To think if flats arent going up, prices of houses will stabilise?

[Daftpink123]

Just that really. Flats havent fared well the past few years and the days of flats going up £100K in a few years seem to be long gone. Many of those who have second and third stepped out of London into home counties/London suburbs have been able to do so as their first flat purchases went up by a large amount too. If flats/starter homes arent going up as much now, how will people be able to afford to second step as the price difference between a flat and house is so much wider now. Surely house prices will need to reduce to allow for this?

I think there needs to be a resolution to the cladding issue if flats are to start moving again.

They need to lose the outdated paradigm of steps and a property ladder. House prices are going to remain high due to lack of supply.

Flats are shit in the UK - neighbours are allowed to behave like cunts/no strict laws regarding noise pollution, no controls on AirB&Bs so you could get stuck by a flat being rented out as a party house, service fees, leaseholds, no minimum standards for builds so they're like rabbit hutches, cities not allowing for parking facilities with flats, cladding etc.

Flats in London have become something that people overseas use as an investment vehicle which has screwed up the market for them.

I do agree with you OP. How do people even start to build equity to buy the bigger houses if they can’t make profit from the flats/smaller houses?! (Not many FTB can afford houses in London). In a few years, something will have to give to keep the market moving.

People taking out big mortgages will have a shocker as soon as interest rates rise. Can’t see it happening soon though

Some flats in London have gone up 100k in 5 years. You just need some kind of outdoor space (public or shared) and you’re golden. The market for flats without garden space is also picking up after the Covid slump, so I don’t think there will be this massive crash people are predicting

This was how 2007 felt, I remember because I was in a specific job and we would discuss house prices at break time.
They crashed about a year later. Who knows if they will crash but I’m fairly certain they will slow down
At the moment there’s the stamp duty holiday, a huge amount of mortgage money, savings from lockdown, inheritance ( under normal circumstances this may have been spent on holidays) all fuelling the market. Furlough hasn’t ended, brexit isn’t sorted, inflation is rising and people may be called back to the office but that’s an unknown as the pandemic isn’t over. And as you said the flats and starter homes aren’t rising in value. I don’t think prices will fall but I think it will steady. History shows boom and bust with a general upward trend.

Depends on the flat IMO. A lot of recent new builds, which were so often very overpriced anyway per sq m compared with older flats, and with hefty service charges on top, which are likely to rise anyway, are the ones that are most likely to devalue. Or to have devalued already.

In a London area I watch there are a lot of purpose built Edwardian maisonette type flats, most with their own small garden/patio, and typically very low charges, and prices of those are holding up fairly well.

I think there needs to be a resolution to the cladding issue if flats are to start moving again

100% this

it is an absolute scandal and disgrace that the cladding issue hasn't had a national solution and that the leaseholders (flat owners) are having to pay to rectify building defects in buildings owned by freeholders and constructed using unsafe building materials signed off as safe via the uk-government-construction industry cartel.

fucking criminal.

If you buy a car, and later a problem is found with the design of that car's seatbelt - the manufacture has to do a recall and will replace the unsafe seatbelt at their cost

Cladding costs (caused by unsafe building materials being signed off by building control as safe) are being pushed onto the leaseholders - how on earth is this even legal?! I don't understand why there isn't coordinated pressure on the government on this.

I agree that the cladding issue is behind this. I think it has made people more aware of the issues/pitfalls of buying a flat. That coupled with the pandamic and people realising the need to your own space/freedom, I think this problem will continue for quite a long time.

I expect the price of smaller houses will increase faster as people try to avoid the 'steps' and jump straight to a house. I wouldn't want my DC buying a flat.

I think that the concept of the housing ladder is outdated.

In the old days, people used to buy young and see substantial wage rises which allowed them to upsize. This is no longer true for most people. Wages have been pretty stagnant for years, and the average age of a first time buyer is now around 35. I think this is why first time buyers are simply skipping the flat stage. Living in a flat is perfectly fine in your 20s, but by your 30s, people often have kids and want a house with a garden.

For many people, upsizing is only possible a) if they buy their first property single and then find a partner live with, b) when they get inheritance - so they max themselves out and buy the best that they can afford.

@MidnightMeltdown

I think that the concept of the housing ladder is outdated.

In the old days, people used to buy young and see substantial wage rises which allowed them to upsize. This is no longer true for most people. Wages have been pretty stagnant for years, and the average age of a first time buyer is now around 35. I think this is why first time buyers are simply skipping the flat stage. Living in a flat is perfectly fine in your 20s, but by your 30s, people often have kids and want a house with a garden.

For many people, upsizing is only possible a) if they buy their first property single and then find a partner live with, b) when they get inheritance - so they max themselves out and buy the best that they can afford.

Absolutely! But you see it on here all the time, 'Get on 'the ladder'' or berating people for aiming for a house and not a flat.

Not all flats... I'm ground floor with a garden and mine has gone up a fair bit. Estate agent was desperate to sell it for me

I think people think of it as a step too whereas I'm in a 2 bed apartment, if I move to a 2 bed house I will actually lose square footage so a house is a step down..

I guess it really depends on the type of flat. Our flat is ground floor with huge communal gardens - it has mini roads through the estate and feels like a gated community. It’s in a popular area of south London and and according to the nationwide index, has gone up by 25k in a year. We bought it 40k cheaper than the other flats because it needed doing up. I’m desperate to build up equity in it over the next five years because there’s five of us in a two bed. We’re fine as we are right now but really need at least a three bed soon.

The cladding issue is an outrageous disgrace though, and I really feel for people stuck in that situation. What an awful situation to be in.