House prices

[timwilky]

Originally Posted by kwak zzr

its in yesterdays News of the World about a harrods dolls house with a £35,000 price tag! and to compare a house in Accrington up for sale for the same price! so do you buy your child a dolls house or a real house for the same price?

But who would want a house in Accy


One serious problem round here is the difficulty in gaining planning permission for new builds as Lancs planning seem to want to encourage east Lancs redevelopment. Still it keeps them Dingles in their place, we would not want them leaving and polluting the gene pool

[Biker Biggles]

Thought Id dig this thread up just to show how much things can change in just a few months.Supply and demand?Still plenty of demand,just no money so prices are dropping accordingly.

Upon reflection, my bank (who I walked into 3 years ago and borrowed 10 (yes TEN) times my salary - at the time) have decided to review their practices, and now limit it to a "standard" multiple of 4 (at the most) for new/re mortgages.

That taught them.

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

Thought Id dig this thread up just to show how much things can change in just a few months.Supply and demand?Still plenty of demand,just no money so prices are dropping accordingly.

Yup I talked my bank losely about a mortage it is still expensive and you need quite a big deposit now. Also they take whatever you loans for total mortage you can take out.

Hopefully the market will carry on to drop and mortages will be a bit easier next year.

5000 on the waiting list at the Housing Association here. It's crazy

I am saving up a deposit and biding my time whilst house prices are slowly falling, ready to jump in when they are lowest. Sad thing is, its a house deposit or a Falco, and I know which my heart wants!

[Lissa]

When I moved into this street ten years ago the houses were going for around 35k. Now they are 135k.............and we're talking small Victorian terrace with no front garden, very little back garden and no garage.

I'm lucky. I rent mine for way less than most people have to pay on a mortgage. I may have been waiting 5 years for a new bathroom and kitchen and two years to have a hole in my ceiling fixed, but that's a small price to pay for the security of knowing I can stay here for the rest of my life if I so wish without fear of having my home repossessed if I can't pay the mortgage.

[G]

I'm only fortunate enough to have my own house as I bought with my girlfriend and we both bring home a reasonable wage......otherwise it would be impossible.

We bought at the right time when prices wernt stupid and we got a 4.5% fixed rate morgage for 5 years.....our friend who have bought 2 years after us are on 6% fixed rate morgages for only 2 years and pay twice as much on repayments.

Its hard starting out but you make it work.....I always thought it would be the end of my life as I knew it and I would never have any money, but it doesnt work like that you just make it work.

Originally Posted by Warthog

"If you want to buy an average-priced house in Oxford, you need to earn at least £78,000 a year to get a typical mortgage."

It is tough to get on the housing ladder these days - I only did myself at c. 30, and that was with 2 decent incomes, a chunk of the costs on credit and a steeply priced 100% mortgage! (not actually a recommended approach btw, especially in current climes!)

That said, you can find stuff more reasonably priced, it just might not be exactly what you want.

The figure of £78K salary is for an 'average' house, and let's face it first time buyers (esp singles or couple without kids) don't actually need a 3 bed semi, or whatever the 'average' sized house is.

And what about somewhere slightly out of Oxford/London? Prices tend to go down if you're prepared to travel/compromise a bit - that's why I now live in Woking, and have been living in a fixer-upper with dodgy carpets and an orange bathroom suite for the last 3 years.

As an example you can pick up a decent 1 bed flat in a reasonable area of Woking for c. £150K, and if you don't mind doing some DIY or compromising a bit more on area then you can get stuff for even cheaper.

I appreciate that £150K still isn't within reach of everyone, but am just making the point that if you adjust your expectations you often can get that first step onto the ladder, and then hopefully later move on from there.

In your favour too is the fact that prices are currently undergoing some readjustment, so are likely to become at least a bit more affordable in the next year or two.

Originally Posted by gettin2dizzy

The 80s crash was fuelled by fear of unemployment. Sadly I think we're going to turn like europe: where you have these super-landloards who sit hoggin all the property and make money out of everyone else.

I have to disagree. The problem in the housing market of the 80's was that easy credit was running away almost uncontrollably. Demand for property was high and many lenders rode the crest of the wave and offered out maximum mortgages,i.e 100%. Ok for helping those with apparent ability to pay a mortgage but no savings to hand. But once the market slows down again and the odd drop in house values rears it's head, you get major panic as many have a higher mortgage than the value of their home.

To control the above their was a deliberate attempt to reel things in by using the most vicious tool of all.....hiking of interest rates. Then even those that previously could afford their mortgage repayments with ease, were suddenly struggling. (Yes interst hikes have a knock on affect right across the economy and true it can place jobs at risk.)

Peaks and troughs in the property market are as sure as death and taxes. It is a cycle that throughout history as been repeated. It only really hurts badly if what is taking place at a given time has a negative affect or does not suit your immediate plans. Sometimes one just has to grin and bare it as you wait for it to swing back in your favour, which it will in time.

Hope that gives some encouragement.