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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think there is a serious problem with the housing market in this country

716 replies

Kitchendisco21 · 06/04/2021 16:06

I was just about to buy my first home having spent 10 years saving a deposit. Thanks to the stupid help to buy intervention, the houses I was able to buy are now 50k more expensive so I am completely priced out. I am so utterly sick of it.

And no, I can’t move elsewhere/ get somewhere smaller/eat fewer avocados! I have been saving for a decade.

Aibu to be so fed up. I read last week that 98% of keyworkers couldn’t buy a home in the uk now. When will people actually wake up & see what a major problem there is? I am so angry.

OP posts:
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7
Isitreally17777 · 06/04/2021 19:17

When I split with my husband and we sold the house I had to do shared ownership as there was no way I would get a mortgage on my salary. Ironically my current mortgage+rent+service charges for my 2 bed flat are £40 less than what we were paying on our mortgage for a 3 bed house, even my council tax is the same band. The housing market especially in the south east is ridiculous.

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 06/04/2021 19:19

Ok, so if the majority of BTL landlords avoid renting to people on receipt on benefits then who do the majority of people on benefits rent from?

Because if it's not fairies, as I helpfully suggested, then it must be social housing in which case there is no shortage of social housing as it surely already provides for the majority of people on receipt of housing benefit.

Zotter · 06/04/2021 19:23

@Rollercoaster1920

We have enough housing. Distribution is a problem. I can say that whilst also totally understanding buy to let landlords perspective. I don't blame them individually, but as a group it affects the UK market in a bad way.

There is no magic bullet answer. But I certainly don't want more building on green space.

This report below agrees and says housing supply not the issue, but distribution.

Buy to let plays a significant role definitely, albeit not only. Buy to let mortgages became possible from 1990s.

housingevidence.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20190820b-CaCHE-Housing-Supply-FINAL.pdf

To think there is a serious problem with the housing market in this country
To think there is a serious problem with the housing market in this country
Zotter · 06/04/2021 19:24

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

Ok, so if the majority of BTL landlords avoid renting to people on receipt on benefits then who do the majority of people on benefits rent from?

Because if it's not fairies, as I helpfully suggested, then it must be social housing in which case there is no shortage of social housing as it surely already provides for the majority of people on receipt of housing benefit.

Housing benefit costing govt a fortune. Need more social housing.
Leobynature · 06/04/2021 19:26

It’s not 98% of key workers can’t buy a home. It’s that they can’t afford a home in 98% of Great Britain.

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 06/04/2021 19:34

Housing benefit costing govt a fortune. Need more social housing

You cannot outbuild demand, especially in high desirable locations.

feellikeanalien · 06/04/2021 19:39

Unless I win the lottery I am unlikely ever to be able to afford to own my own property. Luckily the rent I am paying is fairly low but what happens when I get to retirement age?

I either have to to keep working until I drop dead (if I can find a job which will keep me on past retirement age) or I have to claim UC to pay the rent. Most people who own their own homes will usually have paid off their mortgage by the time retirement comes around.

And before anyone says well you should have planned for the future, life has a habit of throwing some really shit things at you when you least expect it.

It's not just housing which is the problem, it's also the low wage economy, cost of child care (most people will need two salaries to be able to afford a mortgage) and rising cost of living.

As more and more people become unable to afford to buy there is going to be a massive increase in the benefits bill unless something is done to improve the situation. For a country which is supposed to be the 5th or 6th wealthiest in the world not much of that wealth seems to be coming the way of ordinary people. Many people's wages are low (many already topped up with WTC), food is becoming more and more expensive, council tax is rising substantially every year. It's pretty grim really.

willithappen · 06/04/2021 19:39

@MyDcAreMarvel

I think if someone has a proven, faultless rent history of five years plus at a rate higher than morgage payments, they should be eligible for a 100% mortgage.
100% this

Never missed a rent payment in the entire time I have been renting yet being told I need a 15% deposit to buy the house we want as well as mortgage repayments of £1000 a month for a 250k property.
You could have bought this house I'm in for the price of the deposit 15 years ago 🙈

I also have very limited chance of payrise either :( currently trying to think up my options to get myself into a better paying job

Daphnise · 06/04/2021 19:46

Why is it so different from any other time- ordinary people have often struggled to buy a house?

Is it snowkflake moaning?

thebillyotea · 06/04/2021 19:46

[quote Kitchendisco21]@ForgedInFire yes, I am settled where I live and my kids are in good schools etc and I have a good job at a uni. It’s really doing my head in tbh![/quote]
well you have made a choice, haven't you?

