New housing in the UK

[RichTea90]

Sorry this is a bit of a ranty post but I live in South East England I’m 33 years old. Trying to get on the property ladder with a 40k deposit and a joint income of £119k. We are looking at 3 bed new build as want to start a family but they’re all so expensive and about 30-40k out of our budget.

Why is the government letting all of these greedy house building companies build and sell properties that are just not affordable to normal, every day people / couples / families. I think it’s truly scandalous.

instead im staring at Rightmove looking at a lot of properties that are so outdated or falling down and we just don’t have enough money to / disposable income to then do the property up.

feeling rather stressed 😩 is anyone else in the same position or understands what I mean

Prices of new housing has nothing to do with the government. It’s purely supply and demand. I can find at a castle in parts of Scotland for less than my London house.
The answer is to look at areas that are cheaper (e.g. the area isn’t as nice), houses that need work that you can do over time, or smaller than you want to start with (e.g. 2 bedroom flat).
New builds have a premium that are hard to recoup in the short term. My only move where I don’t make any money was on a new build, despite getting a “discount” when I bought. They’re generally less attractive to the 2nd buyer who can see the imperfections - lack of space and storage, proximity to other houses, parking problems - more clearly than the first buyer. This is especially the case for new build houses rather than flats.

Hello OP, we are not dissimilar in age and budget, although slightly (not much) different circs. We're in rented and keeping a keen (obsessive?) eye on the market.

The prices really are dreadful, with some people asking the world for some hovels, aren't they? My sense is that reality is setting in this year and prices are in drawdown to match borrowing costs. But not everyone needs to sell so it's difficult to tell who wants to sell and who is kite-flying. Also, ticket prices are definitely higher than what people would actually take for them.

Personally I'm not keen on a new build as I'm sceptical about build quality, but I do appreciate their appeal.

I'd straight up ignore the people talking about the 'ladder'. My plan is to buy once for family and once for downsize in retirement. Moving costs, SDLT and current market debunk the ladder model.

Also lol at the person who said you can 'do up' a house during maternity...

Location-wise have you looked at Fleet? Decent train and much nicer than Farnborough. If price is an issue Basingstoke could be worth it. Very decent trains but, well... Basingstoke. Are you looking large town/small town/village?

Personally also very sceptical of all the 'schemes' like shared ownership etc. Must be in someone else's commercial interests to arrange a scheme like that and as you say - quite a mess!

But most people don't start with the three bed that's in great condition with room to work from home. It's always been the case that you had to start with something less ideal and then move on, this is not a 'nowadays' problem.

But OP isn't in early 20s?

Is a 3 bedder in decent nick too much to ask for when you're a couple with decent earnings 10 years in work? This isn't an entitlement issue; it's an asset price issue which now more than ever is a 'nowadays problem'.

If you both owned property before is there not a more substantial deposit?

I get it though, we are in a 3 bed terrace in SE London that we have way outgrown, but we can't afford to move now with the rise in interest rates.

House prices aren't controlled by the government.

Prices are largely determined by supply and demand, UK population has been growing around 1.5% PA and the housing stock hasn't.

Interest rates and "confidence" plays a part, but as Brexit, Covid, War and CoLC has shown the market continues to be very resilient.

I hope you can find something that meets your budget and expectations soon.

But she has said she wants to be near family support/support network. Wants a new build. Wants to have earning power of 117 hence needs to be near DH work. Needs a study
It's a lot of expectations not just a basic expectation of a three bedder with room to raise a family.
We have a very nice family house in a part of London that is no longer affordable, bought twenty five years ago on one income. It hasn't got a big enough garden and we had no family support or local network when we moved here. If we hadn't been able to afford it or have life I "wanted" then I would have lived elsewhere...in the midlands or west or in the north. I have plenty of friends who did this, left London from miniscule two bedders or even cramped three bed terraces, changed job left family network and they never said this isnt fair, why hasn't govrnment intervened ....they made fabulous new lives for themselves...and yes some stayed in cramped two beds with two kids in town because they valued their areas and support more than space. But the market makes the choice and YOU make the market. It isn't the government.

I do feel your pain. My son is a similar age, also in the South East. He is on his own and earns far less, so his first buy a few years ago was a 1 bed flat.

