London and SE house prices. What next.

[Samnella]

I just wanted to get some opnions on the London house market which appears to be seperate from what is going in else where in the UK.

I live in London and had my house valued recently and found out it is supposedly worth almost 50% more than we paid for it in 2005. I have checked Zoopla and the houses on my road are indeed selling for this price so it seems a realistic estimate.

We did buy just before the peak in 2007, but even taking that account that is a ridciulous rise in hose price in a time of a recession and the effect on house prices else where. The house is only just in London so not Mayfair. We have done very little beyond painting (the kitchen and bathroom is the same and it was already extended). This can't continue, surely.

London and the SE seem to be in a bubble. When or if do you think it will burst?

We did buy just before the peak in 2007, but even taking that account that is a ridciulous rise in hose price in a time of a recession

I obviusly meant house prices .

Those crazy hose prices.

We had our flat in Essex valued last year at 20% more than we paid in 2008. It seems that London and close to London is still doing well

Same happened to us - and we had an offer within 3 days at 95% of asking when we put it on the market. I think a lot of these buyers are moving within London, therefore have large deposits - they are certainly not bankers where we live (mainly public sector) and the prices are way beyond 3.5 x apublic sector wage.

No idea what will happen - a crash has been predicted for ages but I think it's difficult to generalise as the situation changes from area to area or even street to street. It's still very possible to lose money on a London property.

Property is still rising here (SE London, zone 2).

But it does depend on area. Pockets with assumed good state schools might still go up, or people move from SW.

Not sure how long that will last.

We bought in 2006 and sold in 2010 for 20% more than we paid...

We left a house in zone 4 two years ago to move to kent coast. Houses in same street have gone up by 'up to' 10% in those two years - very dependent on condition though and definitely not every house.

Flats are generally stable in same area - very dependent on street - some up some stable and definitely some down.

Other areas of SE London we're looking in haven't moved at all in the last two years, some stable, some have big increases in ASKING prices but it isn't filtering through in actual prices paid.

The coastal kent area we bought in has gone up by about 8% +.

It all just seems a bit mad though. We are looking at moving to a bigger property which would look to be around £70k more for a teeny bit more space- still 3 beds but the small room can fit a single bed unlike the one we have now which only fits a small single. I certainly couldn't entertain the thought of moving up the ladder as it were to a 4 bed. How on earth do first time buyers manage? I have just checked and the cheapest 1 bed flat is £110k - ok so not outrageous but still difficult for many people starting out.