Sensible measures to improve the house market

justpurchased

ad9898 wrote: »

The argument holds really well, population hasn't gone down at all in the past 12 months, yet house prices are tanking. The rabbit hutches will sell but at about 30% of what deluded sellers and developers have got them up for now.

Your typical rabbit hutch in London is about 200k, that means a single person must be on about £40000 a year AND have £60000 in the bank as a deposit , this is the historical lending level, there will be a massive correction whether people like it or not and its just about started.:T

Or that london is full with people rich enough.
"Please note london is now full, unless you meet the above criteria Please move elseware!"
My argumet it is an overprice correction but more than any other time population will effect how far they fall.

carolt

justpurchased wrote: »

I think what you are failing to see is that there may be more people per sqkm able to afford the average house, than there are average houses.

So let me get this straight - there are loads of people currently who can afford the average house. So house prices are set at 'affordable' levels currently, are they?

Remind me of what planet you live on again?

carolt

justpurchased wrote: »

Or that london is full with people rich enough.
"Please note london is now full, unless you meet the above criteria Please move elseware!"
My argumet it is an overprice correction but more than any other time population will effect how far they fall.

IIRC, London has a much higher proportion of renters than the national average - it's nearer 40% or more? - can't recall exact figure, but London is a classic example of a place where people - even on good London wages - can't afford to buy.

You obviously believe your own spin, justpurchased, given that unlike most of the bulls on here you've actually put your money where your mouth is recently, assuming your name is a clue - but to me, that just makes you a tad unhinged.

Sorry, but I'm not taking financial advice from someone not only daft enough to buy under current conditions but who actually believes others would wish to follow his/her example!

carolt

justpurchased wrote: »

Soory I dont think your argument holds. I agree houses need a correction but if you think population has nothing to do with the cost of them you are deluded.

So presumably as all the Poles etc leave, prices must crash?

And presumably, in the early 90's the population underwent a mysterious (and unnoticed - except by you!) blip and then recovered as miraculously in the late 90's (several years before Eastern Europe joined the EU)? So what happened - did we all miss some sort of plague that hit in the early 90's? Or the baby boom of the late 90's?

Get real.

Gorgeous_George

Prices are falling because of the credit crunch and:

- NOT because buyers have realised that houses were overpriced
- NOT because the population is suddenly falling
- NOT because BTLers are taking advantage of the CGT rules change and selling up
- NOT because HPCers finally won their argument

If lending is ever relaxed again, prices will recover - but like the super tanker, the change will be slow. Sentiment has been crushed. It will take 10 years (from the start of the recovery) for people to forget that prices can go down.

I'm all for private homes under threat of repossession being bought by the councils. However, these houses should then be made available to those willing to pay the most rent. Not necessarily the former owners. Rent auctions would get my vote.

GG

carolt

Can't agree GG - of course it's because "buyers have realised that houses were overpriced". Or did you just think that people would start thinking that borrowing 10 or 20 times their salary was reasonable? The only miracle is that it lasted as long as it did, not that it ended when it did.

Sure, it's speeded up a lot by the credit crunch. But it would have happened anyway.

carolt

!!!!!!? wrote: »

Forget Brown's likely desperate attempts to throw taxpayer money to reignite the burst housing bubble. What sort of measures would you implement to make a stronger, more resilient housing market in the future and make sure this doesn't happen again?

Mine:

* Mandatatory 10% deposit requirement for mortgage borrowers.

* Mandatatory 3.5x single/2.5x joint salary limit on borrowing.

* Compulsory income checks on borrowers to cut out 'lie to buy'.

* Introduce 'non recourse' laws for new mortgages where handing back the house cancels the debt (to cut out silly lending). Would also protect house buyers who know that they can just give the house back if the worst comes to the worst.

* Proper financial regulations enforced by a competent organisation (not the FSA then).

* Reduce tax relief for multiple BTL properties for individuals. Each additional property after the first becomes progressively less advantageous. (Have separate regulations for a registered property business so that people who know what they are doing can manage portfolios of rental property professionally.)

* Special tax-free savings account for deposits for FTBs to facilitate and encourage saving for a deposit.

* Reform of stamp duty laws to cut out those silly thresholds.

* Reform the laws relating to house buying to prevent gazumping/gazundering. Having a system where anyone can mess around up until the last minute exchange of contracts is a recipe for chaos.

To get back to the OP - you might like to have a look at this petition - someone else's got there before you on the maximum 3.5 times mortgage point:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/lending3andhalf/

StevieJ

carolt wrote: »

To get back to the OP - you might like to have a look at this petition - someone else's got there before you on the maximum 3.5 times mortgage point:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/lending3andhalf/

You have gotta laugh, or maybe not, this sounds Nanny State enough for GB to take seriously.

justpurchased

carolt wrote: »

So let me get this straight - there are loads of people currently who can afford the average house. So house prices are set at 'affordable' levels currently, are they?

Remind me of what planet you live on again?

My you are a charmer Carol. Did I say that Just that a lot of people earn a lot of money. obviously you are not one as you seem very bitter.
I agree there will be a drop in house prices but will everyone will be ablt to buy again......
Answer no sorry Carol.

Dan:_4

carolt wrote: »

Can't agree GG - of course it's because "buyers have realised that houses were overpriced". Or did you just think that people would start thinking that borrowing 10 or 20 times their salary was reasonable? The only miracle is that it lasted as long as it did, not that it ended when it did.

Sure, it's speeded up a lot by the credit crunch. But it would have happened anyway.

The credit crunch resulted in tighter lending, higher mortgage rates and the withdraw of 100 - 125% mortgages. This is what has caused house prices to fall. Not because one morning everyone woke up and decided that houses were overvauled.