Halifax quarterly figures out - and they're bad

Generali

HammersFan wrote: »

This is interesting (thanks). I wonder what it is when those groups are excluded i.e. what the 'typical' mortgage-having household earns? This might go some way to explaining 'affordability' less hyterically than it is often defined on here.

It's a good point. Also there now appears to be a significant(?) part of society that exists on benefits without any apparent desire to work. Children who have reached maturity and not found jobs having never seen their parents work.

kennyboy66 wrote: »

Someone in the next few years is going to have to stem the tide of government spending. When this happens, I would guess from 2010 onwards, then the choices that Scotland have to make are going to be much harsher.
Just as they have benefited from the Barnett formula, any cuts in public spending will have a larger impact in Scotland.

This is my belief too. The state has become bloated under Brown 'n' Blair and my feeling is that it will buckle under the weight of recession given the level of taxation that the electorate seems willing to accept. Add to that the fact that the unfunded pension liaibilities are about to become very real as the recipients start to retire and a big fat mess awaits someone.

leftieM

baileysbattlebus wrote: »

I thought I'd put this link on out of interest about Northern Ireland ,it's not HBOS or Nationwide and covers most of the housing transactions in NI.

I'd be interested in your thoughts.

It's for Q2, I'm not sure when Q3 figures will be out. It makes interesting reading. It's based on sale prices - not mortgage offers. It's quite a hefty report.

http://rpp.ulster.ac.uk/research/reports/q2-2008.pdf

I'm very disappointed with the UU reports. As far as I can gather, the UU ring up estate agents and ask them for data. So the data is as reliable as the estate agents that give it.
The UU data is so far out of kilter with anything that is actually happening in NI, that you wonder whether they are mistakenly ringing EAs in a different country (or perhaps on a different planet?)