You may feel your situation is rather dire, but you are in a better position that a lot of young people in the South East. You are on a good wage, you're looking for a family home rather than a starter, which in this area is out of reach for the majority your age. My daughter has bought a three bedroom home for the same cost as a small flat here, but she's had to move 200 miles away.

You might not feel that you will not have enough money to spend on a renovation project or property in need of modernising, but you can do one room at a time. It doesn't have to cost ££ in the first year, if you take it on as a longer term project and aim to do one bit at a time. That's what a lot of people have to do.

New builds are lovely and shiny but they don't represent good value and are consequently smaller that an older property tends to be.

Good luck.

Yes, you’re right here actually. Thank you!!!

I’d love to meet you and buy you a coffee 😂

Thank you so much for your helpful response, I feel like you understood me well, and I’m of similar thinking to you as well. The cost of moving (stamp duty, solicitors) etc is so so expensive, and once you have children, I think it’ll be even harder to save up for all of that. Not impossible. Hard, yes, stressful, yes. Not the most ideal. I’m in a weird position where we don’t have rich families who can help us out, but we don’t qualify for any benefits, help to buy schemes or anything like that. We literally have x for deposit and our salaries and that’s it.

I just think it makes more sense now to try and find a suitable-ish home that’s the right size and in a good area. I am willing to compromise though. I’m not a complete princess.

Also, I joined Mumsnet in the hope for support and community. Some people on here are such keyboard warriors, I’d love to know what you’re like in person, jeez.

Yep, Fleet is on my list. I have a friend who lives there. Haven’t found anything there yet. I went to Basingstoke the other day, and well yeah… It wasn’t for me. 😅

I am interested in either a small town or village that’s within a good proximity to a large town that has something about them, e.g. Farnham, Guildford, Redhill, Reigate etc etc. It would be nice to be close to places where we can go out for coffee, restaurants, cinema etc. We both drive, so also happy to be flexible on that. I don’t want to live too remote in the sticks as can imagine that being very isolating. 😳

I’m 33 and my partner is 35… we both lived in a 2 up to 2 down house together in our mid to late twenties. We have a bit of equity as our deposit now and we need something suitable for a little one to come along. We also both have jobs where we require an office. Partner is happy to work from the bedroom if needed tho it isn’t ideal.

a 2 bed simply does not meet our needs. We would outgrow it within a couple of years and we’re better off saving our money now while staying with family to get a 3 bed where we can live long term

our deposit is ok… it is substantial if we didn’t live in the south east. We’d be laughing if we lived in Middlesbrough for example…… but we don’t, and all of our support network is down here plus he cannot move due to his niche job.

It’s very hard for young people living in the south east… we are keeping aside £10k so that we can elope to get married as we can’t afford to get married and buy a house. That’s our compromise! Some people spend £24k plus on their weddings. I’d rather have a decent size property for our family.

We are currently in the process of buying our first house. Joint income in the £90ks, 5% deposit, 2 kids, one spouse a permanent home worker in need of an office, the other works in west London and travels in at least a couple of days a week. We’re buying our house in Bracknell for £375k - 3 bedrooms plus a separate office, 2 receptions, kitchen big enough for a dining table and a utility. Everything we wanted and needed for £375k. It’s a well built ex council house on an estate. You can find what you want, just might need to have a bit more flexibility. You’ll get there! The right thing will appear eventually.

Thank you for educating me.

the housing market in the UK interests me. The gov imo do have a duty to provide more housing though and for it to be affordable. That’s what I’ll be looking at when it comes to election time. Although let’s face it, most of our parties are pretty poor and rarely deliver on their manifestos

10k is still a lot for one day! You can g married for about £150.

Hear, hear.

btw I’m not sitting here blaming the government.

yes I have my expectations, but I’m also quite flexible too. All my family live in Kent, but I’m willing to look at Sussex, Kent, Hampshire, Berkshire, bucks… all for the right house and location that suits us as a couple and aspiring parents. Nothing wrong with having some expectations, we both want to be happy with where we live. We both work extremely hard.

my search continues…. Feel like Rightmove is my second home right now 🙈

the appeal of the new build is they quite often take huge chunks off of the house price and throw in a lot for free. I’ve had a stressful few years with losing family members etc and I don’t know if I have it in me to do a complete reno job. I’m still open to old houses tho! I haven’t completely ruled them out…

Agreed… but we are combining it with the honeymoon etc. again, it is our choice.

