To wonder how the next generation will afford a house?

[Housepricewoes]

DH and I want to move to what will hopefully be our family home, in 2 years. Work commitments means we can't do it sooner but I'm stressing about how much house prices might rise in that time.

That got me thinking about how today's children will ever be able to buy a home.

I know it's a very British thing to aspire to home ownership but rightly or wrongly it is the norm.

Many of my friends and extended family have only been able to get on the property ladder with a significant hand out from the bank of mum and dad, but unless their circumstances drastically change, they are not going to be in a position to do the same for their children.

What do you think will happen about houses with the next generation?

My patents have made hundreds of thousands on property and own two rentals, one inherited and have no idea how hard it is now (in London)

And no, they won't help me ! Because I shud be able to do it myself on a good salary

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27123966

It's ok, they can just end up living in places like these...

I get you are not blaming me personally but I guess you are seeing people like me as partly to blame.

And you are right, I can't argue with that.

My question though is this: are there people on here who could afford to buy a second property as an investment but have decided not to, specifically because they don't want to push up house prices for others? They sound wonderful.

Reality is that we all do our best for our families. I've worked hard over the years and saved and saved (and yes, I am lucky in that when I first bought it was pre-crash) and when I get some extra cash, yes, I want to invest that and see if I can make more, for my kids, mainly. I'm not going to feel bad about that! As it happened, I didn't make that much. You win some, you lose some.

About London: NOT immigrant bashing.

37% of the population of London were not born in the UK and that's just those who filled in the census forms. The high transient population means there is less demand for permanent good quality housing and people will be prepared to pay more for less, share homes and live in a smaller space. This demand has added to the competition for jobs, driven wages down and pushed out anyone who has higher housing needs/expectations. Anyone self-employed needs to earn about 20-30 per hour to cover their tax and expenses and give them a living wage. The sub-contracted labour covered by immigrants slashes this by at least half while keeping rental demand and prices high.

I believe this is one of the key components of the London house price problem. Added to that at the top end we have the huge properties of Notting Hill and the like being turned into empty mansions where they used to be bedsits, or care homes, or flats.

And now we've got Google and a bunch of young tech-preneurs invading Kings Cross and living some kind of hot-desking existence where they probably sleep under their desks or on trains because they live to work and don't care what price they pay to do so. Residents with families can't compete with this.

Elsewhere in the country the balance between wages and house prices is more equitable. Once the silly inherited money from London is used up things might stabilise out there once and for all.

ballsed - I feel your pain. We're clearly not working hard enough.

I could afford another property to rent out. I would never do it in a million years.

It isn't just London that has sky high house prices. There are pockets of areas around the country in which prices are 10 x average salaries. £260,000 where I live (in the North East) wouldn't get you anything special.

Why not Grennie?

My question though is this: are there people on here who could afford to buy a second property as an investment but have decided not to, specifically because they don't want to push up house prices for others

I'm not being funny dilys but this thread wasn't about people who can afford to buy 2 houses and the choices they make- it was about people who can barely afford 1 now and how their children will ever afford anything.

A typical salary in my area is about £15,000 (some much lower, some higher though they tend to commute out of area). A typical three-bed house is at least £140,000. Under the old salary multiplier rules, a couple could just about get a mortgage but a single person on that salary would not. Under the new rules, a couple on that salary each would not be able to buy at all unless they were childless and debt-free (in which case they probably wouldn't be going for a three-bed in the first place).

horsetowater - I think amateur buy to lets have pushed up house prices and helped create an insecure rental market for tenants. I want no part of it.

Angelos there are always pockets, but most people don't expect to live anywhere, just a normal home where they can get work and have a decent lifestyle.

Grennie surely you would alleviate the housing situation by renting out a property at a fair rent and decent conditions? You could really be helping someone out and undercut the greedy landlords and put them to shame (a little, perhaps).

Houseprice - yes I have gone off piste, fair enough. Will belt up.

