House price crash

[FabulousSophie]

I've been having a horrible experience on a website forum called HousePriceCrash.com.
I happen to believe house prices will fall significantly, which is why I went there to find out more, but many of its members behave in such a paranoid and hostile way towards anyone who dares utter any dissent towards their very particular and obsessional group beliefs. They repeatedly accuse other members of being undercover operatives for the property industry - they seem to have a grandiose idea that they are so dangerous to the property industry that the industry wants to damage them by sending undercover operatives to 'troll' their forum. They almost seem like a weird religious cult that does not tolerate heresy amongst its members, or else they will be publicly degraded and excommunicated from their church.
It seems populated almost exclusively by men, I think. One of its members seems to have become obsessed with me in a nasty way, and even though I have never responded to any of his repeated public comments to me and about me, he won't stop pestering me. He gives me the creeps. I know it is only cyberspace but I still find him a bit scary. Does anyone else have any experience of this forum?

[BuildingThings]

I agree with all of the above. I also believe that the houseprices are unsustainable and don't like that houses in this country are viewed as assets and not homes to live in, so I was really excited when I stumbled upon this forum a few years back, but soon realised that it's not very informative, unintelligent and full of spam.

They seem to be very good at updating when the different HPI surveys come out, so that's quite useful, however the sensible and interesting comments are few and far between. Most of their threads don't stay on topic, so you have to scroll through 85% of useless, hateful, misogynistic, racist nonsense.

I think the other 15% of that forum, who actually have something interesting to contribute with, should set up their own, less radical forum that is more tolerant to different views and opinions to promote healthy discussion, isn’t that what a forum is for?

The fact that they have banned you, FabSophie, just proves that they're not interested in being challenged or other POVs other than the unrealistic idea that the market will crash through the floor and the houses will be back at 1970s levels, without presenting any precedent or scientific evidence to this insane fantasy of theirs.

At present they are resembling a cult rather than a political forum.

[FabulousSophie]

I see they have taken to calling us "mumsnutters" now.

[LegoBitcho]

When the nutters start calling us nutters 😂

They're just a bunch of old school arseholes. The racism, sexism and ignorance on that site is terrible.

They are bitter little (mainly) men. Let them crack on with being losers.

[Madbengalmum]

Top tip is if you view your house as a place to live in, ( which is an essential), instead of your pension pot etc then you won't go wrong. People are living beyond their means, yes there will probably be a correction, but this is all part of the cycle.

[FabulousSophie]

Madbengalmum Of course there is going to be a correction, or even a crash, it's plain for anyone to see. But I think the main motivation of a lot of the HPCers is the prospect of saying "we told you so, we were right all along, aren't we clever and not weird at all. We were even the catalyst for the crash haha". I think a lot of the hardcore HPCers see their sense of self worth from the prospect of being proved right about the housing market correcting. And if you become a member of their cult, you need to sign up to every aspect and detail of their religious doctrine, or else you are labelled a 'troll' and excommunicated.

[LovelyBath77]

They sound awful, some groups are mad. They'd hate us then, bought in 1990s have a tiny mortgage soon to end, worth around 5 times more now.

[isambardo]

I completely agree houseprices in this country are fubar and have been artificially propped up.

However after spending lots of time on that site a decade ago I decided to buy and have barely any mortgage now. I would rather take the risk and get on with life than be the person waiting a lifetime for the crash. Even if prices halved people on that site wouldn’t be happy.

[MarkCarnage]

they love to hate mumsnet!

There have been a lot of HPI apologists over here, so yes, Mumsnet has gotten stick from HPCers over the years. It doesn’t excuse the ugly misogyny which pokes its head up far too often, but it does help explain the fixation with this place (which has long been reciprocated).

HPC users are morons.

And nutters, don't forget.
Housing was one of those bizarre cases in which the more information you tried to arm yourself with, the more likely you were to make the ‘wrong’ decision - wrong in this case being, to not join the bandwagon.

Personally I’d probably be much better off financially if I’d not listened to my head.

It is rather nasty to hope for a crash

It's nastier to hope the horrible status quo continues. Even the gentle fluttering to normalcy that it's acceptable to want would condemn would-be homeowners to rented for who knows how many years as salaries magically rise and the employment market reverses the trend deep into zero hour stability.

They’ve missed the boat, and they can’t seem to grasp that a major crash (which can and may happen, it’s a bloody cycle after all!) would come with widespread economic collapse…They’ve been waiting for this crash for a decade whilst furiously hating those who’ve acquired major equity in that decade, who likely won’t be affected in a crash anyway.

Which is it, economic collapse, or a class of homeowners above it all?

Some people seem to think a crash means every mansion in town will be theirs, but the reality is that banks don’t lend so it’s harder to get a mortgage

Those who have been prudent won’t have a problem. Banks won’t stop lending if they want to stay in business.

I really would be careful what you wish for.

