Disaster for Britain as housing becomes more affordable

geoffky

Has anyone seen a headline like this yet? petrol prices up is also good new isn't it? cost of living soaring welcomed? so why are falling houseprices seen by some seen as bad news when it should be a time of rejoice...

penguine

House price drops seem usually to be announced like this: "More bad news for homeowners as property prices dropped further in February..."

We're homeowners, but it's not bad news for us, because we owe very little on our mortgage. The supposedly high value of our property 18 months ago was meaningless as it never occurred to us to sell it and cash in.

I do wish the media would try to look at the situation differently, as it gets boring listening to the same news story every time price falls are announced.

Generali

"Onion Prices Fall, Tears to Follow for French Stereotype"

I guess the French taxpayer is glad that (s)he didn't guarantee to lend money against ever rising prices of stripey jumpers, berets and onions on strings.

StevieJ

What about, banks lose money on property backed CDO's , reduced funds available to lend to business and for consumer credit, people lose their jobs :eek: Yes hilarious isn't it :rotfl:

Graham_Devon

StevieJ wrote: »

What about, banks lose money on property backed CDO's , reduced funds available to lend to business and for consumer credit, people lose their jobs :eek: Yes hilarious isn't it :rotfl:

Don't worry, your leader will sort it.

Wookster

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Don't worry, your leader will sort it.

And StevieJ's kids will pay for it.

Don't you mean "Dear Leader" Graham?

Out,_Vile_Jelly

For various reasons there has been a belief system perpetuated that property confers some sort of untouchable, unquestionable right to guaranteed wealth, often instant riches. Add to it the fact that home ownership is associated so strongly with status in this country (much more so than in other European countries where renting until much later in life is quite normal and not seen as the preserve of pitiable peasants), and you get a lot of people who feel quite cheated and almost personally insulted that their home has not automatically gone up by £x per year. Obviously house prices link in with wider economic issues, which more qualified people than myself can discuss, I'm just speaking from the experience of hearing people talk in disgruntled tones about their house "only" making £5k last year (this was a couple of years ago).

StevieJ

Wookster wrote: »

And StevieJ's kids will pay for it.

Don't you mean "Dear Leader" Graham?

I thought you had me on ignore

chewmylegoff

geoffky wrote: »

so why are falling houseprices seen by some seen as bad news when it should be a time of rejoice...

it isn't a time to rejoice for all those who spend the last 10 years boring others with stories of how much money they made from HPI. it is terrible news for them. obviously. the editors of newspapers are probably included in this class of bore. QED.

still, you do occassionally see comment that it is good news for first time buyers.

stephen163

Housing is the biggest form of wealth in the UK. I am a prospective FTB so obviously want house prices to fall but I can also appreciate how increases in house prices will tend to benefit the economy as a whole. People feel wealthier and this wealth is even crystallised through remortgaging, so aggregate demand increases and the economy grows faster than it would have done. In theory, everyone benefits (thought the benefit is disproportionately weighted to the homeowner!) and things look rosy for the government of the time.

I guess affordability to FTBs is less important than homeowners feeling wealthy and the subsequent economic benefits. Overall, any economic system with fluctuating house prices and partial home ownership is unfair not in the sense that wealth is allocated inefficiently (after all, anyone can aspire to home ownership) but through the sheer inconvenience of the boom/bust cycle.

Austin_Allegro

Another one that annoys me is news reports that make out the reason that first time buyers can't afford houses is because 'the banks won't lend', ignoring the real problem which is that houses are massively overpriced.