Another housing thread

[buddhasbelly]

Posted in chat but trying aibu for hopefully some responses / any words of wisdom or just to be told I'm being unreasonable and suck it up....(had also written bugger cities instead of bigger cities and perhaps put posters off by the notion of bugger cities 😂)

I feel I may get a bit flamed for complaining about housing prices but hey ho.

I'm in an areas that is geographically dispersesd, had an issue of outward net migration particularly from younger folk, wages and job availability lower than cities.

If you've been brought up in the area and choose to stay you accept that wages won't match the bugger cities but that housing is more affordable.

It's wasn't the most hip place to live type of thing but now with covid and WFH house prices have soared, even if you can save the deposit, the last few places we've seen (not really amazing houses or anything) have all had cash buyers relocating to the area.

Is there any solution? Things are going well over asking and for cash, we just can't compete but it's effectively making the area we work in unsustainable to live in. Many of our friends are in the same boat. We cant relocate, our jobs are specific and tied to the area.

Hopeful bump

Are they really all going to cash buyers? There can't be that many of those surely?

I think your options are:

1. look below your budget at smaller/less desirable places so you can offer a little over asking (if that's really always happening) and just get a foot in the door
2. wait a few months and hope for a slight dip/lull when the stamp duty holiday is gone and house prices possibly adjust by a few thousand anyway (obviously not guaranteed but not unlikely), also as things get moving again the rush to escape cities might slow

No advice, just sympathy. I have relatives in the same situation. It’s beyond awful. In the area where my relatives live I suspect the only answer would be some kind of legislation against second home ownership.

Thank you for replying.

Sadly yes re cash buyers - along with people relocating for work there's also been an influx of 2nd home buyers. We asked to look at a house that went on the market on Friday just past, it had 3 cash buyers waiting so we weren't prioritised even to look at the property.

1. thanks yes have been looking at all sorts of places, things are going well Iver asking (sorry should've said we're in Scotland)
2. yes we're hoping things might slow, our area now has quite a big tourist route which whilst is good for the economy, also means a lot of places are getting bought as Airbnbs

I'm aware of how negative I sound, it's just feeling a bit like there isn't much of a way forward with it.

@RiojaRose sorry for your relatives' situation. I'm aware some of the smaller communities have started lobbying for affordable home ownership.

I have a friend who is renting that is worried that the landlord will switch to air bnb as it's much more profitable

We don't "own" this area, I know people can move where they want and if they've managed to get that kind of cash then that's something the my should be proud of but we've worked hard to keep this area going when jobs were scarce; many of us are worried we won't be able to afford to stay.

You'll have to do what everybody else has to do - move area to buy what you can afford.

@StoneofDestiny

You'll have to do what everybody else has to do - move area to buy what you can afford.

That doesn’t always work. If you’re a Gaelic development worker in the south of Skye (for example), you can’t just move to Hull and hope for the best.