do you think the media is helping with the housing situation??

luke84_2

hey,

me and my partner have just purchased our first home...it was on the market for £106,000 and we paid £94,000 its a 2 bed town house with 3 car parking spaces and garden in a nice cul-de-sac location.

I am very happy with our purchase i think we paid a fair price for it, as we haven't overstretched ourselves with the mortgage etc..

but this got me thinking its quite scary (as well as exciting) buying your first property at anytime let alone now with all the media coverage, but I think this has got something to do with the housing issues. If there wasn't so much doubt in the media about house prices maybe people would still be purchasing... i think some part of it is defininatly scare mongering.

what do you guys think?

beingjdc

I think the media have consistently understated how bad things are going to get, until very recently. Even now, popular newspapers like The Express and so on are still touting 'recovery round the corner' and 'house prices to rise 40% by 2013', when the reality is they'll barely have stopped falling by then, and have a long way down to go.

It's not the media's job to bid up house prices. The increasingly realistic reporting in some places has probably been a big help in reducing the competition for the property you bought, and persuading the vendor to be realistic, so you should be grateful, rather than turning into an inflation cheerleader just because you now own!

luke84_2

beingjdc wrote: »

I think the media have consistently understated how bad things are going to get, until very recently. Even now, popular newspapers like The Express and so on are still touting 'recovery round the corner' and 'house prices to rise 40% by 2013', when the reality is they'll barely have stopped falling by then, and have a long way down to go.

It's not the media's job to bid up house prices. The increasingly realistic reporting in some places has probably been a big help in reducing the competition for the property you bought, and persuading the vendor to be realistic, so you should be grateful, rather than turning into an inflation cheerleader just because you now own!

my point is as a FTB is was quite scary purchasing your first property and i dont think the media is helping the housing situation by continually reporting on it. Surely its scaring more people away...its a vicious circle the media is reporting on it so buyers are being scared away, which means prices are dropping, which makes the media report even more..

beingjdc

luke84 wrote: »

my point is as a FTB is was quite scary purchasing your first property and i dont think the media is helping the housing situation by continually reporting on it. Surely its scaring more people away...its a vicious circle the media is reporting on it so buyers are being scared away, which means prices are dropping, which makes the media report even more..

Prices will drop for all sorts of fundamental reasons, as well as because people read the facts in the newspaper. I'm glad the media are now warning potential FTBs what they're getting into. They should also print a front page apology to the people they encouraged to buy 12-18 months ago.

willythecarthorse

I have been working in an Estate Agent for some years the problem is that sellers are completely unwilling to accept that the price of their property has actually dropped.
It was my job recently to phone around sellers and explain that house prices have droped about 13% since January 08, how many do you think agreed to drop their prices?

Incisor

luke84 wrote: »

my point is as a FTB is was quite scary purchasing your first property and i dont think the media is helping the housing situation by continually reporting on it. Surely its scaring more people away...its a vicious circle the media is reporting on it so buyers are being scared away, which means prices are dropping, which makes the media report even more..

So you would rather have paid more for your house? Get an unsecured loan for the £12000 you negotiated off your seller and forward the money to him. Then get the press around to explain what you have done. I am sure that you can get them to cover this and balance some of their other stories.

beingjdc

willythecarthorse wrote: »

I have been working in an Estate Agent for some years the problem is that sellers are completely unwilling to accept that the price of their property has actually dropped.
It was my job recently to phone around sellers and explain that house prices have droped about 13% since January 08, how many do you think agreed to drop their prices?

Yes - the big problem with housing is the collapse in volumes, which is inefficient for everyone, down something like 50% this year. The fall in prices is right - they were too high, and it's a cyclical market. You can get volumes up by persuading buyers that the high prices are fair value (which would be a lie), or persuading sellers that they need to cut them (which they do).

I know which I'd rather the media were doing!

scousethife

If you just bought something at a price you liked why do you care whats going on?

Why do people view their shelter as some sort of comodity rather than their house?

PropertyPro

I have long felt that it's a sad fact that whatever the popular tabloid newspapers decide to print, the majority of their readership choose to believe.
It's been proved time and again with certain publications taking a certain political stance and as a result having a major influence on General Elections.

How many people can truly say they are able to see past what the press choose to print and are able to make a decision based only on personal circumstances?

Notlob

Personally, I think the media have to take a degree of responsibility for what is happening to house prices and ultimately, consumer confidence. Yes, there should be factual reporting on the market, but all this scare mongering based on predictions and warnings by "experts" is the real culprit.

Just the facts please!

Notlob

geoffky

After A Boom Comes Bust!!! If You Cant Get Your Head Round That I Pity You...


WILLY GET THE SELLERS OFF YOUR BOOKS THEY ARE COSTING YOU MONEY...