I am bored of people moaning about the cost of life when they prioritise having a family - and all the expenses that go with that family!

it's not wrong to have children, but you choose not to buy a property before having them. Don't blame the system. Others have made different choices.

woodhill · 06/04/2021 19:49

[quote Jangle33]@woodhill no of course they must be built without parking spaces. This country needs to stop its reliance on the car. 65% of English councils have declared a climate emergency. Have you got any idea what we are doing to our planet?[/quote]
They will just park somewhere else and clog up the roads. Yes, I know about climate change

woodhill · 06/04/2021 19:50

When are other countries going to follow suit with climate change anyway not just the UK

Original poster
Kitchendisco21 · 06/04/2021 19:51

@thebillyotea well given you know NOTHING of my circumstances, your comment is unbelievably ignorant and judgemental

OP posts:
weareallpassengers · 06/04/2021 19:52

100% mortgages are not a good idea. ....owing thousands on a property is very different from renting one.

m0therofdragons · 06/04/2021 19:52

When we bought a house in 2007, in May we were looking at houses which by the August were £40k more. We had to lower our expectations and buy a smaller property out of town. That got us on the ladder but was a gamble that paid off. I agree housing is crazy expensive but minimum wage has also increased and the stamp duty freeze has created a nightmare. That said, the people I know who don’t own a property refuse to compromise and just moan they can’t afford what they want/their forever home. Without inheritance I doubt anyone buys their forever home as their first purchase.

korawick12345 · 06/04/2021 19:53

[quote Kitchendisco21]@thebillyotea well given you know NOTHING of my circumstances, your comment is unbelievably ignorant and judgemental[/quote]
billyotea knows what you posted and has responded based on that. You can't attack people for not knowing information you haven't shared.

Original poster
Kitchendisco21 · 06/04/2021 19:54

@korawick12345 it’s still massively judgemental. Not everyone’s life works out in a perfect linear trajectory 🙄

OP posts:
korawick12345 · 06/04/2021 19:59

[quote Kitchendisco21]@korawick12345 it’s still massively judgemental. Not everyone’s life works out in a perfect linear trajectory 🙄[/quote]
That's as may be, but it's hardly out there to point out that it's going to be harder to buy a property after having children than before starting a family. If you are trying to buy a 2 or 3 bed as a FTB rather than a studio or 1 bed it is going to be more difficult and that has sod all to do with the housing market

ForgedInFire · 06/04/2021 19:59

@thebillyotea Well I can tell you that having children has had little to do with it in my life! The system seems to assume that either you will receive an inheritance or be able to live at home for free or cheap while you save. Neither of which was an option for me. Once you are in the position of paying market rent, saving for a deposit becomes a much more challenging prospect

MissBattleaxe · 06/04/2021 19:59

*Why is it so different from any other time- ordinary people have often struggled to buy a house?

Is it snowkflake moaning?*

In the 60s, 70s and early 80s, the cost of a house as a percentage of income was usually around x 2.5 annual income. A man on 4 or 5k a year could buy a house on one wage. Today, the cost of living is proportionately much steeper and totally out of sync with wage rises.

It's definitely not snowflake moaning.

Stellaris22 · 06/04/2021 20:00

YANBU, I'm so fed up. We've been saving for over ten years, I work part time and husband had a decent salary. No holidays, rarely go out, takeaway once a month is a luxury.

We have one daughter and even a 2/3 bed basic terrace is unaffordable. We were close to affording a deposit but then the stamp duty thing happened so our deposit savings are useless again.

House price inflation mixed with stagnant wages means house ownership is just a dream for most people.

pennylane83 · 06/04/2021 20:01

I find it very frustrating the sheer number of 2 bed newbuilds that are going up - not only are the majority of these riduclously priced but they are also hugely impractical space wise given a large proportion of FTBs nowadays already have the 2+ kids and have outgrown the houses being targeted at them.

woodhill · 06/04/2021 20:02

Yes, dh's dgf bought a house in Greater London in the 30s in a skilled job on one wage from a wc background. It's an absolute disgrace now

Blacktothepink · 06/04/2021 20:02

Yanbu, it’s shit!

korawick12345 · 06/04/2021 20:05

@Stellaris22

YANBU, I'm so fed up. We've been saving for over ten years, I work part time and husband had a decent salary. No holidays, rarely go out, takeaway once a month is a luxury.

We have one daughter and even a 2/3 bed basic terrace is unaffordable. We were close to affording a deposit but then the stamp duty thing happened so our deposit savings are useless again.

House price inflation mixed with stagnant wages means house ownership is just a dream for most people.

I think this is the sort of thing people are talking about. Only one in a couple working full time but wanting to be able to buy a 2/3 bed house. 2/3 bed houses are not really FTB territory IMO. If you both worked full time would you be able to afford a 1 bed flat?