House prices

Most of what is taking place has happened previously,nothing very new about any of it. Patience and good timing are key to survival.

[G]

Simply put, they wont drop that much because people wont be willing to take the hit. They will just sit on it and not move unless they have to. If someone buys a £300k house they arnt going to sell it for £200k unless it gets repo'd

House in the quarry where I live are still selling, granted the prices have not gone up massively but they are still getting a good sume of money and selling reasonably quickly.

[Biker Biggles]

How much did property values collapse in Spain Pedro?Ive heard some real horror stories from the Costas going back a couple of years now.

Life is indeed tough in the property world right now without a doubt. The construction industry has been laying of men at record levels. Making it hard also is the recent hike in interest rates and banks unwilling to take on new borrowers.

There are many homes for sale but the sellers if they want to move it on have no option but to suck in the blow of granting heavy rductions on the price. In many ways that is not so bad as, if they bought before say 2003 they have ridden the boom and are sitting on a hefty profit anyway. All depends on the individuals own avarice I guess.

Last figures I saw for a month ago saw a decrease in values of around 2%.

There is an opportunity for first time buyers as well here as it will shorten the time its going to take to save for a deposit as it will be less than what would have otherwise been required. I still think if you can get a mortgage and meet the repayments then you should definately get on the ladder over the next year or two. There is no way prices are going to be lower than what they are in 20 years time.

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

It was very clear to me long before this time last year that house prices were totally unsustainable.I reckon if you strip out the hype and propaganda you can get a rough idea of just how unsustainable house prices were,and thus get a rough idea of how much they need to fall to become sustainable again.Last year I thought the drop needed was about 20%.With the economy in its current self destruct mode I think that figure needs to be revised upwards.Im thinking 30% or even more depending on what happens to the banks and unemployment.Either way my personal property barometer says there a way to go downwards yet.

That's all well and good knowing that prices are unsustainable, most people could probably see that, but it's completely meaningless if you don't when they're going to come down (or when they'll recover).

Originally Posted by TuonoGrant

There is an opportunity for first time buyers as well here as it will shorten the time its going to take to save for a deposit as it will be less than what would have otherwise been required. I still think if you can get a mortgage and meet the repayments then you should definately get on the ladder over the next year or two. There is no way prices are going to be lower than what they are in 20 years time.

Unfortunately not. You're looking at a far larger percentage needed to get a mortgage.

Truth be told; no one is hit that badly.

1. Bought house ages ago - your house is still worth more than you paid for it by a long way
2. Bought house 1-2 years ago - Your house isn't going to depreciate much at all, and if you bought a house recently- why the hell would you want to sell it so soon?!

I wish people didn't see the gains as money they've 'earnt'.

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by gettin2dizzy

I wish people didn't see the gains as money they've 'earnt'.

That was roughly my initial point - but because people see it that way, the Gov was unwilling to do anything about the situation earlier on in the rise as people would have seen it as them taking their (imaginary) money from them.

Originally Posted by SoulKiss

That was roughly my initial point - but because people see it that way, the Gov was unwilling to do anything about the situation earlier on in the rise as people would have seen it as them taking their (imaginary) money from them.

Everyone has played monopoly! No one was 'skilled' by realising buying property was a good idea!

Originally Posted by SoulKiss

...the Gov was unwilling to do anything about the situation earlier on in the rise as people would have seen it as them taking their (imaginary) money from them.

Oh I don't think so, the government seems quite happy to take our real money from us