AIBU to be gutted my house has lost me money?

Our head office in Paddington was mothballed during COVID everyone worked from home. In 2022 it was sold to developers who turned it into flats. I wonder how many times that has been repeated across the city.

The other thing impacting flats, in London and in mamy large cities / towns, is the sheer number that are built every year. There is a lot of supply, which definitely supresses price increases. On the other hand, because of location, ease of maintenance, the lock up and leave nature of them, there are times in my life when they have been the right solution.

I guess it’s location dependent it would be very unusual for any property bought in 2017 to have kept up with inflation. Definitely in places I have lived/bought/sold they wouldn’t have.

Nationwide have a House Price Index that I use sometimes for work - it would be more useful for you to look at that.

Think yourself lucky.
I bought a flat in West London in 1988 for £65k. Sold it in 1995 for £38.5k. That drop was pretty typical over that period. I knew people who couldn't afford the interest rates so just handed their property back.
Property prices rise over the long term, but short/medium term they may not.

You've had a (presumably) comfortable and secure place to live in over the last eight years. That's actually what a house is for.

I think your expectations are off why would it have made £200k, that's a huge increase in value in just 7 years. What matters is what capital you have to purchase your next property and whether that is affordable, expecting your house to make you money when markets are unpredictable is not the best bet imo.

It is low wages. The houses are too expensive relative to average person income - well at least in London.

Brexit killing the housing market

Bought after decade saving - 2007 height of market three bed house we'd though we'd be in till kids left home.

Despite paying for a full structural survey house which said little other than to suggest further surveys was a money pit and we listend to family who advised fix rate as long as possible as interest rates were low and could only go up - they fell and stayed low.

Upshot we ended up doing practically everything - mostly behind the scenes left us broke and struggling for money for years - re-wiring windows,doors, bathroom and often not though choice but necessity. We were on market for a year - sold for 7 thousand under what we paid - after 7 years off paying off a mortgage were lucky to get out with inital deposit we put in.

Upside didn't have to move at whim of landlord with associated costs. So had secuirty of housing - downside if we'd not fixed for so long could have moved sooner and avoided DH working away in week for years.

Don't think we'd have been better of renting - despite mortage payments for many years being slightly higher or about same.

Anyway moved - borrowed more but interest rates were so much lower - over paid and decade later substanial overpayment and a resonable amount left - and till covid better off every month. This area went up slower than previous are but now housing more expensive.

So still "won" in end I suppose though housing costs are just stupid.

There no point in buying a starter home, paying stamp duty and then buying another place and pay stamp duty.

yes this is what younger family & colleagues have done. Makes sense particularly if you are thinking of having dc sooner rather than later.

London is one of the few places in the country where you see that sort of stuff though. Maybe in city centres as well of historic cities like Oxford and York.

Round my way there are newish build flats that still haven't recovered their 2005 purchase cost. They went down in the crash of 2007-2010 and have never recovered.

Just be glad you haven't actually lost any money. Property is no longer what it was, but I can pretty much guarantee there are a lot of people around in worse positions than you.

Many first time buyer are aiming to buy houses than flats due expenses such as stamp duty etc. There no point in buying a starter home, paying stamp duty and then buying another place and pay stamp duty.

You haven't lost money, and thinking you have can only make you miserable.
You have lived rent-free for 8 years in a lovely flat in a nice part of London, which is worth a lot. If you'd invested the money when you inherited instead of buying, you'd have had a better return before tax at least, but would also have paid a fortune in rent. Buying was a sensible move.

Flat generally don't hold much value in the sense most flat in London have peaked in price and will only make modest increases in the future.

So you feel you should have lived for free? Lost £200k?!

It’s people like you who are the reason many people can’t even buy a property, as you strive to see it as investment rather than a home.

No sympathy at all.

Yeah I think it's harder to see huge increases in value with leasehold properties because of the "length of lease " issues and also the service charge issues. It does factor in people's decision making

What did you do with the money you saved by not paying rent? If you add that up it's worth heaps and could have been invested (or alternatively I guess was invested in having a better lifestyle, which is totally reasonable too)

That is really odd especially since you say you are in London. Is the house really really old? That might be the reason it hasn’t appreciated much.

Things have changed

So if you had rented for the eight years since 2017, you'd have paid at least £1500 pcm in rent. £18k per annum x 8 years: £145,000. Instead, you could and should have been saving that money and accruing compound interest. At 3% you would have £164,863 now. Your £200k might have lost 25% over the last 10 days with the stock market crash. If your rent would have been higher, you would have much more saved.

Property is a home first and foremost. The ludicrous increases of the last 40 years ha e been a blip. Looked at over time property has never been a spectacular investment. It's cyclical and you bought at the top.

I don’t think using an inflation calculator is a very helpful way of looking at it. My house was bought for £285k in 2006. According to the inflation calculator thst amount is now worth £485k but my house is valued at £400k. So by your rationale does this mean I have lost at least £85k? Well, that’s certainly one way of looking at it I suppose. The other is that my property is now worth £125k more than I paid for it.

That is really odd especially since you say you are in London. Is the house really really old? That might be the reason it hasn’t appreciated much.

We bought a 17 year old house it 2019 at £490K and valued last month at £620K, not in London though. But can’t imagine how yours has not appreciated at all. Didn’t you notice each time you re-mortgaged that it is not appreciating in value?

Flats don't hold their value like houses do. You have not lost you just haven't gained as you would have liked to. You must have known a flat often doesn't hold its value.

but they have been paying rent at half value.

If you paid 200k cash from an inheritance then it hasnt cost you anything. Even if you sell it for the same price you paid for it you've still gained financially, just not as much as you would have done if the housing market was different. You haven't lost money, you just haven't gained as much as you'd hoped.

Before I was married my husband bought an apartment when he was in his mid 20s through co-owner ship as his starter home. He bought it for £210, 000 and when he sold it in 2016 (because we had our first child and wanted a garden) it went for £105,000 as it lost £100, 000 in value on the housing crash around 2007 and never went up. So a nightmare basically. He had been paying a mortgage for nearly 10 years(& rent to co-owner ship ) and we still had to pay thousands to the bank in negative equity. So basically I know it's disappointing OP & your feelings are valid but it could be alot worse.