good news for homeowners as house prices increase again

[nettlewine]

So the nationwide are reporting that house prices are up this month.

Seriously this isn't good news, even if you own a home as any step up becomes more expensive and even if you don't and have kids its no life to still be living stuck at home in your 20s and 30s!

The vast majority of homeowners in this country couldn't afford their home if they had to buy it now. The system is broken and its wreaking the whole country and the economy. London isn't a place for londners as they can't afford it and all new builds are sold off plan on Malaysia! Arrg every time I hear the thread title quoted I want to scream.

If only house prices were sensible and people could invest in something useful like producing stuff. I can't see this country as a good place for my children to grow up in.

orlando

I agree with your point a and b however, it has always been expensive to live in the SE and beyond most people's reach. We would have loved to have rented and then bought around London, dh even got offered work there but we couldn't afford it.
I am 48 and even when we started out and our parents before us, we couldn't afford to live there. So we chose to work where we could afford to live.
you have to go with what you can do, not moan and whinge about what you can't do.
That is a general comment btw, not aimed at you.

I lived in London 20 years ago. I was single and on £18,000.

Back then - the average house price was £81,000. That's the average.I suspect there were lots cheaper and as a single person, I could have bought something. I didn't -but there you go.

Morethan, I posted upthread on changes in affordability changes since the 1980s - massive changes in London, and significant changes nationwide.

And that was the average London House price. Not for the UK.

I then moved to Cambridge. But went travelling and didn't buy then either.

Still,who needs a cheap house in a popular area when house prices are affordable and set to increase massively

morethanpotatoprints

I'd rather people started their own businesses or invested in other businesses to bring wealth creation and innovation to the country rather than ploughing all their money into btl and thus proping up this bubble, increasing the gaps between the haves and have nots and forcing people who would like to buy to rent.

I sold my place in London a decade too early, looked like the bubble was bursting in 2004 so sold and went traveling. Would be a millionaire now if I'd of stayed put

Agree in some areas house prices are silly, especially in the South East but people choose to live there in the main. Of course lots of people are born there but it's still their choice as adults to stay.
When people see sense and start moving out of the South East maybe things will improve.
Yes more houses could be built but that's a long term thing.

I certainly hope there isn't some sort of massive regress in house prices as the people who suffer are hard working people.
We bought our house (northern England) and put in 150k of our own money (cash) plus 150k off the bank... The only loser if prices drop is us, the bank always want there money back.

So unless there is some sort of compensation for existing owners I can't see anyone wanting anything dramatic to change.

nettle

What do you think a property developer is? It's a business that can employ people.
If people could afford to buy houses they would be doing that, but they either can't afford or in the case of the houses ds's will buy, couldn't be bothered doing them up because they lack the money, skills and time.
The houses are cheap to buy as min wage can afford them, they need work.
most working first time buyers want to move straight in and not do the work.

This report is interesting - it's flawed on its assumptions as the median wage varies across the country but,,,

england.shelter.org.uk/_data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1124593/2015_04_24_Homes_for_Our_Children-_FINAL.pdf

On a joint income of £34,000, there are not many affordable homes to buy. If people are on less than that, that is going to be more of an issue.

"For first time buyers earning a typical income, only one in six homes for sale were affordable for families, one in three homes for couples were affordable, and just one in thirteen listings was affordable for single buyers"

Someone with basic building skills with the greed of a btl person.

All those idiots on Sarah beenie who by luck make money on property but like to think its some kind of tallent/skill.

I never said everyone could get a buy to let mortgage and it is true that it is harder to get them if you don't already have a mortgage. When she applied they ad your income to the buy to let to work out what you can borrow so she could buy on the basis of her earnings plus the rent but not buy on the basis of just her income (unless she bought something much cheaper in say the NE where I am from). We knew she had been wise enough to pick a career where earnings rise. Some women choose careers where you earn on day 1 pretty much what you will earn for 40 years. We all make choices in life. She also used a mortgage broker and they can be quite good at knowing all the different deals around. The rate on her buy to let was almost 5% (even that feels low to me as I was paying 12% in the past as the older ones of us very painfully know.....) and her new rate now she's moved in is about 2% so it was certainly more expensive when she was letting at a loss but there you go.

Now their graduate brother is on £20k as a postman. The only places he could afford are in places like Spain, or here a local field with stream I found him, a gorgeous 2 bed in a beautiful area of Northumberland etc and I send him details regularly of the kinds of places he might buy like that. He is a saver though - always has been. He has enough for a big deposit and slums it at home to save rent too.

Lotus.

I'm sure you know we are in the NW and houses are much cheaper up here.
I can see how your ds could afford a house quite easily up here.
my own ds was about the same income give or take a grand or so.
Whilst he hasn't got a brilliant career or high income he is handy and prepared to work on houses. This is how he has managed to get on the property ladder at all. He too has always been a saver and in addition to attending uni for 3 years managed to work full time since 16.
Sometimes he's had several jobs, going from one to another to another, because he knew this would be the only way he would manage it.
We weren't able to help him much financially and believe they should stand on their own two feet asap.
He has delivered pizzas, been a bouncer, roadie, club bar man, Asda delivery, security, semi pro wrestler, children's sports coach, and numerous other things over the years.

