tell me I haven't "missed the boat"

sarah_elton

tek-monkey wrote: »

If you live in London though I appreciate you have to spend a lot more.

But surely this has always been the case? I work in London but commute in - I wouldn't dream of living here because of the difference in housing costs compared to home. OH and I are looking to buy at the moment and it's a 4-bed detached at home vs a small flat in London. Not a difficult decision...

tek-monkey

sarah_elton wrote: »

But surely this has always been the case? I work in London but commute in - I wouldn't dream of living here because of the difference in housing costs compared to home. OH and I are looking to buy at the moment and it's a 4-bed detached at home vs a small flat in London. Not a difficult decision...

Agree entirely, the deposits some people need would buy a house here! But why are these prices so high? Because people pay them, so that is there value.

mike5678

brit1234 wrote: »

On a good wage with a good deposit you should at least be able to afford the cheapest property, that isn't the case for us first time buyers. We don't want a mansion we just want a flat or a small terrace. Now prices are extremely overvalued, fueld by fraud and loose lending.

Prices are going to continue crashing, the economics simply don't support these overvalued prices

You must live in an area that is massively over priced then for some other reason. I work and live in London, I am a FTB and I can afford to buy a nice 2 bed flat in a nice area. I am an unskilled worker on an average salary and I have just bought a flat for £180k with a £149k mortgage, on my own with no partner and no help from parents. I think I have borrowed about 4x salary.

I don't understand why you can't afford something if you earn like you say a decent wage.

westv

mike5678 wrote: »

You must live in an area that is massively over priced then for some other reason. I work and live in London, I am a FTB and I can afford to buy a nice 2 bed flat in a nice area. I am an unskilled worker on an average salary and I have just bought a flat for £180k with a £149k mortgage, on my own with no partner and no help from parents. I think I have borrowed about 4x salary.

I don't understand why you can't afford something if you earn like you say a decent wage.

What do you define as a nice flat in a nice area of London?

GDB2222

mike5678 wrote: »

... I work and live in London, ... I am an unskilled worker on an average salary .... £149k mortgage... I have borrowed about 4x salary.

So, your 'average wage' for an unskilled worker in London is £37k!!!? You are actually doing pretty well if that's what you are earning.

The average wage for unskilled workers is actually much lower than that - more like £15k-25k, depending on age etc. There are loads of minimum wage jobs around.

homehunter

housebuyer_abc wrote: »

I believe this post adequately sums up the reason behind the huge inflation that happened in house prices and the subsequent negative equity spiral we've seen recently.

Too mnay people believe they have a right to live somewhere they 'really like' and the price there should be reasonable. These are usually the same people who when they come to sell think the house should be valued higher because of the location...

In the days of old, people lived where they could afford, got on with it and moved as circumstances allowed, nowadays people seem to FTB huge 4 bed houses on 90% mortgages and wonder why houses are so expensive

Argh, was only going to read/lurk then read this...

Here's the thing. We're a FTB couple who are just in the process of buying a 3 bed detached as our first property. If everything goes through as planned then we will be thrilled to bits! No, I didn't want to buy a flat or terrace as my first property - we nearly went for an older style semi - but that was as far as were willing to compromise. Reasons?
1) We've rented two flats and are currently renting an end terrace. We know that these have been fine for rental purposes but we would never want to buy one. After all, look at the plethora of flats and terraces still on the market...That said, the couple next door have been in their terrace all their lives and are very happy - it worked for them but it just wouldn't for us,it would be boring if we were all the same

2) Notice how people on here have said that as long as you are prepared to stay in a place for at least 5 years, and you can afford it, then consider purchasing? Well, that's what we are going for. But we are 28 and 30 - who knows, within the next 5 years we might want to move on with our lives, start a family. It's taken us quite a while to save and build up our salaries/careers to a point at which we can buy. Simply put, we feel that we have to skip the first rung or two, i.e. not purchase a flat or small terrace.

...I didn't have a 3rd reason, but here's one - I get a little teeny bit mad when people tell me, as an FTB, what I ought to be buying! Why not aim high, as long as you have saved and can afford it? Though I take your point about people in the past going for 95%-125% mortgages...

not_loaded

homehunter wrote: »

…We're a FTB couple who are just in the process of buying a 3 bed detached as our first property. If everything goes through as planned then we will be thrilled to bits! No, I didn't want to buy a flat or terrace as my first property - we nearly went for an older style semi - but that was as far as were willing to compromise.

Sounds good to me!

homehunter wrote: »

…people on here have said that as long as you are prepared to stay in a place for at least 5 years, and you can afford it, then consider purchasing? Well, that's what we are going for. But we are 28 and 30 - who knows, within the next 5 years we might want to move on with our lives, start a family.

Good for you. Like I’ve said quite a few times in response to the ‘come the revolution’ brigade, some people want to get on with their lives.

We can’t all put our lives on hold for a few grand. You’ll find that 3 bed detached fine for starting a family.

hopsicle

@ homehunter..

Same here. FTB's buying a 3-4 bed house in London. We are early 30's, and having lived in large houseshares for many years, didn't want to compromise large space & garden and live in a shoebox just to get on the property ladder.

I feel I have skipped the first few rungs too, but we are planning on staying here a long time.

tek-monkey

Who cares what you buy, if you can afford it? Being a FTB is irrelevant, its cost vs income.

GDB2222

In answer to the original question, average house prices are still very expensive compared to average earnings. It is difficult to say what will happen over the short term, as mortgages are pretty affordable at the moment, but over the longer term I think prices will continue to reduce compared to earnings, so I don't think the boat has been missed.