to buy. But a lot of these issues might be like this for years to come and I'm just wasting money on rent...Does anyone have any thoughts?Thanks

Good question. Don't have any answers but I'm keen on reading from someone who knows about the UK RE market.

What complete toshHouse prices are now at their most affordable in almost a decade:http://propertytalklive.co.uk/latest-news/64-house-prices/3198-house-price-fall-sees-affordability-at-7-year-highHouse prices are up 15% YoY in Islington, so you need to catch that ship fast. Don't believe me? Pop your postcode in here:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/uk_house_prices/html/au.stm#table

There's a way to go yet (downwards). Once rates revert to normality there'll be a shakeout. Just take a look at the graph on housepricecrash.co.ukThat being said, if you can secure a ten-year fixed deal it could be worth buying now. All depends on the assumptions, of course...Personally, if I were an FTB now, I'd sit tight...