The real question is why house prices aren't falling faster?

mr.broderick

carolt wrote: »

Absolutely, Doom_and_Gloom, and hopefully, due to your age, you will be lucky to have just missed the peak of an enormous bubble (do bubbles have peaks? ) and will be in a great position to buy in a couple of years. I think you're kind of missing the point - (almost) no-one on here thinks renting is better than buying per se - just renting versus buying at stupidly high prices.

Best of luck!

We know it is why you come here every day.

Doom_and_Gloom

carolt wrote: »

Absolutely, Doom_and_Gloom, and hopefully, due to your age, you will be lucky to have just missed the peak of an enormous bubble (do bubbles have peaks? ) and will be in a great position to buy in a couple of years. I think you're kind of missing the point - (almost) no-one on here thinks renting is better than buying per se - just renting versus buying at stupidly high prices.

Best of luck!

Well yes I know the point was kind of missed in that post if I'm honest .

Prices aren't falling faster as they are going down rather fast percentage wise as it is every month. That's not a secret surely. If they went down faster there would probably be more people being repossesed than there already is. They need to be more realistic about the value of the house. People's greed and/or sentimant has got to them instead of the need for security that homes used to be. It is difficult letting go of a place that you lived in for years but the person buying it does not have this. The value is therefore not as much to the buyer as it is to the seller as it is. This is where a third party used to be able to put the point across to the seller to put it at a realistic price. These third parties now get a huge percentage of the sell so oddly enough house prices have gone up more and more. It's not rocket science. It is greed. We need it to level out and only have marginal ups and downs from then on. Then no one really loses.

GDB2222

mewbie wrote: »

I think if you try declearign yourself brunkrupt you will actually be certified. Still, no housing worries when that happens.

My recollection is that about 75% of bankruptcy petitions are made by the individual concerned, who is seeking protection from creditors. Only about 25% are made by the creditors.

wheretheresawill

Doesnt matter cos a price drop is a price drop whether it be 2% a month over a year = 24% or if it goes in one drop, I dont mind waiting the year it may take for people to finally realise they just cant get what THEY want for their property, however as i'm kind hearted I'd rather they had a year to prepare themselves........

wheretheresawill

Oh and on my estate, neighbour started at £199k, then 189k, now £175k, what did he pay 4yrs ago...um £175k; has he had any offers? Try asking has he had anyone interested. Its a good thing, its painful for some but they were warned - not that I would ever dare say I told you so. Its not just the fact people cant get loans, its more to do with the fact people in my generation and the generation coming up behind us cant afford to buy houses that cost 7 times more than our annual salary.....unless funded by parents who made money selling houses in the past 5 years, so nobody really wins apart from gov who made a hell of a lot more through stamp duty and inheritance tax

wymondham

wheretheresawill wrote: »

Oh and on my estate, neighbour started at £199k, then 189k, now £175k, what did he pay 4yrs ago...um £175k; has he had any offers? Try asking has he had anyone interested. Its a good thing, its painful for some but they were warned - not that I would ever dare say I told you so. Its not just the fact people cant get loans, its more to do with the fact people in my generation and the generation coming up behind us cant afford to buy houses that cost 7 times more than our annual salary.....unless funded by parents who made money selling houses in the past 5 years, so nobody really wins apart from gov who made a hell of a lot more through stamp duty and inheritance tax

good points. in a nutshell if people did'nt buy, then prices would fall faster and become affordable again. There are always exceptions when buying is the only way out, but at present we see lots of posts by people saying they 'have to buy' and 'can't rent' and 'found a property we love', so they overstretch themselves to buy or use a dodgy scheme to do it, hence they are feeding the problem. buying by using your heart rather than your head can be an expensive mistake.

There is a bizarre fixation with buying new builds by FTB's, as they can't afford to buy 'pre loved' houses/flats etc as they don't have the schemes by the big builders, deperate to offload their overpriced properties onto people who misguidedly think they are being helped...

