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

chrisandanne

London prices have always amazed me.

In 1986 I had friends in Finchley (I thought Finchley was North London, just Finchley nowhere else !! Small town mentality !!) their 3 bed semi with on street parking was £250k, for half of that in Yorkshire you could get a massive 'gentlemans residence' in the countryside, with a sweeping drive and beautiful gardens.....I couldn't understand why they didn't, put the rest in the bank and live an easy life......But London born and bred it was the only place they wanted to be.

It's not the same now, that property in Yorkshire would be worth more than the London Semi...prices here have risen much more and wages are poor because of the type of work available mainly healthcare and retail. A x

jamescredmond

chrisandanne wrote: »

London prices have always amazed me.

In 1986 I had friends in Finchley (I thought Finchley was North London, just Finchley nowhere else !! Small town mentality !!) their 3 bed semi with on street parking was £250k, for half of that in Yorkshire you could get a massive 'gentlemans residence' in the countryside, with a sweeping drive and beautiful gardens.....I couldn't understand why they didn't, put the rest in the bank and live an easy life......But London born and bred it was the only place they wanted to be.

It's not the same now, that property in Yorkshire would be worth more than the London Semi...prices here have risen much more and wages are poor because of the type of work available mainly healthcare and retail. A x

they've always amazed me too, anne.

back in 85, a 2 bed terraced in N london was going for £120k, roughly the same as a 5 bed in 11 acres just outside perth. paddock, wooded area (3acres) IIRC.

the old north/south divide, eh?

GDB2222

In all the booms I can remember, London used to lead the way up, and then the rest of country followed suit. I am surprised that the Finchley 3 bed semi was as much as 250k in 1985, though.

Toodlepip123

lynzpower wrote: »

I saw a 3 bed semi in one of the windows of an EA in muswell hill for 259 the other day.

Quite nice it was too. I like MH , but just wish it had a tube station.

You wouldn't be seeing 3 bed semi for 259 if Muswell Hill had a tube! I'm a big fan of Crystal Palace because it doesn;t have a tube and hence prices are very affordable, while still only being 20mns to Victoria or London Bridge. Area's nice too!

Austin_Allegro

I live in Muzzy and I'm glad we don't have a tube, because it would just make it easier for scrotes to come up and drop their chicken wings everywhere like they do in Wood Green or Bounds Green or wherever the hell they come from. Anyway it's only a short bus ride/cycle to E.Finchley or Highgate tube.

I'm interested though in why people think N.London will be immune from price drops. Someone in the paper predicted 100,000 layoffs in the City over the next two years. Where will the money come from to sustain the current prices?

skap7309

drc wrote: »

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

So much to learn my friend.........

Words like unsustainable spring to mind and like you say if FTBers cannot afford to buy then housing chains never materialise and the ENTIRE market would cease in its tracks. Also people 'not going to sell'.......you may be suprised to find a large percentage of people HAVE to sell (death, cannot afford to live there, change of jobs, emmigrating, additional family member etc) and must reduce the price until they do. This creates a reation as then all houses in the street are devalued along with it.
Take a look at House Buying, Renting & Selling and count how many people are desperate to sell as it is compulsory for them to do so. You will be there a while. :rolleyes:

Whilst not pointing the finger people really need to get out of this mindset of, ohhh houses cost £x amount so they must stay that way. Its like watching a robot having a malfunction. ''Cannot process information, cannot process information..........''

napoleon

Austin_Allegro wrote: »

I'm interested though in why people think N.London will be immune from price drops. Someone in the paper predicted 100,000 layoffs in the City over the next two years. Where will the money come from to sustain the current prices?

Does anyone really think that? Apart from North London estate agents perhaps

Austin_Allegro

napoleon wrote: »

Does anyone really think that? Apart from North London estate agents perhaps

...and pretty much anyone with a property on Rightmove, who seem to think that it's still the summer of 2007...

ray123

North London is full of crack heads, drug dealers, Tottenham and Arsenal!
Would you really want to live there?
Anywhere in zone 1 and 2 is too expensive for FTBs throughout London, not just N London!

sazza42

Of course it's possible to buy in North London as a FTB - you just need to be flexible & not expect to start off in some of the most expensive areas in the country! I bought in North London as a FTB 4 years ago & am currently selling my flat to another FTB. Of course, it took me years & years & years to save for a deposit & it never crossed my mind to look in Muswell Hill.... But don't tell me it can't be done.