Housing Market... THe Future?

[Skii]

No worries, I just couldn't think of a sarcier reply.

Do what I did and find a messed up old home and do it up. Or buy at auction, that seems to be a money making area but haven't tried it. But then again that's moving in even more on other peoples misery who have gone bankrupt or whatever.

It's all a bit harsh but after uni I didn't want to work in a lab and it was just good timing.

I'm not mega rich yet or anything, still owe my loans and other things but I thought I'd jump on a seemingly good bandwagon. And it is quite satisfying to see the work you have done to transform a property into something nice. (I spend my days doing lots and lots of painting decorating and other jobs)

And fair play to you for that. I don't resent people for doing well and taking the risk to do it, and you've done just that - I just hate to see what all this has done to the market and to the prospect of the next generation of people having their own place to live.

[Barakka]

Seeing as I fit into the category of "First time buyer - waiting to complete" this is a scary conversation. I don't think (hope) there will not be a crash, the government is doing everything it can to avoid it after all. I think as some have said, that it will just slow right down, it will go back to how it was 10 years ago, that solo first time buyers bought a 1/2 bed flat rather than a 3 bed semi.

[Grey M@a]

I am at that point where I am wanting to move out, being 23 and my wage of £16500 prices for houses have gone through the roof up north (newcastle area) If I rented I would be looking at roughly £500 a month, now if I bought a house my mortgage repayments would be in the region of £350 a month, you can see which is cheaper, problem is due to my wage and a mortgage only being that of 5 times your wage I can't afford to buy and if I rented it would leave me with a grand total of £100 a month to live on including the payment of bills as I am currently paying out for a new car etc.

Hope the house prices do level off or drop then maybe I might be able to get my own digs for a change.

[Clingy]

Smug 47 year old with valuable house and booger all mortgage, but so what! No intention of moving. All this is totally wrong, and it's all down to supply and demand. All the time we hold back on building the prices will rise. Instigate a massive building programme and prices will fall. There are a number of regulations that should be adopted to "encourage" more building of started homes, including shorter deadlines on planning permission and linking larger commercial and industrial development with residential. Whats the point in creating Jobs if the employees have no where to live. But, I guess, no votes in these policies!

BTW on a slightly related topic, anyone heard of "Gummer's Law" in relation to planning consent?

[Rave]

I have heard that thee are close to 700,000 unoccupied properties in this country in need of refurbishment, yet nothing is done with them because Gordon Brown refuses to knock VAT off refurbishments, while new build is currently tax free. If that's true, it's entirley insane.

Clingy is right, what's the point of creating new jobs and expanding the economy if the immigrant workers that we then require just add to the housing problem? I for one am entirely in favour of economic migration in principle, but in practice if those immigrants are helping to price me out of the housing market then I'm in a quandary.

Rich :¬)

[Jiff Lemon]

Houses i'm looking at just north of Slough cost £160K, i'm lucky enough to be on 30K a year, but we're talking that really maximum i can get on mortgage is around £130K (just over 4* salary) which is not too bad, (standard is to loan no more than 3.5* single salary as a rule)

Well, having not long finished supporting a major bank, I can tell you that on more than one occasion I've been told that some people are taking 5x and 6x mortgages .

Maybe it's because I'm a northerner, but something is worth what someone is prepared to pay, and for 1/4 of a million pounds, I'm expecting drawbridges over moats and turrets, not a 3 bedroomed semi in Milton Keynes. I'd happily buy the house I'm renting at the mo, but not for it's current estimated market value (160k). Yes, It's dead money, but at the end of the day, I can walk away with a months notice.

[Rave]

My bank actually seem pretty keen to give me a 5x or 6x mortgage, they keep mentioning it when I speak to a 'personal banker'!. I assured them that I actually have some sense.

Rich :¬)

[Zak33]

TiG needs to know IF he should buy.

I KNOW the Mortgage compaines are offering 5 and 6 times....he's a bright lad...he wil decide if its ok to borrow that.

What he needs to decide is SHOULD he buy, or not?

I'd say the following:

Mortgages are normally 25 years. Best will in the world, you pay NO EQUITY PAID OFF in the first 3 years, and even in the first 5 you've paid less than 5% of the value.

Ready for a fact? If you buy a house and want to move within 3 years, WILL YOU START A NEW MORTGAGE FOR ANOTHER 25 YEARS?

If SO, then the ONLY REASON FOR BUYING is for the house price increase. NOT TO OWN IT cos you still owe the same.

If it goes up in value, you are "on the ladder"...if it drops "you're in negative equity"

THEREFORE, if the house market IS slowiing, and IF you cant afford the RIGHT HOME, or dont find it, then WHY BUY, when you can rent?

HOWEVER, if you find somehwere you DO LIKE (like I did) then it is 100% worth buying BECAUSE YOU WONT WANT TO MOVE ANYWAY. If your job moves, you rent it out and you can come back if you need.

Thats how I see it.

Will the market continue to rise? Oh I don't blummin well know, stop asking troublesome questions

but yes..probably.

One last thought? Do you consistantly go on hiday to a place you really like, that is a cheaper area than here?

If so, buy there. Use it for holidays and rent it out

[Clingy]

Mmmm, should he buy? If it was me then probably yes. What would be the difference between the rent you pay and the mortgage repayments? Will it make a big difference in your standard of living? Can you rent out a room?

There have been very few years when house prices have dropped and I cant see things changing. But if I knew for sure, I could make a fortune.

[Zak33]

I just hope TiG finds WHAT he wants. He's a fussy bugger

and RIGHTLY SO....a house is more luck than judgement. ANd its not until you buy one you realise what things irritate you about it. I got pretty lucky. Some things suit you well, in terms of where back doors and garages are, where power points are, ease of access etc

[TiG]

the different in rent to mortgage would be pretty huge tbh Clingy, £380 a month all inclusive compared to £770 with all the bills, council tax as well. I'm not even sure myself if i want to buy a house. The question wasn't neccessarily whether i should but much more about whether the market is going to crash or not...

TiG

[turkster]

If anything it is even worse over here. The average price of a house in Ireland at the moment is 250,000 euros .

I mean how many people can afford that? The thing I dont understand is how people do buy at that price. Obviously a lot of people can afford it otherwise no one would buy houses.

[Skii]

If anything it is even worse over here. The average price of a house in Ireland at the moment is 250,000 euros .

I mean how many people can afford that? The thing I dont understand is how people do buy at that price. Obviously a lot of people can afford it otherwise no one would buy houses.

People can afford it because they have money already invested in property, when you've got a house you bought for 60k 10 years ago now worth £150, property prices might be shooting up, but so is the value of your own property.

First time buyers ? Well thats a different story...

[turkster]

Yeah but thats assuming you sell your old house. Someone has to have the money to buy without selling another property otherwise new houses would never be built and in Ireland at the moment there are huge numbers of new houses being built.

[Auran]

From what I've read, plus discussions with my brother (government economist), the expectation is a 20% drop in house prices for the south-east London commuter belt. With smaller reductions in other areas (In some no drop).

Apparently this will have very little effect on the economy due to the size of house prices. But obviously it will have varying effects on individuals.

Me - I'm 33 and have no intention of bying a house until I settle down and get married. And for those that know me, they'll agree that it'll be a cold day in hell before that happens

[TiG]

heh 20% by when, with what causing it, more interest rates hikes, and if so when it the price expected to fall ?

DETAILS please

TiG