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

Are you hoping to move, TheFatkinsDiet?

Or are you in your 'forever home'?

Look at the shameless glee in that comment about the Barbican. I'm guessing bitterness because the OP would never be able to own one and so wants to see others lose money. It's a most peculiar thread.

I don’t really know @op. If we move I don’t know if I’d want to buy anything if it meant we would need a bigger mortgage. If we could do a sideways sort of move or. It cheaper I would. If we bought where I’m from, we could have a lovely house for the same price as our small one. Not likely to happen though.

I think it's very relevant. Psychology andn debt is just as important as financial calculations and for me it is the same with whether to rent or to buy (for those lucky enough to have a choice). It might on paper sometimes look sensible to rent as the landlord will replace the boiler for you and you can move every year or two to a place newly done up (if you can afford the rents) and move quickly etc etc etc but for some of us that sense of place and permanence even if we are worse off is a much bigger benefit even though it is psychological not monetary. Some will be the other way round too -foot loose and fancy free able to move every with no ties that bind, no roof to pay for when it collapses, no negative equity risks.

Bully for you OP for keeping at it, but there are still too many people invested in the perpetuation of the mania.

That is a great article wherewithal. I am a resentful owner because life was so much simpler when it was the landlord's job to fix the boiler and I could up sticks at the drop of a hat.

WittyJack - I really couldn't care less what you think about me.

Do you actually have any opinions on the topic of house prices?

Why don't you want to examine your weird obsession, OP? You don't own one of those flats, right? So why do you care? Does it make you feel uncomfortable when people ask why you care so much?

I think anyone that can move further north and be mortgage free should definitely consider it. There are better places to live than London; there are lots of great cities in the UK. I think London house prices need to fall and more people should consider leaving.

wherewithal - ha, funny article!

The problem for that particular owner who bought at the peak of the market with his family's help is that prices are now such in London that few people can afford to do likewise.

If he was in a majority, then his views might swing the political will - but the reality is that most people who own now do not have a mortgage at all so will not be affected by negative equity. And there are more people renting privately in London than with mortgages.

So the votes and the political will are all in favour of falling prices.

Unfortunately for the writer, he was one of the last suckers (someone has to be).

On equity release to keep the deposit at 10% it looks kind of risky. You need an ever increasing salary to match the increase in loan. Interest rates are heading up rather than down. If property prices do fall you could end up on SVR rather than a fixed deal due to falling equity. (There is also no guarantee lenders won't tighten criteria further to mitigate risk). The interest spread from this alone looks to be more than 2%. I wouldn't be doing it to finance a BMW even on a 0% deal (possibly why new car sales esp of BMWs are also down so much atm).

WittyJack - why are you so obsessed with me?

Let's talk about you first...why are you so keen to deny the reality that house prices are falling?

@namechanger

Have a word with my dh will you? I can’t convince him but think you’re bang on!

WittyJack - about the flats in the Barbican, it is personal.

I'm a Londoner born and bred and love my city. I grew up in a city where pretty much anyone on a normal salary could get a place to live and rent and London was a fantastic, fun and exciting place to live.

I hate the way that London is being hollowed out - that whole areas in the centre have outrageously-priced flats with no lights on as there is no-one living in any of them (safety deposit boxes for the super rich). I hate the fact that ordinary people who work in London have lengthy and expensive commutes to get to do so. I hate the fact that the creatives who used to contribute to making London so much fun can no longer afford to live here unless Mummy and Daddy are very wealthy or they have a trust fund; or if they can afford to live here it's because they've had to give up being creative and interesting and work in a bank or something.

I hate the gratuitous skyscrapers that spoil the look of the city.

I hate that my city is being ruined in pursuit of a profit.

I guess you're not a Londoner.

@Qwerty
Barclays already offering some 100%

Ok, so you won't answer my question, and as such, I am going to assume you are desperate to buy and not happy at all where you're renting so need house prices to drop substantially to give you a chance at it. Fair enough. Your need for it to happen though won't make it so I'm afraid.

I already posted my views. On the first page, where I stated there was a difference between house prices and values. The drops in London and the south east, where I am, are minimal if any.

I hope you can get on the property ladder. I know it's tough. But no I don't think we will see substantial drops in property values in London and the south east.

Well that's as close to an honest admission as you've got in this entire thread. Why didn't you say that at the outset instead of all the garbage - some people still won't agree with you, but at least it's a reason.

Izzy not really a 100% mortgage in the traditional sense if the Bank of Mum and Dad is putting an amount equivalent to a 10% deposit in a Trust bank account to back it or offering a guarantee through the equity in their own home. It does help to even out the market though if a FTB chooses to buy 2nd hand and would therefore not have access to HTB etc.

There are no long term price drops in the London property market, and this will not change after Brexit either because it’s not European buyers wanting London properties but Asian / UK based ones.

WittyJack - I can't really imagine a) why anyone would be interested in my life story and b) why it would be relevant.

My feelings, or your feelings, on house prices are irrelevant.

What matters where house prices are concerned is whether prices are rising, falling or staying the same and whether we think that will continue or not.

If you have something to say on that topic, please let us know.

You have now posted about 5 posts in a row fantasising about me, and I'm starting to feel a bit stalked.

DuchyDuke - depends what you mean by long term.

Prices have been falling in some inner London areas since 2014. Most areas far more recently, but a year or more.

The question is whether that will continue. Surveyors - whose job it is to know these things - think it will continue in London.

Why do you think they are wrong?

I think the issue is op you're shooting anyone who disagrees with you and finding anything you can to back you up. It's clearly hugely important to you personally that house prices drop. And I suspect that's less altruistic than you're making out and more about personal circumstance, which you're refusing to confirm or deny.

Of course people are going to wonder why you're so very very determined they must drop.

London will never change back to what it was 50 years or so ago. It's not going to happen.

People involved with house builders, whose job it also is to know these things and who have posted in this thread, have said they do not expect any large drops. Why do you ignore any sensible answers that don't agree with you?

@Bluntness100 how patronising are you! I am constantly shocked at how toxic the whole housing debate has become. Regardless of OP's position in market house prices (let's focus on London & SE) are too high and damaging society and the economy. Prices are coming down, hard. I speak having just bought my first home in South London at a hefty discount. Tracking properties for about a year now I'm amazed at actual final sale prices, miles away from initial asking. A huge crash would be devastating but a healthy correction most welcome and already under way. Sentiment has changed, the drops will get bigger from here on out. It's not smug or mean to point this out.

Ok kamma. I'm patronising Becayse you don't like the message?

I'm glad you bought your house at a hefty discount off its value. Your mortgage company must have been delighted when they valued it.

I also hope thr op gets her foot on the property ladder. As said, for me, I don't think they will drop significantly and any drop that does occur will recover fast. I get your opinionis different. But with this only time will tell,. We will all have to wait and see.