That’s a bit patronising, but a common enough warning. Personally, I wish for the insanity to end; as soon as possible.

What I’ve always found odd is that a site for mothers is filled with people who seem to have so little sympathy for the next generation, at least until their own offspring is affected.

[LegoBitcho]

Those who have been prudent won’t have a problem. Banks won’t stop lending if they want to stay in business.

This is the HPC thinking, but seemingly ignoring they may no longer have a job not going to mention Brexit

[LegoBitcho]

Just saw this gem

What I’ve always found odd is that a site for mothers is filled with people who seem to have so little sympathy for the next generation

And what about those mothers trying to avoid a crash to keep a roof over their own dc head now. Those that stretched themselves too much because they had to. You'd hope for a crash and fuck them?

Think you should head back over to the HPC forum Mark. Might suit you better

[Whatthefoxgoingon]

Homeowners with lots of equity will ride out any economic downturn fine markcarnage people who have overstretched won’t obviously, idiots on hpc seem to think everyone is going to be repossessed in a crash whilst in reality very few people will. Mortgages are stress tested far better now and people who aren’t forced to sell, won’t. House prices aren’t set at the margins as much as people would like to believe.

We have a small window of opportunity to buy a house when we’re young, healthy, employed and solvent. If you miss the bottom of a long cycle (this ones been going a while) then wait and wait, you’ll wait until you’re dead.

[MarkCarnage]

This is the HPC thinking, but seemingly ignoring they may no longer have a job

A fair point. However, even during crashes, most people still keep their jobs. HPCers are also more likely to have significant deposits, making them less of a risk for the banks.

Thanks for not mentioning Brexit, which has turned into a catch-all for problems long in the making.

And what about those mothers trying to avoid a crash to keep a roof over their own dc head now. Those that stretched themselves too much because they had to. You'd hope for a crash and fuck them?

Why would people, who nobody forced to stretch themselves, be “fucked”? They’d still have a home, wouldn’t they? Negative equity doesn’t make your house suddenly disappear.

Think you should head back over to the HPC forum

I’m here for the tolerance to different views, and the healthy discussion.

[BuildingThings]

The truth is a site like HPC could have mass appeal. Just look at this thread and the thread that MarkC linked to - so many people have visited at least once and stayed long enough to form their own opinion about it. There’s clearly a gap for a site that is anti HPI, where normal people could go to get information and an interesting discussion.

But they’re doing themselves no favours by being so radical, unlikeable and demeaning to people who might have a different opinion. They see people who own homes as their enemy. If they didn’t exclude half of the population by being such an ‘old boys club’, then they could have a far reaching influence and be a very interesting forum to read and take part in. It could have been a huge success, however housepricecrash.com will never be a website like that.

And judging by how many people have commented on this thread and only two of them have actually posted on HPC, it is evidence that it is an intriguing website, that lures you in with false promises and most people go in there, spend 10 minutes reading before making a U-turn outta there thinking ‘never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience’.

[FabulousSophie]

My impression is that a lot of the HPcers do not realistically want to buy a home, unless it is handed to them at 1970s prices (and they have the cash to pay for it). They are far more excited by the prospect of celebrating the misfortune of others, who have followed the prevailing advice and bought a home in the last couple of decades (or since their site started). I agree that if there is a major economic downturn or collapse, as so many there seem to want, most of them would not themselves be immune from its consequences, and would get dragged down, too. However, they seem to be looking for the satisfaction of having less to lose than homeowners, and being able to say, 'We told you so! Who is worse off now?'. At root, it's a very nasty attitude, although it does not mean that a crash will not happen at some point.

[MarkCarnage]

they could have a far reaching influence and be a very interesting forum to read and take part in. It could have been a huge success, however housepricecrash.com will never be a website like that.

I think you missed the HPC boat which I mentioned upthread. Once upon a time it was fascinating and filled with knowledgable people. There are still a few about, if you’re willing to wade through the bitcoin goldbuggery.

They see people who own homes as their enemy.

I don’t get that at all. They see terrible government policies, clueless media personalities, and house price inflation apologists unwilling to see beyond their own self-interest as the enemy.

[MarkCarnage]

I should add, I rarely visit now, so some of my impressions are possibly past their sell-by date! But I dislike this constant accusation that they're all nutters. They're not.

[BuildingThings]

I think you missed the HPC boat which I mentioned upthread. Once upon a time it was fascinating and filled with knowledgable people. There are still a few about, if you’re willing to wade through the bitcoin goldbuggery.

What happened?

[MarkCarnage]

Oh great, my misspelling of knowledgeable now stand out in bold.

I can’t speak for anyone but myself (and my wife, who is too sensible to wade into this), but if they’re anything like us, at some point they figured they’d had enough of uncommon sense, because the nutters (note I didn’t say mumsnutters) had clearly won the day.

[MarkCarnage]

Stands out in bold. Apparently I need a preview of preview.