sales are up! why?

0james0

dopester wrote: »

Yes; that post you made is full of it.

Love the quick wit! had to laugh.

There is a difference between ignorance and educated opinion though. :beer:

mewbie_2

0james0 wrote: »

Now you can buy a house under the current value, thus future proofing it from future drops.

Isn't whatever you buy it for, the current value? So having bought it for its current value, when it continues to drop, then the current value will be less. Seems pretty simple to me, must be missing something.

0james0

Austin_Allegro wrote: »

I think most people just don't think very rationally about financial matters and especially not when they relate to housing. Housing is such an emotional issue in this country (home is where the heart is, as they say). The mass of people don't seem to be interested in informed decision, they seem to think in terms of headlines or soundbites - 'get on the ladder', 'renting is dead money' etc with no ability to see the wider picture.

In the old days when most people rented or were in council housing, and banks had strict limitations on lending, this level of ignorance didn't matter. The only people who could aspire to home ownership were those that could show they had a reasonable control of their finances.

Once the Pandora's box of easy credit was opened, however, and banks fell over themselves to lend out money to anyone with a pulse, it meant that financially illiterate people were suddenly able to play with hundreds of thousands of pounds - like kids in a sweetshop. That, IMO is why we are in such a pickle today.

Everyone should read this post. That is an educated opinion and is bang on. Despite the fact getting credit is harder it won't stop people trying

0james0

mewbie wrote: »

Isn't whatever you buy it for, the current value? So having bought it for its current value, when it continues to drop, then the current value will be less. Seems pretty simple to me, must be missing something.

I know what your getting at, "a house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it"

Imagine though your house has been on the market for 8 months and you've been reducing it throughout, you have to sell because your house is too small for your family, renting it out is not an option. Your house is officially worth £150k (imagine you have had 5 proper valuations, not just estate agent one's and you we take an average) you get an offer of £130k, you know your house is worth more but its the only offer you've got/ had.

You then knock off more from an even more desperate seller for your new house.

The person buying yours has bought a house that even in todays market is worth £150k for £130k.

Does that make sense? Can you see what I'm getting at.

annie123

0james0 wrote: »

I Your house is officially worth £150k .

there is no such thing as an official valuation, doesnt matter who does it.

0james0

If we got 10 fully qualified surveyors to value your house and they all came back in and around the same figure it would be pretty safe to say that was accurate.

Might not be official, but would be accurate.

annie123

all they do is phone estate agents ask us for comps for similar properties and we agree a price over the phone!

accurate is a much better discription, but a property is still only worth what someone will pay for it

justpurchased

0james0 wrote: »

If we got 10 fully qualified surveyors to value your house and they all came back in and around the same figure it would be pretty safe to say that was accurate.

Might not be official, but would be accurate.

James they will not listen to your rational coments.
They all made a fortune buying and selling property in the past and have made a killing in oil and gold over the last year. They all forsaw the impending colapse of civilisation (well they saw an article in a newspaper or on the web)

dopester

0james0 wrote: »

There is a difference between ignorance and educated opinion though. :beer:

There certainly is. Especially when I have good cause to believe we are entering a major deflationary period. Good for you if you benefited during that age with your own house, and especially if you've not MEW'ed equity for spending elsewhere.

Now is not a good time to lock yourself in to mortgage debt.

dopester

0james0 wrote: »

Everyone should read this post. That is an educated opinion and is bang on. Despite the fact getting credit is harder it won't stop people trying

They can try all they want - doesn't mean they will get the money they need to buy property at ludicrous levels.

Those who aren't of a strong credit rating/worthy are already trying and being told to get lost.

And I think you are mistaken in believing the bulk of credit-worthy FTBs want to rush out and buy a house in a falling market.

And yes the press does help in reporting the economic situation and how we could get a crash of over -50%, because it is realistic - not sensationalism. Personally I think it should be -50% just to get rid of the total insanity, and then the real crash can happen.

Don't fool yourself that banks have to lend to survive / profit. Smaller building societies need do need to lend to survive, but can only do credit worthy people, and those credit worthy people do not want to borrow (in any great number) in this falling market.

And the banks who are switched on have other markets to profit from other than lending money to buy property which has already boomed 300% in 11 years and is now crashing..

Already it looks like the smaller building societies have practically stopped lending altogether.

Will building societies stop lending?
By Ian Pollock
Personal finance reporter, BBC News

Now he too rations customers by demanding a minimum 25% deposit.

Might applicants disappear altogether?

"It might possibly happen," he says.

"Credit worthy customers are not knocking on our door.

"It wouldn't matter at all in the short term, one to three months, but we are all concerned. We have to lend money to pay out premium savings and maintain liquidity levels."

The credit crunch has turned off the nation's mortgage tap, and in a dramatic fashion.