The ridiculous, ridiculous price of property

[Snakesandpropertyladders]

This is really just a rant/moan/ whinge about how ridiculous house prices have got.
We are looking for a standard 3 bedroom house where the 3rd bedroom is actually a box room that would only just about fit a single bed. So nothing fancy. We have a pretty good budget but it is just not going to be nearly enough as house prices have risen so much recently.
We viewed 2 houses today. Both had pretty small rooms and needed quite a bit of work. The first was priced at 450k. It needed a new kitchen and complete redecoration. The second house was priced at 425k. This one was identical to the first but needed new kitchen, bathroom, complete redecoration throughout. It was a major project, though not being sold as one. If we bought the house we wouldn't be able to afford to do the work for years and years if at all. How on earth can these sorts of prices be justified!?
For that sort of money we'd expect a house that we can move into and that's it. It's a pretty high budget yet all that is coming onto the market are dilapidated houses or houses in dodgy unsafe areas. Even houses in not particularly savoury areas are edging closer to 500k.
We have even looked at moving further out from where we are, but the cost of commuting then becomes prohibitive. Both of our jobs only exist in London so we have to be within commutable distance. A 30 minute commute from Essex will cost us around £800 a month in train fares!
I'm despairing of us ever being able to leave our flat and buy a house of our own. Rents are pretty crazy too at the moment so even that isn't a great option.

Cartsmar we live on the Devon/Somerset border and in a village thats a 5 min commute to the train station. my DH has that sort of commute to work as there is nothing available to him locally that would sustain paying a mortgage.

He doesn't see our DC's at all during the week and he is shattered when he gets in (gets a 7.19 to get him to work for 9 o clock just! and it takes even longer in the evening for him to get home) but he sees it as a no brainer - our quality of life here is very good and we can afford the place that we wanted hence why we moved a year ago.

I really do sympathise, there is nothing worse than growing up in an area and wanting to stay there but you cannot because you are priced out of the market.Same goes for moving to a nice area - it was do-able a few years ago but for many people especially living in the SE renting is the only realistic option.

Perhaps it would be worth your while having a look anywhere up to an hour commute away. We moved from Wiltshire to here and my DH commuted to Bath from Devon every day. We know a couple of people where we used to live who worked in London but lived in Wilts. Someone upthread said Berkshire - it's pricey now ( i lived in Newbury years ago when it was still fairly cheap) but nothing compared to London and it's immediate surrounding areas.

It's the huge price of property in London that means we are moving out of London too. A real shame as we have lovely friends here and DD loves her school. I actually think lots of people like us will move out.

Have you considered Hitchin in Hertfordshire? You could get a nice three bed with that budget. Only half an hour on the train into Kings Cross. But I agree that house prices around London are ridiculous. We love Hitchin but we'll never be able to afford a three bed here and we're now planning a move up to Yorkshire where property prices aren't so extortionate!

Se20 London council area mainly with lots of converted Victorian houses yet a 3 bed Victorian terrace is selling for 850k! My ex council 3 bed flat is worth around 350. If you could see the place you would understand my

My friend has just bought a house in Colchester. 5 beds, newish build, good nick and near to great schools. 40 mins into Liverpool st.

£345k

I grew up on London. We lived in rented accommodation. But my Mum could not afford to buy a property

We moved to Yorkshire and within 6 months she bought her first home. London property prices were crazy then but it just spirals. If I had remained in London I would have struggled to own a home.

I love London and cities in general but I wouldn't live there again. I wanted my dc to grow up in a safer environment (I lived in a deprived area and it was not advisable to go out alone after dark). My schooling options were dire.

I bought my first home when I was 22. I own a large 4 bed which I bought for £63k in 1995. I live 15 mins for a major city in a semi rural area with great schools.

Ironically, my dh works in London during the week. But these days there aren't many jobs that are exclusive to the Capital.

Colchester is nice but the commute would cost us too much. Plus I can't find any trains that only take 40 mins, most seem to be over an hour.

It depends which bit of London you need to commute to. I'm always amazed by market town like Royston in Herts, where the fast trains into Kings Cross are 40 minutes. House prices there are (relatively) low.

Not much good if you work in South or West London though.

On the one hand it is ridiculous that that amount of money can't buy you a modest 3 bedroom house in certain areas. On the other hand, it's people clammering to live in these areas, and paying well over the odds to do so, that has caused the situation.

We live 30 minutes at most from central London by train, in a town with all the shops and facilities you could need, and you could get that sort of house for 300K. We don't have fancy restaurants and bars (yet) so the more money than sense brigade who need their 'cafe culture' (the ones you always get on Location Location) wouldn't consider it.

Exactly the same. We were looking for a 3 bed in Chislehurst/ Bromley area for 450k - only places we could afford we're falling down (literally according to the survey) or on very busy main roads. We've had an offer accepted at 550 now but it's way more than we wanted and right at the top of the budget. Baby on the way in 8 weeks and still no sign of completion, but we need to move as current flat is on second floor with very steep steps. We just wanted a modest 3 bed semi, nothing entitled about that!

