House Prices

[Homebird44]

are these 4 contracts for other people?

My children are at uni. The eldest has finished and is interviewing for jobs, he pays for everything else but we pay for his phone, same with my daughter. Once they're working full time they'll be paying for them.

The fact that people still believe that poor people should not be allowed to have a good phone, one holiday a year and new clothes at least once is absolutely appalling. Are poor people supposed to never be able to take a break from poverty and have the worst things because they are born poor?

Poverty is not a choice and poor people should have the right to enjoy life too. The few hundreds that they spend on a phone or a holiday doesn't come close to what they could save when house prices went up 91% in 8 years (these are real figures in Ireland) but their salaries didn't. Why are poor people supposed to suffer in silence when they simply want to buy a roof over their head?

The fact that some people in this thread are trying to justify the greed of a few at the cost of a basic need for humanity reeks of privilege and an absolute if not total lack of empathy.

I think your idea of poor and mine are different. I can't afford a holiday every year but I can pay my bills so I'm don't consider myself poor.

 

[Lanie]

Look, we could probably cut out all the joy in our lives and save a bit more, but it’s not really going to get us to our goal any quicker in the grand scheme of things. If we cut out our once a week takeaway, we wouldn’t be that much closer to our goal in a years time than if we hadn’t. You can’t save more than you earn in a year after all. We could stop our children’s activities but then they’d be losing out on skills and experiences and I’m not going to have them miss out on normal childhood things just so we can buy a house. Maybe we should have waited to have children but life doesn’t always work out in that perfect linear way for everyone.

As other posters have shown with their experiences, It’s mental out there. You finally think you’ve got enough to go and then the goal posts move again. It gets to a point where you can either spend your life working and saving and saving and working and it’s still not enough, or have some balance and save what you can, but still allow yourself things that make you happy. Buying a house, although would be nice feels like a luxury that is out of our reach, so we may as well make the best of our circumstances and maybe one day this shit show will calm down or we will come into some money somehow.

The way things are going people are literally going to work till they die. There will be no retirement as they will still have morgages to pay and the cost of living will be so high.

I have already made my peace with the fact i will probably never retire.

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

The very vested savills now predict a 7.5% fall this year, before starting to shoot up next year. I'd double or treble their falls and no doubt they'll revise them again. To say they're biased would be huge understatement

View attachment 156115
View attachment 156116

Of course there is no free market and it's rigged so no one really knows what will happen next year.


That sounds like your average hight street estate agent talk, asking prices have been going up but that's meaningless. What they sell for and the surveyor values them at matter. I know someone that accepted an offer of 320k. The surveyor came back to say it's worth 280k, all accepted back in Feb and the chains now fallen down.

Also a common estate agent thing to say about a big supply looking to move to area X to inspire confidence. End of the day it's a sales job with a low barrier of entry.

Yep agreed completely. An increase in listing prices doesn’t indicate much more than what games estate agents fancy playing tbh.

You can’t increase the price of a house based upon a temporary increase in cost of materials, that’s obscene. We’re renovating our front room & our plasterer has told us he’s not doing work til he can buy bags of plaster at a reasonable cost, that’s what these new build firms should be doing. They’re already overpriced & a LOT of people see themselves with significant negative equity when they come to sell up, ridiculous that they’re doing this too now!

Also anyone who still sees BTL as a legit form of investment is delusional. I think it’s popular because if you have one little burst of capital (inheritances largely) to put a deposit down you can grow it without needing much cash day too day, if you can afford to invest your own money monthly the returns are so so much better with none of the agro.

 

[Yel]

Headlines are saying house prices are still surging, when actually it's the asking prices. So pretty meaningless.

Headlines today encouraging people to fill their boots as it's 5 months untill stamp duty comes to an end

 

[Boutros-Boutros Ghali]

But they likely won’t be in negative equity if they have a large deposit and a small mortgage....you’re only in negative equity if your mortgage is more than the house is worth....

 

[Diva18]

I wouldn't buy yet. I would wait but not too long. It's going to be a buyers market. I sold my house a few months after the 2008 crash. Then bought from a developer who was desperate to sell. The only reason my buyer didn't pull out was because she was a cash buyer and the crime in her area had got so bad she was desperate to move. I was lucky! It had to be the worse time to sell and buy. Some sellers will sit tight but the buy to lets will start to hit the market. Second homes and people who need to sell because their income has been badly affected because of Covid-19.

 

[idk2]

I completely understand and appreciate that you have worked hard and deserve to have your dream home but if everyone keeps making extortionate profits off house prices then younger generations will not be able to get their dream home.

