to feel sorry for housebuyers in london central re prices

[isseywithcats]

i was watching homes under the hammer this morning and a studio flat in aldgate when done up was worth £380000 omg how do people in central london afford to buy houses or flats when what is basically a bedsit is worth that much money, i live in yorkshire and the prices round here are on average between £60000 to £100000

@bellson - sorry, didn't mean to bash the big smoke - I actually am lucky enough to live in London (zone2) and I love it. I'm just sad that international market forces (and not the needs of people who live/work in the city) are dictating housing here. I'm not convinced the international property bubble is actually adding any value to the lives of ordinary Londoners...

Well that's just silly talk happybubblebrain. Have you ever lived in London ?

I'm not convinced that international market forces have much impact on anything but very expensive properties in zones 1 and 2. I don't see wealthy emiratis clammering for 3 beds in Tooting.

Not sure Phoenix! See www.theguardian.com/business/2014/sep/10/number-1m-homes-london-rise

"In the past five years, we have seen £1m sales increasingly extend into areas such as Acton, Dalston, Herne Hill, Tooting Bec and Blackheath."

Also, apparently £5billion worth of luxury flats are being built in London right now, so many that there is a shortage of builders. However, we still have a housing crisis. Building the wrong homes for the wrong people...

Phoenix Look up the Woodberry development near Finsbury Park. Sold over 60% to Asian investors after marketing in China, typical 3 bed flat in a high-rise tower is 800k. I really think Manor house is not central London.

But then people in zone 1 and 2 move out with all their equity. So it must have a knock on effect.

FWIW BubbleBrain, I do see what you mean.

I don't agree with that take on London at all.

No. In fact I'm a little bit envious. They can rest assured their house will be worth more and more as the years go by. If they can afford to buy in central London they must be quite well off.

Ooh Cods, our DHs work in the same place. So like you we can't move, there is no way DH can transfer as his skills are so specialised.

It's bizarre to say but we couldn't afford our house 4 years later and we're on much better salaries now. I recently remortgaged and went with a conservative estimate that still gave us a silly LTV rate. The bank came back and increased the 'value' of our house. The mortgage company came back to me and said that's practically unheard of.

We have gone from having 85% LTV to 60% in 4 years. Yes I've made some over payments but not that much! And the mortgage payments will be half of what our rent was. It just doesn't make any sense.

I'm obviously happy though as it suits me but I would be mighty pissed off if the shoe was on the other foot...

Please don't pity me Bubblebrain. I have a lovely life living in London thank you.

The real blame lies with successive governments who have not invested in decentralizing the country.

I still don't get the argument that you can't move out and get a job in a different industry if you really want to have a nice affordable family home.
We did. Not from London admittedly but my dh moved out of banking and became a police officer. We were posted to a country area and we have the most gorgeous barn conversion with half an acre of land for the kids to run around in.
We couldn't afford a nice 3 bed semi before in the city.
We don't have as much money that's for sure but I don't go out to work now we have the dc so that would have happened anyway.
We are living the good life now so it can be done if you are willing to make the sacrifice!

I'm not convinced that international market forces have much impact on anything but very expensive properties in zones 1 and 2. I don't see wealthy emiratis clammering for 3 beds in Tooting.

there is a massive ripple effect, as well as a massive shortage.

There are two points that I think some people miss about jobs and London -

Firstly, that for many people, it's not just about finding one job out of London in a specialised field, it's about finding two if both of you are serious about your careers. That can be really hard and not everyone wants to be a SAHM or have their career take a back seat to their partner's.

Secondly, it's not just about finding a job, it's also then about career progression. I could find a job at my current level out of London if I looked hard enough but getting a promotion would be much harder.

Yes, sure, if we really wanted to leave London, we could retrain and do completely different jobs - like teaching or police or whatever - but it is simply not the case that we could keep our current careers and opportunities outside London.

Notinagreatplace, that's a really good point and the major reason we have not moved out of London. It'd be easier if I was going to be a SAHM for the forseeable but I quite like my career ta very much, and the prospect of us both getting jobs in the same place is pretty slim. It could be done if we tried very very hard I suppose but I'm not sure it's worth all the effort.

In any case, many people (including me) feel that the premium paid for property in London is still (just about) worth it. Better access to public transport, services, every kind of hobby you could ever wish for, restaurants, education, entertainment, the prospect of a lively middle-age and older-age when the kids of left home.... I could go on. Obviously not everyone will agree it's worth it but don't diss it till you've tried it, I say.

I defer to those with more knowledge on the trickle-down effect of wealthy overseas investors. Short of going for a swiss model where overseas buyers are effectively banned from purchasing most residential properties I can't see how we can prevent that.

Catford is very much on the up. Some of it is tatty I agree, but there's so much green space and views over London in some parts its actually quite lovely. 300k though in a nice bit, no, more like 500+

These threads always attract Londoner haters who'd jab their little pins in us if only they could work out on which side of the escalators to stand behind us.

limitedperiodonly THIS EXACTLY.

Lol, I love it when people blithely assume London is a terrible place to live, despite all evidence pointing to increasing numbers of people trying to stay here, and to move here.

I'm thinking of retraining so with a view to this I'm now doing a taster course part-time and working full-time. But I could never do the next level full-time and give up full-time work as I've only one income and no family to fall back on. And with the job market being so much better in London than anywhere else, generally, all this doesn't make it easy to leave.

I have lived in London. But fairly quickly the noise, dirt, rudeness and grabbiness got to me. Some people don't mind that, fair enough.

Limitedperiodonly I think I love you
London is an unmitigated joy to live in, but some people just don't 'get' it. Usually those same people who think London is Leicester Sq & Covent Garden, places which actual Londoners never go to. I adore it here, I feel utterly privileged to be able to live here, and (whisper) 'Not London' is a place I find a little depressing.