The housing market

[beigepaints]

AIBU to be pretty shocked reading this article this morning?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/08/30/houses-in-england-worth-less-than-they-were-20-years-ago/

“ England has effectively failed to record any real house price growth in more than two decades.
David Fell, a senior analyst at Hamptons, said: “While most homeowners haven’t seen the value of their property fall in cash terms, inflation has eroded previous gains, leaving house prices across much of southern England below their inflation-adjusted peak.”

I know flats have stagnated, I know wages haven’t grown since the crash, I know housing it wasn’t the investment it was but 2 decades of little growth seems insane.

Is this the new normal?

Edited to add you can read the article in airplane mode.

Let's hope so.
Because housing costs in the UK are ridiculous and need to come down.

I'm not sure I understand, isn't it inflation that grows house value? So no inflation adjusted increase in value just means the house is worth the same?

It’s an average and hides a lot of variation plus prices dropped in 2008. My house is 19 years old and next doors sold 6 months ago for more than double the original price. My last house more than doubled from 2008 to 2022

@SpanThatWorldthey are ridiculous

This. Any asset vulnerable to the movements of the market and the external forces than impact it can go up as well as down. I don’t know why anyone’s surprised by capitalism doing what capitalism does.

@WoooMumma

The point is pre that period house price growth was way above inflation.

“Since 1982, data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development show that UK house prices have risen by 300pc above inflation, by far the highest pace of growth across the G7. In Italy, by contrast, the increase was just 11pc in the same period.
This rapid growth has now stopped. Official figures showed house prices climbed by 2pc in June, below the current 2.9pc level of inflation”

This where is we are heading the ponzi scheme is collapsing.

I expect negative equity coming fast.

There are a lot of 3m+ homes that cannot size

@bababamamaof course there will be variations in property type and areas but I still find it pretty shocking.

My house is worth eight times what we paid 25 years ago. But I’m not planning on moving and my kids can’t afford to buy in their home town.

@SalmonOnFinnCrispIm certainly reconsidering my next move although I was already due to stamp duty cost and increased utilities. But why service so much debt now? it seems crazy.

I know a fair few people with big mortgages/expensive houses who plan to downsize once the dc leave and also many older people who want to sell up for a better retirement/help their dc. Who will buy all these expensive homes though?

I also think it’s pretty sobering that the 08 crash was so damaging and successive governments have struggled to get growth going since and the electorate are increasingly dissatisfied.

Well not sure that’s true. The last three houses I’ve sold have certainly beaten rate of inflation. My current house has slightly beat inflation by about 2% only, certainly not the growth I’ve seen in the past (where I’ve bought and sold within a couple years with a 25% increase).
And if you take into account stamp duty and moving cost and fees, then many people will not have made as much (if anything) recently for sure.
But isn’t that better? Outpacing salaries has been the biggest issue in house affordability.

We are seriously looking at the options once our fix expires...

@mondaytosundayI do think it’s good thing but not the mechanisms as to why it’s happening if that makes sense.

I agree