What are reasonable house prices?

whathavewedone

I think refusing to allow people to borrow at 3.5x joint income is restrictive and unfair. Each case should be judged on its own merits.

For example if you have two people earning 100k each they should be allowed to borrow 350k because at average interest rates the mortgage would be affordable on one salary. Also childcare isn't unaffordable if both people earn high salaries. Nannies do not get paid 50k per year.

It's a little sexist to assume that in all cases the woman has a "little" job. Throughout this thread it's been assumed that man earns 35k woman earns 25k and because of that assumption all couples should be banned from borrowing 3.5x joint salary.

Also a lot of people would prefer to live in the house of their choice and sacrifice expensive holidays, expensive clothes and nights out, particularly once they have children.

JayScottGreenspan

chucky wrote: »

there are some really blunt instruments on this forum or media was a bad career choice

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/ASHE_2008/tab7_7a.xls
follow the instructions below :rolleyes:

Nalin makes a good point.

How many jobs do pay 40k in London? The mean doesn't really help because it is skewed by the top percentiles earning megabucks.

According to that spreadsheet about a third of full-time jobs in London pay 40k or more.

chucky

JayScottGreenspan wrote: »

Nalin makes a good point.

How many jobs do pay 40k in London? The mean doesn't really help because it is skewed by the top percentiles earning megabucks.

According to that spreadsheet about a third of full-time jobs in London pay 40k or more.

Don't forget these are not 2009 numbers which may be lower anyway.

I don't dispute that but it does say Inner London too which may be a factor.

The mean get's skewed due to the higher salaries and obviously the lower salaries.

The median taking the two middle quartiles is probably more accurate.

I'm saying it's somewhere between the two.