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Original poster

Is London really full of normal working people living in million pound houses?

144 replies

Morosky · 24/09/2009 23:21

Because Heseltine seems to think there is, he just said so on Question Time.

Who is out of touch me or him?

OP posts:
alwayslookingforanswers · 26/09/2009 16:45

my (non London) town has 34 2 bedroom houses listed, but most are semi detached and/or bungalows.

2 bedroom terrace in the "posh" part of town is on for £112k

This is the cheapest 2 bedroom terrace here and believe me - you'd be mad if you wanted to live there with children,

foxinsocks · 26/09/2009 16:49

2 beds (well 2.5 beds) are definitely normal terraced housing in london. We live in one and there are rows of terraces like that round here (normal workers' cottages as they used to be called) - the 2 up 2 down with the bathroom downstairs (making it 2.5 beds or bathroom upstairs and 2 beds). People do the lofts to get the 3rd bedroom (and move the bathroom to the old .5 bed) if they can afford to do so.

those ones you linked to Reduced look like mansions to me!

I agree policy, oh so easy for people to lose touch. Yes of course, in more expensive parts of London, £1m buys you less than other parts but it's STILL a lot of money for a property, whichever way you look at it.

alwayslookingforanswers · 26/09/2009 16:51

ahh - just realised I could filter to terraced houses only - there's 17 of them that are 2 bedroom

63 terraced (but includes quite a few end of terrace) that are 3 bedroom.

this is the closest £1m= property to me - had to search within 3 miles to find that.

5 miles there's 6 properties over £1m, 10 miles - 26, 15 miles 54, 20 miles closer to hundred - but includes this estate.

policywonk · 26/09/2009 17:09

227 £1m+ properties within one mile of us, according to RightMove

scottishmummy · 26/09/2009 17:13

million isnt that much in London,certainly not palatial

foxinsocks · 26/09/2009 17:19

it is a lot

if you discount the obviously expensive parts of london like (for example) covent garden and proper chelsea, most places that 'normal' people live in London, £1m is a shitload!

I live in a fairly expensive suburb and £1m is still a lot round here tbh

scottishmummy · 26/09/2009 17:24

yes it is a lot,but what i mean is doesn't buy what i think million should buy

said · 26/09/2009 17:35

Heseltine says there are "modest terraced houses" in Hammersmith. Rightmove comes up with just this for £1M here

EldonAve · 26/09/2009 17:37

you have put max 3 bed in your search
houses

said · 26/09/2009 17:40

yes, max 3 bed. I think beyond 3 is going beyond "ordinary" and "modest" - MH's claims.

EldonAve · 26/09/2009 17:41

anyway, it's a libdem policy so it won't happen

policywonk · 26/09/2009 17:45

LibDem activists are furious with Cable and Clegg for announcing this without consulting anyone else. Some are even suggesting that Cable will have to be sacked after the GE because he's become unmanageably egotistical!

Original poster
Morosky · 26/09/2009 17:48

I would have thought most modest homes are 2.5 bedrooms.

OP posts:
1dilemma · 26/09/2009 17:59

whilst not saying that 2 bed isn't normal,

Morosky it looks like 2 of those are ex-council, they are tiny and the local school is in special measures!

1dilemma · 26/09/2009 18:03

of course you could argue that most pensioners have not technically paid these prices they paid 60 pounds or 600 or even 6,000 what ever the trad 3.5x 1 salary was at the time.

The person 'paying' will be the one left holding the 1,000,000 pound mortgage when interest rates do what they are going to do!

Original poster
Morosky · 26/09/2009 18:17

I don't know tooting to be honest but I am sure there must be other houses between those at 250K and those at 1 million.

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 26/09/2009 18:36

Only read the OP. Guess so. But tbh, I couldn't care less.

expatinscotland · 26/09/2009 18:51

'I'd love to live in London '

Why?

Original poster
Morosky · 26/09/2009 19:08

I went through a phase a few years ago of wanting to return to London, luckily we grew out of it.

I am now in Dorset and do think it is the nation's best kept secret (shit I have let the cat out of the bag) everyone is so happy to live here, beautiful countryside, affordable housing (in comparison to lots of other places down south) and if you want to go to London it is 2 hours.

Bliss.

OP posts:
ReducedToThis · 26/09/2009 21:34

There is a legal obligation to make an accurate tax return in respect of your property transaction and solicitors and conveyancers are duty bound to ensure transactions are accurately recorded.

It's a bit of a leap to assume people who buy a £1m + house and don't want their house price to appear in public are practising large scale tax evasion.

Eldon - I agree. It seems Morosky chose the three cheapest 2 bed houses for sale in Tooting and they aren't representative of the average 2 bed offering in the area.

I think people who live in London and environs become deluded about the size of an ordinary house outisde London. People are squished in London and the home counties houses.

Original poster
Morosky · 26/09/2009 22:49

I did choose the first two, so perhaps they were the cheapest. But there is a huge leap between 250K and 1 million so I would imagine there are a lot of houses under 1 million.

I have lived in London so am not totally naive in this matter

OP posts:
sarah293 · 27/09/2009 09:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

foxinsocks · 27/09/2009 10:42

it's lack of supply that causes that riven

if you don't think of houses but think of something like tickets for a concert it's easier to picture. Lots of people want tickets for a concert but there are only a limited number of them so the price (on the free market, say something like ebay) goes through the roof as the sellers know they have something that a lot of people want.

Problem in London has been a growing population (and demand for housing) without the same growth in housing (or infrastructure for that matter).

It's more complicated than that (as you have the rented market to take into account too) but there is definitely a lack of (supply of) reasonably priced housing in London.

I remember looking for a house in 2003 and you would see a house in the window of the estate agent and before you even had a chance to see it, it had been sold!

And reduced, it's not that people are 'deluded' about the lack of space in London. I'm sure most people are realistic about that and will know people out of London who live in larger houses. But those ones you linked to are still LARGE houses (5 beds), wherever you live!

colditz · 27/09/2009 10:47

i think in the tax should be regionally weighted.

The only houses going for 1 million in this area are huge historic beautiful buildings with 10 acres and gorgeous views. A nice 4 bed semi in a nice area will set you back about 200, 250 grand. You can buy a not great 2 bed terrace in a not great area for under 100 grand.

So the people in 1 million pound houses here can easily afford the tax - in london they may already be pouring heart and soul into staying alive.

colditz · 27/09/2009 10:53

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