To think that big house price falls finally on the way?

[qwertyflirty]

After years or price rises, in my area (edge of London), I'm finally seeing price falls of around 15% from peak.

Lots of evidence in recent months of house price falls starting and picking up in London/South East, and usually once they start here, price falls spread elsewhere.

House prices are down on average 17K since July 2017 in London. "The average price of a home for the capital as a whole was £471,986, down from a peak of £488,247 last July."

There is little the government can do to mitigate it this time round, as interest rates are already at record lows. All signs are currently pointing to the top of the market having been reached and prices about to crash.

Such as:

www.theguardian.com/business/2018/apr/18/london-house-prices-fall-average-uk

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-5733321/Beware-red-danger-signs-house-prices-Young-buyers-borrow-record-sums.html

www.theguardian.com/money/2018/may/12/house-prices-are-on-the-slide-where-will-they-go-now

www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/house-prices-fall-housing-market-rics-survey-april-a8343561.html

www.propertyweek.com/finance/house-price-falls-continue-in-london-and-spread-to-south-west/5096455.article

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/10/celebrate-house-prices-falling-britain-property-values

The silence from those who were desperate to tell me that house price falls would not continue and I knew nothing is deafening...

Come on guys - tell me why the falls spreading to the SE means that...falls will not spread to the SE - or something.

I doubt anyone wants to talk to you, OP. You come across as deeply unpleasant, sorry.

I think IIRC that the precise data was questioned but the overall direction is definitely true:

www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/house-prices-increase-foreign-buyers-money-property-market-kings-college-london-a8274106.html

"UK housing crisis: Influx of foreign cash boosted average property prices by a quarter, research finds

'Significant' proportion of price growth down to overseas investment - much of it through anonymous shell companies registered in secretive tax havens"

WittyJack - so nothing to say on the topic of house prices then, I see?

Interested to hear your thoughts.

Late to this thread, but (leaving aside London prices which are in a class of their own) I wonder if the apparent return of 100% mortgages will maintain the price status quoted in other areas?

I need a weepy face emoticon for the personal insults to save me typing a response.

Shall have to give WittyJack one of these instead.

Stupid autocorrect
Status quo, not quoted.

Must learn to read before posting..

Are they returning?

Evidence for this, Izzy24?

I know they are looking at longer mortgage terms - to 95 years! - but not seen evidence of 100% mortgages coming back. Wouldn't that be banned under current rules for lending??

People are being very spiteful wishing missery on others a d house price falls.

We were lucky that we bought on a 100% mortgage and they didn't check our income. House has gone up 15% in two years. It's a real lifeline as we don't earn much and we've been able to release some of the house earnings to help us do a few nice things like cruises and drive a new BMW.

Would be awful if they ever stopped rising and its helping the economy and giving jobs by rising!

"House has gone up 15% in two years. It's a real lifeline as we don't earn much and we've been able to release some of the house earnings to help us do a few nice things like cruises and drive a new BMW."

Excellent.

@tracie

I’m a hone owner, in the SE of England. We bought 3 years ago, so probably at the peak. I’m not “wishing” a massive price drop on anyone, (except maybe my bastard former ll, but he owns the flat outright). I can still see how it might be happening and that it doesn’t have to be a bad thing for everyone. Maybe not the massive drop the op mentioned at the beginning, but a correction in this area would make sense to me tbh. I’m just focusing on us paying off as much of our mortgage as we can.

I’m just focusing on us paying off as much of our mortgage as we can

So no cruises for us just now!

Yes excellent that we've used our earnings to spend into the economy and create jobs!

This is a very curious thread.

Op what's driving you here? It would seem to me you're in rented accommodation, unhappy, haven't been able to afford to buy, and desperately need prices to drop significantly so you can?

Is this what it is?

Gosh I'm doing the total opposite! Trying to extend the mortgage for as long as possible and pay as little as possible.

The way I see it both of my parents died before retirement so I want to make the most of my earnings and enjoy it while young

My mum and grandad died in their fifties too, so I want to be mortgage free ASAP, so I can enjoy whatever money we earn without worrying about the monthly outgoings, negative equity etc.

