How do people in their late 30s afford £600k+ homes in the South East?

[bluntscissors]

So many people I know with jobs worse than mine have houses worth £600k+

We are in the South East so £600k+ isn’t actually a super fancy house. Of course no one talks about their finances and it would be crude to ask.

I am almost certain if you have a house worth this much then you must have had at least £300k in cash for a deposit otherwise the mortgage would be too much.

My group of friends is only late 30s/early 40s so haven’t had decades to build up equity.

Is my hunch right that they all must have been gifted 100s of grand from their parents? This seems absolutely wild but I can’t imagine another route.

If you have a house that is 600k+ tell me honestly how you managed it?

Not really though, I lived in London for ten years. It's not going to get her a mansion but it's an absolute whack of money towards a very decent flat or a house.

Oh I know. I am from London. Got priced out of even renting there though so had to come to the arse end of nowhere in the midlands!

I’m just saying it’s a different mindset with money for some, and especially if you are privileged enough that your child will get 325k and you say it won’t go far. Madness to me,

but obviously not to that poster.

It happened to me to a lesser extent. I used to see 2k a month rent for a 3 bedroom house and think that was reasonable when I lived in west London 🤣 Cannot imagine thinking that now (although, in the six years since we moved, it’s more like 3k in the area we left!)

Yeah I get that. The disparity is crazy. I hope you're happy, though?

God no, next door neighbours are drug dealers and the town is a fucking dive! The only upside is having a £500 a month mortgage.

I said upthread though, it’s all down to me and my poor life choices. If only I could turn back the clock, eh? I wouldn’t be 46 with sod all to show for it.

And you? What do YOU do?

This seems a bit rude in tone?! I know I’m not the poster but as someone who is at home looking after two children one of whom has significant needs, I’d feel pretty rubbish if someone said this to me as if sort of invalidates my contribution. I say I’m a sahm and I’m proud as me being here enables my husband to earn a lot so collectively WE earn a lot. Maybe the poster works outside the home, maybe she doesn’t but the way you asked seemed a bit mean x

Oh well. Interpret as you like dear

I'd have loved a big, fat inheritance!! Unfortunately not the case for us. We bought a cheap shitty flat and did it up, then a cheap shitty house and did it up, then a slightly less cheap but still shitty house and did it up, then bought a bigger one that needed fixing up and we live there now. We've never had a mortgage bigger than 180k and I think when we bought our current house which is now worth about 700k DH was making 60k and I was making 25 working p/t after DD (8) was born.

I really feel for the younger generation as stagnant house prices, insane cost of materials and labour and high interest rates mean that working their way up like that just doesn't seem feasible. But that's how we did it, I just turned 40.

We're saving massive, fat deposits for our kids though.

Not necessarily 100k deposit, could be 2 high salaries and a long term mortgage

I feel for the younger generation, but I think a lot of posters are thinking “we’re alright” and don’t really appreciate what will happen when there aren’t sufficient buyers at the bottom of the ladder. There will be a lot of property equity wiped out in the coming years. We have been looking recently at moving from SE to SW and some of the reductions in asking prices are staggering. There are houses that have been for sale for years unsold. In the current market there’s a huge difference between what people think their property is worth and what it would actually achieve on sale. It’s pretty sobering.

Yes there are a lot of houses near us at 700k+ that have now sat on the market for well over a year. Many have come down 200k in price and still not sold.

Today I was looking at a beautiful period property that has reduced from £1.6m to £850k over the last three years. It’s in a village I know very well and £1.6m seemed sensible, but it has just sat there unsold.

I read that as that advert for perfume “ and you, what do you do for love” in that stupid voice 😂

MY BEST, CAROL. I do my best.

🤣

My god, would you say that to her face? Perhaps she does fuck all, who cares?

"I think a lot of posters are thinking “we’re alright” and don’t really appreciate what will happen when there aren’t sufficient buyers at the bottom of the ladder."

I don't think they're thinking anything of the sort.

There will always be buyers at the bottom of the ladder ready to negotiate a good deal and, yes, it will help to anchor the whole market (as will the new mansion tax). That's no bad thing. I've been helping my own son buy his first flat in London and, with prices stagnant, it's a first time buyers' market. He has a LISA, so has a £450k upper limit, and (despite the likes of Martin Lewis arguing that it should be raised) it's been good for keeping prices down. Estate agents are telling sellers that, if they are aiming at the FTB market, they have to price realistically.

Leasehold flats have been getting a bad press for high service charges, so we've stuck to Share of Freehold properties. When the Leasehold Reform Bill eventually goes through, prices may rise but, in the meantime people are cautious about buying them, and that's at a time when many landlords are selling up due to taxes and red tape.

I completely agree, current prices aren't sustainable and there's a massive readjustment coming. We're in a village on the mainline from Cambridge to London, it's always had a fairly recession proof property market but everything 1m+ is sitting on the market with absolutely no interest whatsoever.

Yes, but it’s not just sellers aiming at FTB’s who have to be “realistic”, it’s the entire market. There are going to be a lot of older people thinking they’re sat on a large amount of equity and who will realise it has actually evaporated. As I said, we’re looking to buy at the moment and it’s astonishing seeing the price reductions - that shows the gap between seller expectations and reality.

Working in the City for us, no family gifts but might get some inheritance further down the line. Had investments etc but not loads of equity from our last place.

That's what I said. The FTB position is an anchor for the whole market. And that's good for almost everyone, with the exception of those who have bought within the last few years because they may end up selling for less than they bought. We've certainly see that on a few of the London flats we've viewed. Those who bought during Covid are worst hit.

I would if she only mentioned her husband like she was irrelevant. It’s really sad

I agree, but it’s not just those who bought around Covid time who are going to lose money. We’re seeing houses not selling at 50% of the original listing price and those kinds of reductions are wiping out 10/15 years worth of gains. So a lot of people will be selling for less than they bought.

I think we would IF we hadn’t had kids. Just by saving.

Plenty of places in the SE. It wouldn’t go far where I am either. A 2 bed max.

But if you asked me, I would only mention my husband too. He works, I don’t. So in terms of money and buying a house, it’s all on him, not me. I am irrelevant in that.

She invalidated her own contribution by mentioning only her Dh’s occupation- which is irrelevant.

who cares that her dh is a lawyer, and she is a sahm. Except her, obviously, because she felt the need to bring up her Dh’s occupation.

if occupation is relevant, which it clearly isn’t as no one else has felt the need to state their own or their partners jobs, then why not say dh is a lawyer, I’m a sahm?

i disagree with @Ethelrogers , a sahm’s contribution to a house is not irrelevant, and it’s not all on him. It’s a partnership.