Ah, gentrification. Don't we love it!?
Theres still thousands of older, poorly maintained houses on the market that go for a lot cheaper than market value for the area because the occupants are usually pensioners who have either moved in with family or nursing homes or passed away. For some reason, we have a very affluent area about 10 mins away that has the most POORLY maintained houses on the inside - I'm talking pink baths and and floral patterns everywhere (even the sofas!). The only reason I can afford to look in this area is because of gems like these houses which are poorly maintained and probably bought 70 years ago and not touched since which brings down its market value alot. I could never afford a house in that area if the house was done up to the modern day standard.

However, I will say, auctions are ruining this. These sellers are becoming so greedy by going to auctioneers so they don't have to pay ANY fees and their houses will usually always go for more than 20% of the selling price because developers love buying that shit to flip. It is a tough market for us. I'm only 23 so I know I have time but its quite disheartening.

 

[JoeBloggs]

Well you're at the mercy of the banks if you have an unexpected change of circumstances and can't make your repayments. I know someone who couldn't make her repayments after her husband's suicide and she lost the family home

Also it depends where you live, where I live it's definitely much cheaper to rent than buy. In an ideal world I'd buy and be able to make my home my own but until then there's nothing wrong with renting!

I never said there was, I think both options suit people, but sadly where I live renting is very expensive and it’s always cheaper to buy if you can get the deposit together.

I appreciate that circumstance change, but they makes no odds if you rent or buy but with buying there are more options (remortgage, payment holiday etc) which you don’t get in renting. That is an awful position for that person to be in, but that’s what such things as life insurance is for. Most policies pay out after the first 12 months for suicide.

 

[Anne1448]

3/4 bed houses that look halfway decent are going for £950k+. They've even started knocking down mansions near me to replace them with luxury flats. I've really no idea what the future will be for all of these beautiful London homes because there's certainly no surplus let alone an equal level of demand vs supply coming from our generation, for those who are lucky enough to have buying be a possibility at all.

This is the exact same situation that we are facing here in Ireland. Houses that are owned by older people are sold then demolished to be replaced by luxury homes. However because the average salary is 45k in my city no one can afford it except corporations. So you have entire parts of villages replaced by renters instead of families or locals who actually live there. It creates an entire generation of renters and the loss of a community.

I would love to buy a 3 bedroom house to finally settle down and be able to think about the future like my parents did in the 80s.

Out of my group of friends not a single person owns a home. We are all renters wether we live in Europe or Asia. My roommate (who is also my landlord) was able to buy his first house at 46 years old. Because the mortgage is for 20+ years he rented the room to pay it earlier and have a safer retirement. I can't imagine having to wait for so long to afford a home.

 

[Yel]

We were just about to move into our new build but it isn’t quite finished yet. We paid £460,000 just before lockdown. The same house is now being sold for £480,000 they’ve said it’s because building materials are now more expensive and take longer to build because of restrictions on numbers.

Maybe they're doing that old trick of asking for more because people are expecting a discount on the list price / asking price.

Lots of houses around here have come up for sale with higher asking prices than earlier in the year before this all. A mixture of delusion and wishful thinking.

 

[AladdinSane]

But has it really helped? People paying 20k more for something to "save" 5k in stamp duty. Madness.

This is exactly the conversation I've had with my partner and my parents. We currently own a small new build 3 bed which over the past year has increased in value by 30k (it really hasn't, we've only improved the garden and added some colour to the walls!!) House prices are so expensive for what we want on our next home (garage and a decent garden) that I'm refusing to even consider buying just to save on stamp duty as I don't want to rush into buying a place that I'll either A. Regret and want to move early or B. If we look to potentially move in 10 years, end up losing money on it cos we jumped to save 5k.

 

[hollowcrown]

They can and will if people keep paying the rent. There are not enough homes compared to people so it is supply and demand.

I'm SE, the couple across the road have just put their 3 bed house up for £475,000 and the new builds around the corner are going for another £100-150K!

There will be a breaking point eventually and that's when the bubble will burst.

 

[Boutros-Boutros Ghali]

I think you might get a slight drop, if someone really needs to sell their home but unless they do homeowners will just sit tight, people aren’t prepared to lose large amounts selling up unless they have to, so there’ll be a shortage of homes for sale which could push prices up.....but who knows to be honest, if you find a house you like and you can afford it and can get a mortgage then go for it and get a home you love.

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

I


Thats not what I said.

I can’t fully understand what you write, sorry, but I think your argument depends on the idea that everyone who could afford to become a landlord, would? It’s an awful asset class tbh even ignoring the human exploitation & suffering, I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole even though we could.