I actually keep bugging dh to move somewhere cheap so we can be mortgage free! We’ve paid off over 30% of our house in three years with deposit and repayments. Would love to sell up and buy somewhere nice, but cheaper. Sadly dh work keeps us here.

Living frugally to pay the mortgage off ASAP is a big risk as you might not be fit enough to enjoy life afterwards. My Dad became disabled just before his expected retirement date and he was in very poor health and virtually house bound for the last few years of his life. Another relative died before the age of 40.

I'm definitely enjoying life while I'm still young enough to do so (mortgage is small anyway and I do have a decent pension).

And in this low interest rate environment, the savings are much lower than they were in the past.

I could double my mortgage payments and I would save a whole £1k on interest. Except I wouldn't because I get more interest just leaving the money in my current account.

Well we’re only in our early thirties and are hoping to pay it off in the next ten years. Don’t get me wrong, we still do nice things and aren’t depriving ourselves massively. Just not going on cruises or buying expensive cars. We still have nice enough food, a couple of uk based holidays a year etc. You might see that as risky, but I think halving a mortgage hanging over me when I don’t need to a bit of a burden I just don’t want.

Having*

BoS, I know that dilemma. years ago we did a lot of paying off debt - in fact paid off all the debt on our two buy to let flats when other people went out for meals, took a maternity leave, worked part time etc etc and obviously got work promotions and pay rises too and did 2nd and 3rd weekend jobs. And that saved a lot of interest - rates were 12%, 8%. I found a 1983 diary and I was moving some savings from a 7% interest rate savings account to 8%. (Those were the days although that was not so long agter 60% inflation over 3 years in the 1970s which cruficifed your savings - it was like Zimbabwe almost better to buy a TV before they went up double in price with rampant inflation).

Then roll forward to now even from the 6% I was paying on the mortgage in about 2005 I think it was, and if you are paying under 3% mortgage interest it feels hard to justify paying off debt. However I still recommend it even if people think they can guess the next Ocado and make a killing on their savings on the stock market instead as over the 30 years you might have a mortgage interest rates can and do rise, Of course for many of us for lots of year we hardly have enough money to pay the gas bill and mortgage never mind over pay on a mortgage. It is a very lucky choice to have for those who have it.

TheFatkins has it right - it will be personal psychology too. I have never liked debt and even if it means I have a worse life now that is fine as having less money but less debt actually for me means a happier feeling although I was paying a mortgage for about 30 years so I have certainly done my time paying mortgages.

London prices have gone down 2.5% in the last year the survey today says - see I think in City AM set out by borough but that hides the fact some over priced boroughs have seen bigger falls particularly to over inflated asking prices. Wales has seen an increase because it is about to increase stamp duty under its new land tax massively for the reasonably well off which is not going to make us want to flock to Wales I suspect so I hope they know what they are doing out there.

Bluntness100 - this isn't a thread about me, despite many people trying to turn it into a thread about me.

It's a thread about house prices.

Would love to hear your thought on house price falls (or rises?) where you are, though.

Indeed, Xenia, as I posted above, quite dramatic falls in some areas (I'm guessing those hit most by a combination of Brexit and sky high prices?

"In the City of London, which is mostly office towers but includes the Barbican residential complex, prices were “down a huge 31.4%”, pushing the average price down to £683,000 from £997,000.

Southwark, which stretches from the Thames south to Crystal Palace, saw the second steepest price falls, down 17.5% over the year and 6.1% in March alone.

In England and Wales overall prices were down 0.1% in March, the third month in a row of falling prices."

Losing 300K!!! on the cost of a flat in the Barbican must be painful.

Doubt many native Brits were buying there though?

I'm guessing this reflects the impact of hot foreign money flowing elsewhere.

Yes @Xenia. It’s my personality I think. Well dh’s and mine. I hate debt and he is extremely wary of overspending due to his upbringing. So saving to pay it off works for us.

Sorry for derail btw. My fault I think!