Do people but houses for status?

[mids2019]

I have family in a large city who had a really nice detached Edwardian house in a really good area (well known), 4 bedrooms, good schools etc

Now they have moved to a larger property in a very desirable part of the area (again very known and peppered with 5M+ properties) and it seems they have just moved to get the postcode and a little more room not that it was needed. I think they are more than happy to tell anyone of the area they now live in and I think they want to project a face of 'we have made it life ' with the purchase.

Just curious do people but honestly with pragmatism in mind, enough bedrooms, garden, good schools, low crime rates etc. or is there a point where it's all about the status?

(obviously the aristocracy have done this for centuries but is this a bit more universal?)

@RosesAndHellebores

Thats really interesting especially amition maybe spurred from poverty. I am just fascinated how it is socially acceptable to display wealth in some ways and not others I guess.

I think in this particular case there may have been a life ambition to get an address such as theirs. There probably was family money involved along while line but of course people don't openly admit to this

I think you should arrange a meeting with Prince Andrew @mids2019.

I think if people focused on their own lot rather than the lot of others they would generally be far happier. Comparison is the thief of joy.

A house is an investment as much as it is a home.

Far too many people forget that if you don't have other investments then to get the best possible return you do need to keep flipping your house & buying in the best areas you can afford is one way to do this.

You say ‘I think they are more than happy to tell anyone of the area they now live in and I think they want to project a face of 'we have made it life ' with the purchase.’

It’s your perception of what they may, or may not, be actually doing.

It doesn’t seem odd to me that anyone would want to live in a nice house in a nice area. Certainly doesn’t need an analysis on the motivation behind this.

I just want to know what an "Arts and Crafts style" house is. I'm imaging lots of glitter, googly eyes and sticky back plastic.

We are probably similar to some extent. We had a beautiful house that we had renovated extensively, it was adequate. But we also got to the point where we had all but paid off the mortgage. We toyed briefly with the idea of a second home, but ultimately opted for a larger house round the corner in a slightly more prestigious road. Nothing wrong with where we were, but we had the means to move and so we did. It’s a better long term investment as it will always be worth relatively more than our old house.

Maybe they’re moving on up because that’s the best investment they can make if they have spare cash.

😂

This kind of style. Absolutely beautiful

It depends on the person. People place different values on things. For some, having the latest model of a particular make of car is important. For others it’s just not something that matters to them. If you looked at their cars side by side you might assume that the person with the newer car is more wealthy/successful. It’s often not the case.

You could have neighbours living side by side in very similar homes and one could be mortgaged to the eyeballs while the other owns their house free and clear.

When l got my compensation payout ( nearly 4 million) first thing l did was look for a new house in the best part of my city.. l also wanted a bungalow.
Of course l wanted the best.. but the best for ME! Not to show off or think I'm better than anyone else.
I wanted to be comfortable.. in a smaller village outside of the city... which is beautiful.( Just round corner from Jane Mcdonald ).
I wanted four bedrooms so l could have relatives/ Grandkids/ friends to stay..
I then bought my both my daughters an house each.. one bought the one they were renting .. other bought a new one.. nothing that expensive but what they wanted ..
I'm looking at planning permission now to have an extension for an indoor pool.
Not to show off.. but to aid my disabilities ( physically and mentally)..

I love the national trust and you can see how people built stately homes over many decades to project position in society. The Royal Family would be the ultimate example.

Houses have and will continue to be used as status symbols to project success and in some cases power. I suppose house prices rise because of demand and also there is also going be a contiunous appetite for houses in the right locations.

I quite appreciate the answers on this because people are open and honest about the reasons for getting better homes.

One thing I would question though is buying a home as an investment as it is an illiquid asset and hard (though not impossible) to gift with complete confidence to avoid IHT.

Of course people do! I'm sure cavemen and women also took pride in having a bigger cave with a nicer view (or whatever constitutes a better cave location)!
My husband was adamant that we had to buy 'up the hill' in our London suburb. At first i didn't understand as it was further from the tube and amenities, but he was determined. Of course 'up the hill' was also considerably more expensive. And sure to him it meant he had 'made it'. He didn't boast about it, but I'm sure he had some inner satisfaction saying we lived in X Close 'in the village' (as opposed to 'down in the town'). And why not? He earned the money needed to pay for it.

