North London house prices will never be affordable for 1st time buyers

drc

I can't believe house prices will ever fall that much in North London. I currently rent but if I wanted to buy a nice 2 bed flat in this area it would cost a minimum of £350,000. London prices in general are just ridiculous. I'm sure they will never fall to realistic prices (at least 50%) as all the people that paid £100,000s for their place are not going to sell at half the price, they will just wait for the markets to pick up. I seriously doubt that homes in London will ever be affordable for the majority of 1st time buyers like myself

PasturesNew

Most of us don't even know where North London is. Those that think they do will all have a different definition of it.

You say "a nice", but that's not defined and is subjective.

Define by postcodes where North London is and what "nice" means.

Sir_Humphrey

There are plenty of reasons why they could end up on the market at a lower price.

Many will have bought low in the 1990s or before so would not have a problem. Death (probate). Bankruptcy.

Those are just a few reasons off the top of my head.

GDB2222

Two nice new-build flats in N London sold at auction recently for around £125k. I can't remember the exact figures, but I did post them, so a search on this forum should turn them up.

I'm not sure what you regard as nice or which area you are looking in?

hethmar

You can get a new build Wimpey 1 bed near Muswell Hill for £175k plus incentives now

GB< I think those two were in Whetstone, probably not within the definition of nice.

Generali

Sir_Humphrey wrote: »

There are plenty of reasons why they could end up on the market at a lower price.

Many will have bought low in the 1990s or before so would not have a problem. Death (probate). Bankruptcy.

Those are just a few reasons off the top of my head.

Probate is the real killer for house prices when they are falling. AIUI, IHT becomes due 6 months after the death and many people just can't afford it unless the house is sold. They end up having to take whatever they can get.

As probate sales will be a larger proportion of sales right now (presumably) they will be having a large impact in terms of pushing prices down.

baby_boomer

hethmar wrote: »

You can get a new build Wimpey...now

And you would want to take on the multiple associated risks because.....

drc

PasturesNew wrote: »

Most of us don't even know where North London is. Those that think they do will all have a different definition of it.

You say "a nice", but that's not defined and is subjective.

Define by postcodes where North London is and what "nice" means.

Sorry, I should have been a bit more specific. I meant areas like Muswell Hill, Highgate, Crouch End etc.

By 'nice' I meant a flat/house that is not on a rough estate or
a property that needs loads of work spent on it. You can buy a 4 bed flat in this area for less than 200k but it is on a notorious estate, otherwise I'd jump at the chance!

hethmar

baby_boomer wrote: »

And you would want to take on the multiple associated risks because.....

It was tongue in cheek baby :rolleyes: At least with Muswell Hill, I guessed the area that would be deemed nice.

GDB2222

Have a look at some of the older mansion-style blocks in Muswell Hill.

The areas you are looking in are fairly up-market trendy areas. Highgate has some of the most expensive property outside central London. Not obvious FTB territory.

napoleon

The average wage in London must be about £100K and that's just to afford a one -bedroom flat. It's completely mad. It's a wonder there's not riots in the streets