Handy little website courtesy of the IFS - "Where do you fit in"?

mbga9pgf

Well, for the the record tommy, I am one of the "luckier ones" on that graph (although I work bloody hard for it) and I think houses are completely unaffordable right now. It does put to bed a lot of myths about rea earnings in the UK and how ridiculously overextended as a nation we must be to support house prices as they are.

silvercar

mbga9pgf wrote: »

Seems a hefty price to pay for greedy home owners to feel smug about the value of their homes

I don't actually think that most home owners are greedy or smug, they are just happy to have secure housing. I think it is jealous wannabe home owners who cast those that do own as smug.

There is certainly nothing greedy about owning your own home.

tommy75

Well the graph tells us what most people earn in the UK and from the votes on here it tells us what most MSE users earn and now I understand why they think housing is affordable. Thankyou mbga9pgf, this is a very important thread.

fc123

Cleaver wrote: »

Apparently we have a income higher than 96% of the population. Not sure I believe that really.

Although we don't have any kids, pay quite low council tax and it would explain why we jet off on holiday every 6 weeks...

Mate..make the most of it.
I have a close relative like you..earnt well, solo then ...Bam...early 40's, wife, 2 kids born close together, then....not enough space....oh dear, schools are a bit tricky in their area........poor as a churchmouse now (in terms of play money) but earns masses according to the index.

And kids take 2 decades to pay off...each. So, 3 kiddies, a 2-3 year gap bewteen each one...you are looking at penury for 28 years...plus, even if wife earns and works same as now..there's The Childcare Costs...huge.

nearlynew

silvercar wrote: »

...........
There is certainly nothing greedy about owning your own home.

No, but it is disingenious to pull the ladder up behind you and then claim that everything is fine and high prices are a good thing.

julieq

mbga9pgf wrote: »

Typical trackers are averaging between 2%-6% above BOEBR currently.

Well yes, but base rates are 0.5% and supply is hugely restricted. As the economy eases, supply will increase and interest rates will increase. Competition in the market will reduce margins.

You can't increase one variable and expect everything else to stay the same.

fc123

Mr Hamish McT....I couldn't work out what it was that wound some people up about you.
I think it's because a lot of your arguements are based on the fact that you are Dinkies.

You will never be so well off as you are now (apart from retirement if planned OK).

You cannot possibly judge affordability of houses at current prices on the basis of just 2 X F/T adults working and no kids.
ETA..I have no axe to grind at all BTW. I like all posters (well..most)

mbga9pgf

julieq wrote: »

Well yes, but base rates are 0.5% and supply is hugely restricted. As the economy eases, supply will increase and interest rates will increase. Competition in the market will reduce margins.

You can't increase one variable and expect everything else to stay the same.

Hang on, how will increased volumes decrease rates? More houses competing for less money decreasing rates? I Dont think so!

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

nearlynew wrote: »

No, but it is disingenious to pull the ladder up behind you and then claim that everything is fine and high prices are a good thing.

!!!!!!, the percentage of owner occupied housing is close to 70%, and is massively higher than it was at the start of the boom.

The average proportion of disposable income spent on housing for buyers is around 40% today, versus 70% in 1990.

Hardly pulling the ladder up behind us.

It's your beloved credit crunch and it's mortgage rationing that is preventing access to house buyers now.

25% deposits, spotless credit requirements, etc, are hardly conducive to helping more people onto the property ladder....:rolleyes:

tommy75

I bet Martin didn't know that his forum was mainly used by the top sector of earners in the UK on massive salarys. Perhaps you should introduce a stocks and shares sub forum area that you have to pay to get into for these big hitters Martin so they can waddle off and argue about which shares will make them the most k's in the same day. Maybe then us few mere mortals can moan and complain about the self certified mortgages and vast corruption of the last ten years and how generations will have to suffer for the greed of these poor excuse's for humans who have 6 holidays a year and come here to boast about it, then spout utter rubbish that Average Joe shouldn't be able to provide a roof for his/her children.