Yes, for some it is still possible to buy and some people like more's son just make it a priority to work and buy and others have other aims like discos, alcohol, sex or contemplating the naval or drawing or whatever.

I do think there are some people who have had life easier than many of us had a few decades ago who think you just get on forever family house handed to you on a plate, whereas in fact most of our ancestors first would never ever have owned anything anyway, and even a few generations on when people buying became more possible (for men not women - women couldn't get loans - we forget that!) it was still not most people who could buy and that most of us started in grotty places and did without to get more. We had our "jam tomorrow".

Apart from young people are going out less and less and drinking and taking drugs less. They are most likely to be found stuck in their bedroom on the internet. Oh the joys of being young.

But don't let that stop you spouting out all the same old crap that they waste their money and if they didn't have a 20 quid a month phone they could by a flat 10x their wage.

Unless you can sponge off someone or are in the top 10% of earners its very difficult to get a house.

nettle

We will have to beg to differ on this one, I'm afraid.
Mine are managing it well enough without sponging and not being in the top 10% of earners and they aren't on their own.
There are lots of youngsters doing this where we live. They all look out for each other and help with projects and get something back in return.
A lad my ds1 went to school with is a roofer, unfortunately he got into debt and became bankrupt.
Jobs aren't easily found round here to pay for houses, so he works for those doing up houses. My son and others have given him references and promotional photo's of his work so he can start his own business, everyone is a winner.
However, you don't want to see that it is possible to live like this, for some reason.
There are lots of people who live in a less than conventional manner and manage quite well.
We lived "The Good Life" for 12 years in order to buy and renovate the houses we lived in, no gas, electric and lived as much off our land as we could.
There are lots of different ways people choose to live.

Well if there aren't any jobs there then I guess I can see how houses must be cheap. Around here my ordinary semi is 250k, and I'm not even in the se.

12 years with no gas or electric? That sounds mediaeval no one should have to do that.

I bought my house for cash, but I was a very high earner and traveled the world with work and so could pocket a fortune, when I got fed up with it I bought a house a d retired. But I know I was very fortunate and not everyone can do this.

The thing about doing up houses is that there needs to be people to buy them. Those people need jobs.

But if people can't get jobs so they have to do up houses instead...

I'm in Yorkshire and our house is only just worth what we paid for it in 2007. We won't make any money on our house. We need to move somewhere bigger but can't afford to as next step is too expensive and we don't have enough equity.

Its a mess all round and will agree for those who live in good areas and are mc workers, it is so hard.
it seems like you have to be very rich to afford anything, or very poor as in the case of the lads round here.
I think its amazing how they have this little consortium thing going on, nothing is financially or legally laid down and I'm sure it has a short shelf life, but for those with very little to hope for, it works quite well.
My friend is renting privately, a sp, and so immobile now that she needs a bungalow. The council won't house her and they are few and far between, until one comes up she will be helped by ds and his friends.
Obviously not long term but its nice to know people are willing to help others out and there is a real sense of you scratch my back, type of thing.

I also think that some people (and I don't mean everyone), should be more willing to wait longer, save more for longer, and lower their expectancies.
Whereas when we were starting out you could only have a dooer upper unless you were both working and then it would be the bottom of the pile.
The first we had, long before rightmove and internet, the EA blew the dust of the file it was in, I'm serious. Nobody wanted it and it had been on sale for a year. We offered a ridiculously low price, they accepted but the survey came in far lower and they had to sell for this price.
We spent our honeymoon rat catching and cleaning out kitchen cupboards that had been used as a bin.
It was terrible, but ours.
We made 25K profit in 3 years and moved on and did the same.

Young people need houses they can move straight into now so have to pay top whack, for somebody elses decorating. They both work and don't have time for huge projects. These houses are expensive and need higher deposits, so it makes sense to start saving earlier and living as frugally as you can.
If this isn't suitable for you then there are probably no other choices than to rent.

An area of no jobs is great if you want to be a slum landlord to people on housing benefit, that happens a lot.

Your son did kinda leach off others if he paid no rent for several years. Not everyone has that option.

nettle

If the link works, I thought this may be of interest to you, and of course anyone else.
Just no humming Corrie theme.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E79192&insId=1&maxPrice=80000&minBedrooms=2&displayPropertyType=houses&oldDisplayPropertyType=houses&sortType=1&numberOfPropertiesPerPage=50

I'm guessing there is a reason why there are no internal photos?

'No credit chec'

25% yeild sounds good,slum landlord? Friend in London brags about her 6% yeild lol

And any place with an EPC below E will be illegal to rent out in a couple of years. So that'll be something to add to the cost of cheap as chips BTLs...

nettle

I just put in no min to 80K which is what some of these go for all done up, just to give an example.
Also, to show the amount of auction houses, there are some shells and some that just need modernising.
I don't know what you mean "no credit check"?

Jassy

I think its disgusting the state of some houses that LL are allowed to get away with. I can't understand why somebody would buy a house and not want to maintain it in good order.

80 doesn't sound particularly good for an area where there are low prospects. Here in bath, you can get a terrist for 2.5 times that, but there are plenty of jobs and its lovley