I thought about buying a holiday home in Ireland (we’re both second gen) that would never be rented but even that didn’t sit right due to the conditions of their housing market. Some people are capable of thinking of others.

 

[Mrs McCarthy]

@Yel you seem to be really against BTL. You do realise that BTL is the only way for an average person to invest money with a return? There was a direct correlation between banks reducing interest rates on savings accounts and the amount of BTL being purchased. What would you suggest to all these people? To not invest their money? I know plenty of old people for whom their 1-2 BTL is essentially their pension, and without it they would struggle with bills. Do they sell them to not be evil landlords and then have to go and seek help from the government in the form of benefits/housing/food banks?

 

[Yel]

https://www.archive.is/oldest/https...sh-thousands-pounds-value-homes.html#comments

So surprised

I think most of the people that wanted to move and have the finances have done so by now. So coming next year with lots of the demand pushed forward to this year will many still be moving and prices still staying high?

I can see the stamp duty holiday being extended else transitions will be very low as unless things move quickly not much time left to complete. But that's a double edge sword and will also make some people think no rush.

Even asking prices are falling (and right move index I don't think takes into account when prices are reduced - just uses the first listing value so often used to say prices are increasing, when that's asking prices)

Rightmove records first house price fall in four months

Property portal says price dipped 0.5% in the last month, despite continued strong demand

www.housingtoday.co.uk

House prices start to fall with a £1,505 drop since October from sellers

After setting new records in October, asking prices on Rightmove have started to fall, dropping £1,505 in November as sellers drop their demands in an effort to beat the stamp duty deadline

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[Boutros-Boutros Ghali]

I think it depends on the buyer, some might be able to walk in and imagine how it looks finished and be happy to pay the price but others will definitely be put off, either because they can’t imagine how it’ll look finished, because they may not like the finished room or because it may give them hassle trying to sort it out....you could always just put it on and see what happens

 

[Yel]

One of my friends works at a bank and she was telling me that the banks are planning to bring high LTV mortgages back at the end of the year. So maybe like you said just save and wait for them to come back? I really think that they would come back to support first time buyers because as much the landlords can benefit from stamp duty exemption, it doesn't help first time buyers.

The house prices are far too disproportionate to people's salaries. People's salaries up north are not that great and it is hard for people to save up a deposit as first time buyers.

Of course they want to bring back high LTV loans as it pushes up prices / keeps them high and protects their balance sheet.

The answer to high prices should not be to borrow ever more, but for prices to fall.

 

[Boutros-Boutros Ghali]

Thing is people now expect their houses to be worth that money now. I think people will just end up staying put if they can’t get the high prices of this year (unless they really have to move)
We bought out house at the end of 2019. Relocated from London to the North so we’re in a strong position financially and probably paid slightly over the odds for our house (only by a couple of grand) because we liked it, we wanted a home not an investment and we’re not moving any time soon. I wouldn’t expect it to be worth much more unless we go up into the loft. Then 2 houses on the street have come on and sold within a day for 25k over what we paid...absolute madness. It’s a nice house but definitely not worth that!

 

[idk2]

Jesus this thread... difficulties buying even with a 25% mortgage ... I can’t even fathom how you can save that much, average house prices in my area for a 25% deposit I’d need over £50k... even if I was living rent free that’s not even feasible. Would probably take me another 10 years to save. Was feeling pretty happy with the £8k I’ve got now till I read this Unless we can get a very least 80% LTV mortage or do help to buy we’re not going to be able to get onto the property ladder in the foreseeable. Both on decent £30k + wages with good credit... so unfair!

Don't be discouraged!! We only have 25% deposit because we had both come in to inheritances as well as both still live at home so don't pay any bills of any kind. Its an extremely privileged position to be in and we're still struggling due to being recent graduates on low salaries therefore not seen as "secure" by the banks! Like you, our 25% deposit is over 50k but honestly I wouldn't even have 5k to my name if I didn't inherit that money.

We've been looking steadily for about 1.5 years now and I can say getting a mortgage broker really, really boosted the amount we could borrow and who was willing to give us a mortgage. Most banks only accept two people's income but our broker found one in Ireland that accepted 3, which we wanted to ask one of our parents if they would be willing to put their income down so maybe that would help our chances, then Covid happened and that bank scrapped the deal! We hadnt really researched it either, would the third income have rights to our home? Would they need to have their name on the mortgage? etc.

I definitely think you can get on the ladder with 8k deposit on your salaries if you're on 60k combined but obviously I understand there are so many other variables to factor in such as house size, area, schools, fixer upper or no work, etc. Have you played around with any online mortgage calculators? The Barclays one on the website is exactly the same on they use in the bank! We were quoted the same amount in the bank as when we checked online.