I've just seen on Fb that a friends 22 year old daughter is buying a house of her own. She's not a graduate, she does a long commute and she's saved her going out money for two years. Her parents are not in a position to help her financially.

I bought when i was 20 while the interest rates were horrifically high and turbulent. Todays generation have higher house prices but far lower and much more stable interest rates.

My father in law on an above average salary could afford an above average house (5 bed detached in an affluent suburb) on one salary, and raise 3 kids with my SAHM mother in law, 20 years ago.

My husband and I now both have above average salaries (my husband now way above) and can only afford a 2 bed terrace in the same suburb. I consider myself lucky to afford ANYTHING but if people like us buy up the 2 bed terraces, what is left for families on average or low wages?? High house prices help no one but the people who were lucky enough to be born 50 years ago. The pressure continues to build down towards the lowest rung of the property ladder. This cannot be good for our society!

Marcus, I would rather pay an interest rate of 13% on a 100k house than 5% on a 300k house.

20 years ago my DH and I each earned £15,000 and easily afforded a house for £80,000 with a £75,000 mortgage.

The same house would now cost £280,000 but our salaries now would only be £25,000 each. So even on a 3x multiplier mortgage we would only be able to borrow £150,000. Even with a £30,000 deposit (!) this would only be enough for a 1 bed flat, with very little chance of ever moving up the ladder due to stagnating salaries.

I agree Apatite, my dh is a higher rate tax payer and we are buying our first house now. It is an ex-local authority house, which was bought for 8k in the 1980s. All of these houses are now owned by doctors and solicitors and other professionals.

frankie5, that's a great example which shows well the difference in today's situation.

Thank you Chaz et al for suggestions - I am looking into shared ownership locally - though think there are only 1 bed flats left on the new estate here. Plenty of larger full price family homes struggling to sell however.

Maria: the local person who chooses not to trust some other for their care

I'm not sure it is a matter of choice not to trust, or a logical and understandable conclusion that can be drawn from time to time. Would you always, without question, trust the service that put your unborn disabled child's life in danger, as well a catalogue of other failings, including being left on major transquilisers for 12 years, when it is recommended for use up to 6 months maximum?

Would you trust a service where it was commented by an independent social worker with over 40 years experience, brought in as part of the an official investigation, to be the worst ward she had ever visited? Would you unquestionably then have trusted the children's service of the same authority, who interestingly were later deemed to be inadequate in their care of families with children with disabilities? Would you then continue to trust the adult services 100% all the time, whose funding has been slashed and the community team reduced from 14 to 4 members of staff?

There are no other members in my family who could fill my gap btw. I also forgot to mention my elderly parents who already provide a lot of care, so when they go, it really is just me.

I am also not sure how long it would take me/dp to find new jobs in an area we have no local connection with. I'm assuming we'd need to have firm and permanent contracts on the table before being offered a mortgage. (Is it not the norm to be given 3 month trial in paye jobs?). Although willing to give it a go, I am sure there could be an alternative which would provide an equal, if not better outcome.

Imo Wanting your own modest house is not some kind of weird obsession. It is a basic need and it is actually more a need if you are poor.
Easy to say 'i don't need possesions'. If you have good jobs, money in the bank, rich parents and rich friends, good network with lawyers, agents etc, yes you can be happy renting and pretending to be hippy, bohemian, free spirit. Thats because if you walk into an estate agent they will welcome you and treat you with respect. You can choose which bohemian noting hill flat you want to rent. You can pay 2K for a removal company so you don't have to pack and unpack.you can afford the local stores. Etc etc

Lets see how the renting experience for a poor family will be:
The letting agents look you down.
The landlord doesnt want housing benefit.
You cant afford a removal company.
You dont have deposit.

Of course you want to own a house, nothing weird about it!

Renting is like any other experience. Easier if you are rich. Shit if you are poor.

well said laquiter

The banks benefit from high house prices, as the more they lend you, the more you have to pay back. The more the government intervenes with schemes like help to buy, the more the banks will lend, as their risk is lowered. The banks can't lose. If you can't afford to pay, they'll take the house back.