to snurk a little bit that house prices are probably not due for the almighty crash that was predicted...

[MadamAnt]

and that the vultures who were waiting for their imminent bargains will just have to suck it up?

Tee hee.

Not that it affects me anyway....it just bugged me to hear / read about the gloaters who were revelling in other people's homes dropping in value.

errrr....and you're very sure are you that there are no more downward turns in sight over the next couple of years?

It's not like I should ever hope to be a home-owner I suppose. Wishful thinking.

Snurk away.

Depends which side of the fence you're on. For my part, no YANBU but others would say you are and I totally understand why. Best not to snurk really. Besides, who knows what will happen...

I don't think snurking is appropriate by either the homeowners or the non homeowners. It's not a good thing that house prices have dropped for those who are suffering. But it's not a good thing for people in the long run that house prices haven't dropped more.
Many people who were looking forward to prices dropping were not people 'looking for a bargain' but people who wanted to own their own home which for most looks like an impossible dream. I must admit thinking that if prices fell further I might be able to buy somewhere liveable which would be good for me and my family. Is that vulkture like?

Oh it's only a tiny snurk...and directed purely at the smug gits who were openly crowing at the poor sods who were having to slash the prices of their homes in order to sell.

I'm a house-owner who is currently renting, and I am not going to be in a position to buy or sell for years, so I don't have an axe to grind either way.

It just bugged me that their are/were gloaters who have been sneering at other folk for buying at the peak or who were deemed "greedy" for being reluctant to massively reduce their asking prices.

But you forget about all the 'normal' people who have been priced out of the market for the last 5 years. Why does no one seem to care about them, they are not all 'vultures'? Yes, house prices going down will shaft some existing home owner (possibly those who are risk-takers), but it will enable a lot of people to own a home.
15 years ago, it would be perfectly reasonable to expect a couple, say a teacher and a nurse, to buy a 3 bed semi together and raise their children in it. At the moment, that is unattainable. Now, that to me doesn't seem right, so I think house prices should come down. What is the logic of being in so much debt anyway - surely it makes more sense to buy a house for 100k not 250k?

Anyway, I think you are wrong on your assumption. There is a spring bounce - it happens every year, even in a falling market. Give it a month or two, and prices will start to fall again. Interest rates are at a historic low and will have to go up. People who have borrowed beyond their means will find they can't make the repayments anymore and more houses will come on the market at lower prices.

Tbh, I don't like the fact that housing is such a divisive issue, but it I had to take sides, I feel more for those who have worked hard and saved hard, but still can't afford to buy, compared with those who have closed their eyes and crossed their fingers about their finances, overstretched themselves, or released equity from their house to buy 'stuff', which means now they are can't afford the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed.

If I had to be pushed either way, I would probably be better off if house prices did fall more. I live in a v expensive city and presently have no prospect of buying a property here.

HOwever I have been feeling v sorry for all the people who have worked hard and saved hard and got themselves a big mortgage, and have subsequently been crowed at by the property speculators who sold their houses at/before the peak and are waiting for their rich pickings.

Agree with tigger. Its just a spring bounce. Come autumn and more job losses then everyone will feel as uncertain as they did a few months ago and the housing market will drop even more. Until first time buyers have bigger mortgages available (probably never likely again), or manage to stump up huge deposits and 'average' people have reasonable job security the market will be seized up. Maybe next summer it will all stabilise.

Agree that we will see further falls over the Autumn and Winter.
I work in construction and was made redundant about 8 wks ago. Luckily i got another job within 4 wks but i fully expect to be in the same position by Christmas.
At the moment business is picking up, we've had good weather which gets the smaller contractors more one off business, we are expecting a good summer so many larger contractors are taking a chance and giving mothballed projects the go ahead because they don't expect to lose so much money from down time as they would in a wet summer.

However, every single one of my customers is telling me that they are dreading the Autumn and Winter, they normally struggle with two things in that period.
Forced downtime due to bad weather, (bad weather can prevent supplies coming in/prevent certain processes from being able to go ahead)
And sickness during the normal cold/flu season. This year of course we have the added pleasure of the Swine Flu pandemic so sickness is predicted to be extremely high. Most construction workers are self employed, no work = no pay. Many of those workers will already have been under financial strain because of the recession, a tiny bit more pressure is all it will take to put a lot of people under.

This is why i think house prices have further to fall and i an not snurking about it.

Glad someone else mentioned swine flu IDTTAW I think its going to dent the economy this winter but thought I might sound like a drama queen adding it in my previous post .

So you really think the worst is over

I think you're being very naive. I think we've had maybe the first big wave of the recession, but there are a lot of people who've been hanging on by the skin of their teeth, maybe releasing the last bit of equity they have to meet their living costs, and once interest rates rise a bit, they're going to be shafted. There will also be further knock ons with unemployment I expect.

Sounds a bit doom and gloom I know - but I honestly don't think we're going to see house prices rise slowly and nicely and everything in the garden rosy again. Just among my friends, I know people who have struggled incredibly over the last few months - it's not going to suddenly all be ok is it?

And that's without even factoring in swine flu!

I can't say I really give a toss one way or another. It's a moot point for us.

But hey, what the market will bear and all that. It's only worth what someone can and will pay for it.

I think a healthy economy relies on the peaks and troughs to allow people to climb the economic ladder. Although we have suffered, Mother bought my groceries last week, in this downturn all is not lost and we still own our own home. I'm pleased that people without may now have a hope of their own home. It's obviously crap to the thousands who have lost their job and/or home.
It is a plus (if true) that money making vultures will not make their fortune, so if you wsh to snurk at them... enjoy and snurk away!!!