FTB expectations too high?

piggeh

I don't think expectations are too high. I'm on a decent wage and even now it will be a stretch to get a studio flat, let alone anything half decent. If a studio flat is supposedly the affordable salary for someone on a mid 20s wage then what is supposedly affordable to those on 16k a year etc? There are loads of jobs paying 16k a year so how are all these supposed to afford a roof over their heads if multipliers are set at 3.5-4x salary? I guess they will have to approach the local housing association and get it on a nice government subsidy (which we all pay for indirectly), or maybe they shoul stretch themselves a little bit further...

Or maybe house prices should continue to fall until a starter home is more realistic.

(fwiw I wouldnt mind a 1 bedroom flat)

macaque_2

brummybloke wrote: »

Is it just me but have people got far too use to jumping 2 levels up the ladder for their first home?

when i was growing up, people had a 1 bed flat for their first house, unless they had very well paid jobs or inheritted money. a few years later, they sold and got a 2 bed terrace or something along those lines, then moved up again a few years later.

nowdays though people seem to be complaining that 3 bed semis in decent areas should crash to 3 times the average wage so they become more affordable?

there is nothing wrong with having something nice which is affordable but are people forgetting the houseing ladder is just that, a ladder which you hopefully climb up, not a lift where you start at the bottom and go straight to the top or the middle.

different areas have different qualities, some places cost more to live in, there must be a reason for it? my thoughts are that it is because the houses are bigger, of a better quality, people have more money and take better care of where they live, this makes it more desirable to live there.
if house prices all became affordable to the average wage then would everywhere raise its standards to the nicer places? or will the standards lower?

i can say that in Birmingham, expensive areas such as edgbaston and harborne started going down hill as the prices in poorer areas went up, becoming closer to the nicer area prices. a 3 bed semi in handsworth was within 10% of a 3 bed house in harborne which is crazy talk.

obviously for people with savings or cash in the bank, they are now in a position to go as far up the ladder as they can, im talking about ftb who keep posting on the site with crash crash crash and then complain about affordability but expect a 3 bed semi and seem to be ignoring the actual property ladder.

Jumping two levels?
Presumably you are talking about the difference between 4 times income and six times income. Both are reckless.

Housing ladder?
The housing ladder is something that existed in the past. Estate agents, solicitors, stamp duty and moving companies have conspired to create a ladder that breaks your financial ankle with every step you take.

First time buyers home?
A first time buyers home used to have 1000 square feet of living space. Developers and estate agents have reduced this figure to 300 square feet.

Running_Horse

The real problem is the appallingly poor quality of housing stock in this country. Someone has to live in those Victorian slums, council estates, poky little flats, and modern rabbit hutches.

chewmylegoff

i expect that there is a combination of FTBs expecting too much, and people a couple of generations older ignoring the fact that living standards are going up as the country gets richer.

for instance all the people who bought in the 70s carping on about how they when they bought they couldn't afford furniture and had to build their own table out of used matches still had much higher expectations than their equivalent in the 1930s would have had.

chrisandanne

mvengemvenge wrote: »

Who said that? Name names!.

Speedbird 1973

You're also no closer to getting a mortgage Carolt - fewer and fewer people will lend you any money to buy a super cheap house! You started with nothing you still have nothing and for the next few years you'll still have nothing - ergo you are nothing!

A

chrisandanne

chewmylegoff wrote: »

for instance all the people who bought in the 70s carping on about how they when they bought they couldn't afford furniture and had to build their own table out of used matches still had much higher expectations than their equivalent in the 1930s would have had.

I think a lot of people would still be building their own furniture out of used matches if they didn't have the credit card to stick it on.

A

MrDT

I expect to buy a 3 or 4 bed terraced house as a FTB. They can cost less than a 2 bed semi round these parts. I don't expect to buy anything for a while though, probably not this year.

Turnbull2000

None of my parents or aunt's started off in a one-bed flat - it was usually a two bed semi in their mid 20's, with three bed family home at 30. I've just hit 30, and I'd settle for a decent two bed terrace up from my one bed flat. I also earn an above average wage. They didn't. If anything, my expectations are well below that of the senior members of my family.

That aside, I'm shocked that the OP or anyone else on this thread has failed to mention that all important salary inflation. Salary inflation is the primary function of the supposed housing ladder. 20% in the 70's, 10% in the 80's and still near that in the early 90's meant the mortgage burden on your first home rapidly eased, allowing you to borrow more and upsize to a family home by the time you're 30. Now though, first-time buyers are already in this age group, near peak of earnings potential and face salary inflation of 2-3% at best or even negative.

If they buy a 1-bedroom flat at 30, you can bet your bottom dollar that it'll be many, many years until their salary inflates enough for a 3-bed semi.

PasturesNew

It's the singles you have to feel sorry for. All I ever read and see is "we, we, we".

With "we" everything's 3-4x easier to do than "I".

PasturesNew

When I was about 30 I finally managed to buy a mobile home. 30'x10'.

Next was a SO experiment, a new innovation back then, a studio on a council estate 8 miles out of town. One with a mezzanine level bed platform, so fantastic.

Next was when I was 40, a proper house. Sold that 18 months ago.

Now renting a studio.