I know someone who got a lovely detached big house on a private road. She constantly panics if there's a random car on the road and is petrified of getting robbed 😂hilarious, wouldn't want to live like that. Cannot relax at home.
Also know someone who has wealth and lives basic, you wouldn't look twice etc but lives in an decent area for his needs. His investments are elsewhere rather than property. He's very happy with his life actually. And he doesn't have fear he'll get robbed and is retired under 40. Image isn't important to him but is to her - perhaps its upbringing and not significant understanding when it comes to investing (although you'd think with money to buy said houses they'd have advisors).
Or maybe they just love a big house.

Yes people definitely do this. Not us I have to say, given that I don’t believe in crippling us financially. But I’m from an area where the status symbol is a 4 bed new build detached house and an SUV.

@mondaytosunday this sounds like my teenage years haha with kids living in Wimbledon or Wimbledon Village 🤣 we did have some who came from Surrey though.

LOL. Google William Morris.

I feel like we have one of the best houses on our street, (at least in our price range) but you can't tell from the front. We're on a hill and the entrance to the house is hidden behind a wall. I love how nondescript it looks as people walk past.

I'm not much of a show off but.i do enjoy owning nice things.

Interesting question. We've just moved to a beautiful, very old and bigger house than, strictly speaking - as a couple, we need. However we can now have (multiple) friends to stay and, as we both work from home, it seems right that we have enough space to have an office each. We're of an age that we've both worked all our lives and feel like at last we want to have something to show for it. It also reflects that I've lost both of my parents and inherited a bit from them so they've contributed as well. It feels like a gift from them, IYSWIM. We've bought it together and plan to get married eventually so that's a big factor. It's our home. I've waited so long I feel like I've earned it. OK, one day when we're a lot older we might downsize but for now, I plan to fully enjoy having all this space!

Some people do , it’s life style creep. The more they earn the more they spend. I think it’s the reason some people ( not all) found themselves in difficulty when the interest rates and cost of living increased.

I think it's not common around here in London - people buy the house they can afford with enough bedrooms for their needs, and most people can't go much beyond that in their budget. People are much more relaxed about buying ex-council properties, or non-period homes, ot leasehold properties as the house prices are so high that very few people can afford a classic large detached property.

There is probably more status in the area - being able to afford a family home in zone 1 or even zone 2 is a huge signifier of wealth, even if the property is actually a flat and not necessarily more expensive than a large house in zone 6. But for most people that's more of a desire to have a good work-life balance to avoid a long commute and be in easy reach of amenities and perhaps a car-free lifestyle, so it's less about status and more about the practical aspects of London living.

Or their parents or grandparents have. Trust fund children spend spend spend.
No values, no soul. Divorce pending

Of course they do.

I think if you live pshycology, you should think of why you’re behaving as you are, judgemental, negative, making assumptions on them, all clearly far from the truth, they may love their new home, but you only want to think it’s all about show.

tney don’t need to continue to live in their defined by you adequate house. They can live in the best they can afford.

this thread isn’t about them. It’s about you and your negative envious judgemental emotional response to the move. That’s what I’d psycho analyse.

There's a cottagey feel and a lot of stained glass, interesting windows, oak and inglenooks.

I love the house as much as I love the Pre-Raphaelites of which William Morris became a part. Jane Morris posed for many Rossetti paintings, most notably Prosperine. The house lends itself to rich colours and fabrics.

We didn't know when we bought it but one of the most famous Pre-Raphaelite paintings used the river in our "village" as a prop and inspiration. Look up Ophelia by Holman Hunt.

I think some people do. Like another poster said, lifestyle creep. It's just debt and debt and debt, from house to car to decor.

Other people just buy what they can afford, and it's an investment. We have a very big house, and we knew we wouldn't be staying in the UK. It's a doer upper; 5 beds, two baths and a toilet, land, etc. But it's not glitzy and perfect, it's just ours. We're moving to Norway (have a house there, inherited by DH) in a couple of years. We're still not sure if we want to sell the UK one or keep it to come home to. But it's a huge investment too, and we flat out own it now so we'll have to seriously think.

But it really does depend. I can't blame anyone for wanting better? But I do know a couple of people struggling from lifestyle creep and the house has been a huge part of it.

But judging people for it isn't fair. Who doesn't want a nice home? I wouldn't do it if I couldn't afford it, personally, but I grew up very working class and could I see the draw before I could afford it? Absolutely. I just didn't do it.