I am not spending £150 on my wedding day, lol.

honestly!!

The issue is, that your preferences are very mainstream - everyone would like a house you are describing and the price reflects it. Building more homes in general would help just a little, as you still would be competing for the nicest segment.

Is there any parameter where you can easily be more flexible than others?

Are there some specific circumstances, where you would be the preferred buyer? I can imagine being chain free should be a kind of advantage.

We were in a similar situation , didn't wanted to compromise on anything important, but we made ourselves very proceedable and very flexible on timing. In the end we were buying with tenants still in situ and waiting a month for their notice to finish and them to leave, but in my country it isn't as insane idea as it might be in the UK (the lawyer was keeping relevant part of the price until the house was empty).

I’m not saying this to be mean but I think you need to try to think out of the box if you can’t find your ideal property for a price you can afford. Try 2 bed terraces with room to extend into the roof/ garden, chalet bungalows with room in the roof or which can be reconfigured. Decent 1930s semis which need a facelift. I say this as I was dead set on my first flat being a 2 bedder, but the estate agent I viewed one with showed me a massive 1 bed around the corner and it was immediately clear to me that it was (a) bigger, (b) nicer and (c) cheaper! I bought it and split the lounge and it was a fantastic place. I also bought a 3 bed terrace in my 30s with a new partner, lived with dodgy decor etc while we saved, and gutted it over 6 months (we lived perfectly well in the upstairs), ended up with a 4 bedder plus office which we could not have afforded had we bought it “off the shelf”.

One other tip- get to know the estate agents and make sure they know you’re ready to go. The house we did up sold before it ever hit Rightmove to someone who lost out on a similar property with the same agent the week before.

Exactly ... the government may have a "duty" to provide more affordable housing but they never do and you are probably wasting your time waiting for that to happen, whoever you vote for.

Basically, it is what it is, house prices cost what they cost so you have to realistically consider all the options and choose the best (or possibly least worse one). I don't think shared ownership is the answer for you, and new builds tend to be more expensive and not the best investment at least in the short term. So your options are to settle for a 2 bed in the sort of area you would like or buy a 3 bed in a less appealing area. Or buy a 3 bed in a decent area that is unappealing in some way, possibly a compromise you can cope with such as it needing some renovation or serious updating.

My husband and I are similar ages with a similar joint income to you, the only reason we are in a 3 bed house now is because 1) we bought a 1 bed flat in our 20s during super low interest rates so had enough equity from the sale of that to trade up, and 2) we left London (only a bit further out, into Hertfordshire). I couldn't imagine jumping straight in at a 3 bed house now, I don't think we'd have been able to afford it! I absolutely get what you mean about not being at the stage in life where you would want to start further down the ladder; I definitely mentally outgrew our 1 bed flat about a year before we even put it up for sale.

I agree with other PPs about considering non-new builds - not proper doer uppers, ones that look a bit dated but otherwise fit your criteria. Off the shelf new builds may look appealing from the get go with their nice pictures and show houses, but based on the experience of my friends who bought a new build (at an eye watering price compared to 'second hand' houses in the same area), they have been dealing with snags for months especially as the developer's builders aren't always available to come do some technically small fixes. With a house that is otherwise just a bit ugly (to you), you can save as you go and do up room by room. A new lick of paint and new flooring won't be extortionate to begin with but will make a massive difference straight away.

Plenty of people do (we did). But we prioritised a house over something that took one day.

What about the East Grinstead/Haywards Heath/Crowborough/Uckfield bit of Sussex? Haywards Heath very fast train, but a bit average as far as amenities go, the others are smaller, market towns. Very friendly, thriving High Streets, cinemas, leisure facilities, more of a compromise on travel times. All surround the magnificent Ashdown Forest, lots of v good schools, non selective system. Not far from the coast. Very affordable.
The more I write, the more I wish I still lived there!
Or, Lewes very trendy, Brighton just very everything, your budget wouldn’t go as far in these two areas, but might be worth a look.