There is real denial going on with FTB's (bar a few recent ones with their heads screwed on) about the state of the market and they seem completely blind to it and/or don't understand the future implications of their actions and the fact they have chosen the worst time to buy in recent times.... when things get worse it will hit them harder than any other sector which is a real shame. Try telling a determined FTB they could lose most if not all of their deposit within year one if they buy that nice newbuild from that 'helpful' builder ..

stonethrower

.

There is a bizarre fixation with buying new builds by FTB's, as they can't afford to buy 'pre loved' houses/flats etc as they don't have the schemes by the big builders, deperate to offload their overpriced properties onto people who misguidedly think they are being helped..

This is so true I work in the construction industry and the vast majority of newbuilds that I have come across are so badly built its embarrassing.

GDB2222

wymondham wrote: »

... at present we see lots of posts by people saying they 'have to buy' and 'can't rent' and 'found a property we love', so they overstretch themselves to buy or use a dodgy scheme to do it, hence they are feeding the problem. buying by using your heart rather than your head can be an expensive mistake.

...

There is real denial going on with FTB's (bar a few recent ones with their heads screwed on) about the state of the market and they seem completely blind to it and/or don't understand the future implications of their actions and the fact they have chosen the worst time to buy in recent times.... when things get worse it will hit them harder than any other sector which is a real shame. ...

I get soooo frustrated on this forum. I can see so clearly the mistakes people are making, and it seems obvious to me that prices have way, way further to fall. I try to persuade people not to buy at the moment, but I don't get anywhere. Perhaps my powers of persuasion are poor, but I think it's more likely that these people are too blinkered in their approach.

The problem that FTBers have is that many have been dying to buy but have been priced out of the market for the last few years. They see an opportunity *at last* to buy somewhere, and they grab the chance with both hands, even though if they would only wait another 1 or 2 years the buying opportunity will be miles better. It looks to them like the risk of not buying is too great, whereas in reality the risk of buying now is the greater.

pickles110564

GDB2222 wrote: »

I get soooo frustrated on this forum. I can see so clearly the mistakes people are making, and it seems obvious to me that prices have way, way further to fall. I try to persuade people not to buy at the moment, but I don't get anywhere. Perhaps my powers of persuasion are poor, but I think it's more likely that these people are too blinkered in their approach.

Why should anyone listen to you?
How do you know what is going to happen next?

dopester

GDB2222 wrote: »

I get soooo frustrated on this forum. I can see so clearly the mistakes people are making, and it seems obvious to me that prices have way, way further to fall. I try to persuade people not to buy at the moment, but I don't get anywhere. Perhaps my powers of persuasion are poor, but I think it's more likely that these people are too blinkered in their approach.

You're not alone. Only this last Christmas gone I couldn't persuade a girl (friend of a friend) against putting in either reservations or deposits on 5 offplan apartments. 5 of them ! Let her burn though. People are highly set in their ways. Existing paradigms are nearly impossible to break even with clear evidence. Only the brunt of economic necessity will break this paradigm. And that discussion ended after she resorted to saying "you drive a shed", whereas I'm supposed to be envious of someone paying for a big BMW on finance? :rotfl:

And the few sunny FTBs that pop in here from time to time are not fully representative of the majority of FTBs.

You always get a few people who are still infected with the notion prices can't really crash that much and who are blind to economic realities. And even if they want to buy, they have to be really determined, with deposits, and convince the lenders. Let the stragglers buy if they so wish. It is not going to change the overall outcome.

guardian.co.uk,
Tuesday August 19 2008 18:04 BST

Housing transactions in the UK are set to fall 60% below the worst period of the early 1990s when the UK was last in recession, according to research out today.

Nick Dawson at London-based estate agents Cluttons believes that the lack of mortgages available is forcing people onto the rental market. "People who previously would have bought are now renting. There is such a lack of liquidity in the market that it is almost closed shop for all these first time buyers," he said.