OP when we bought in London nearly 4 years ago there was a bit of a dip in prices so I know we were lucky there, we just didn't want to buy before hand and I was pregnant and DH thought it was time to put down some roots. He was right. But we literally put our budget into rightmove and said London and looked at areas that fell within our budget.

I work in west London and DH the city and the only concession was my travel time as I only go into the office a few times a week. We are about 20 mins to Victoria and about 25 to LB. Everyone said they wouldn't buy where we were planning to but I have lovely neighbours, great commute and it's ridiculously affordable for us!

Do you have the ability to move anywhere within your budget that's a good commute? Don't worry if it's a shit area as everywhere seems to be improving, you just need to get in while it's still considered shit

Prices seem so extreme now, I am really glad my DH pushed when he did. BTW you have double the budget we had which is just mind boggling.

I think the biggest reason for the vast increase in property prices in London is speculation by foreign buyers and using London property as a safe haven for their sometimes ill gotten assets. Often these properties are not lived in which exacerbates the supply of housing for Londoners who actually live and work in the city. I'd like to see the government apply an additional stamp duty for foreign buyers of UK property.

Cartsmar Very true about long commutes. I know there are quite a few folk who commute from where we live, but no doubt they have very long working days.

I grew up in a village near here and my Dad was a commuter all his working life. He left at 6.30am and was home at about 7.30 in the evenings, so we barely saw him during the week. My mum was rushed off her feet working F/T (locally) and doing all the housework/cooking/child-related stuff. None of us knew any different and Dad loved his work so much, so we were all happy enough.

But although I have fond memories of my childhood, and loved my dad very much, that sort of set-up is not what I would have wanted for my own family so I feel very lucky that my OH works from home and is able to be very central in our lives.

OP you need to look in SE6 (the Corbett Conservation Area) you'll definitely get a decent Victorian 3 bed for 400k, it has great schools, is friendly and is 20 mins from Central London.

Elfo I think we are living in similar areas! Even the Eltham side of Chislehurst is seeing prices creeping up.
I don't think its fair to say people have more money than sense because they want bars and restaurants near where they live. Some people enjoy going out from time to time.

I had a quick google for SE6 Corbett houses but the ones that came up were 500k and upwards. I will have another search later.

I don't think that all of the Corbett Estate in Catford is a conservation area, and prices are much nearer £450-500k now. There is talk of Bakerloo line extension to Catford in 15years time though.

If I were you I would try Bromley, Croydon and Thornton Heath. People speak highly if Beckenham too.

Bromley and Beckenham are where we are looking. Prices have gone crazy.

Hasn't beckenham been desirable for three decades? Thought it was always veh naice and pricey!

I'm probably thinking of the Bellingham end if Beckenham - my Zoopla search is 3 beds under £500 3miles from my house! There's not much tbh.

I just wanted to echo a poster on page 1, Plumstead in SE London will give you everything that you want for around £300k. The area around the common is lovely, it's safe, people are friendly, the schools from what I hear are good. You can get the train from Welling to Charing Cross, Canon St or Victoria, to Cannon St only from Jan from Plumstead, or Charing Cross/Cannon St from Woolwich Arsenal. The DLR direct to Bank or Stratford International, the clippers up the Thames, or a direct bus into Whitehall. It's fifteen minutes to London City Airport, and in a few years Cross Rail is coming, house prices will go up even more than they have done. My house has gone up by £100k in the six years I've owned it.

callindana you seem very canny. You've found a bargain! Please share your location, it would be genuinely useful to know?

Thankyou!

Fingers crossed for those of you looking to buy or trade up in London.

London house prices seen retreating next year

We live in the east midlands, so prices in general are not nearly as high as they are around London. But, as with anywhere, there are cheap places and there are expensive places. Generally as soon as the word "council" is mentioned you can be guaranteed a lower price. Our area is a council estate that had serious crime problems years ago. It still carries that reputation but is actually the nicest area I've ever lived in - friendly, community oriented, great park nearby, lovely schools. And, lucky for me, people with high budgets avoid the area due to snobbery so I got a lovely three bed for less than £80,000.

If you're looking for a bargain then my advice would be don't listen to opinions on what areas are "good" or "bad" - go and see for yourself. Having neighbours who happen to be on benefits or who are from other countries does not mean it'll be a horrible place to live. There are absolute gems hidden in "bad" areas. The houses in my area are fantastic - huge kitchens, huge sitting rooms, three good size bedrooms, lovely large gardens. Like I mentioned, my DH's boss paid £124,000 more than we did for a significantly smaller house with a terrible garden. They had to extend into the loft as the third bedroom was too small and now they're extending the kitchen as that's also too small. So when it comes to it they will have spend a massive amount more on their house than we did on ours, simply because they live on the "good" side of a particular lane and we live on the "bad" side. It boggles me that people will spend over a hundred thousand pounds due to hearsay and reputation when a quick look around and a bit of an open mind would tell them that there's no need to avoid a certain area and the reputation is bullshit.

Property prices are going up so quickly near us that a house that would be affordable one week is not the next. Our salaries haven't gone up in line with the prices, so lots of people are priced out of their once working class neighbourhoods, by people who can afford (and are willing to pay) £1/2 million for this.
You pay more than you can really afford and then spend all your time worrying about interest rates and job security. It is really depressing.