A serious question for the Bears....

Graham_Devon

Sorry Julie, I haven't got a clue what you just said.

mewbie_2

julieq wrote: »

Mine is the definition used by the office of national statistics, who point out that the average family income is around £35K

But is that median or modulan?

julieq

Oh, and as for the affordability thing, mortgage rates used to be 10%ish, yes?

Now they're 4%ish, OK?

So they're about 2.5x more affordable now. Are you following?

But the salary multiple offered for a mortgage is essentially unchanged at about 3x

The multiple was derived based on a calculation of affordability from higher mortgage rates.

Graham_Devon

julieq wrote: »

Mine is the definition used by the office of national statistics, who point out that the average family income is around £35K

Well thats mine too. I can find you some old posts if you like where I talk of the average family income being around that figure. You'd never guess, but it became an argument.

So I guess we agree here.

Just yesterday even, I posted the same sort of earnings for a family in a long post.

Cleaver

Graham_Devon wrote: »

If, as you say, the average family is not the average family anymore, then what is?

So my question to you is. What is the average family now if it's not the same "anymore"?

There isn't an average family anymore in my opinion. We're too fragmented. In the '50s, '60s and '70s you could probably identify a pretty small set of 'household types' which you could group around fairly set ages, sexes, dynamics:

• Couple under thirty, man working, woman at home or part time job, 2.4 kids
• Single people living along, no kids.
• Couples 45-50 with kids moved out.
• Ederly couples.
• Elderly singles.

Generalisations of course, but you knock on 10 doors in those decades and nine of the households would fit one of them. We're all over the place now. More singles, more flatshares, gay couples, straight couples, loads of thirties couples with no kids and no interest in kids, friends buying pads to live in, friends buying pads for investments, shed-loads of single parents, rich singles, very poor singles, shedloads of kids living at home with Mum and Dad, single 40 somethings, 40 something divorcees...etc. etc. etc. Of course, all of these have existed for decades, but in a minority. People of yore pretty much followed a societal trend.

Is there really such thing as an 'average family' now? If there is I wouldn't begin to know how to define it.

wageslave

Cleaver wrote: »

Is there really such thing as an 'average family' now? If there is I wouldn't begin to know how to define it.

It is impossible to define people, far too pesky. Average income is a bit easier.

POST SCRIPTUM* Julie, thanks for making your posts shorter.

* I have GCSE latin in case anyone is interested

FungusFighter

mewbie wrote: »

Alright. How come you chose 10% down, exactly the same as me, on the guess your weight in bricks thread? Are you copying me, or did you arrive at that conclusion independently?

And hows life in the mortality trade?

Well babe, I chose 10% cos it's what we decidec at breakfast yesterday while you were slurping up the Cocopops and I eying up yr muffins:D

(and trade's good thanks, swine-flu's been a godsend:T)

nembot

I'm still waiting to find out why ridiculously overpriced houses are a good thing for the country.

There's forum wordsmiths and headline posters using material from such reliable sources as the Daily Fail, surely one of them knows?

nembot

Bored_Poster wrote: »

If I didn't know any better I would suggest this maybe poppys debut sockie.

Actually, you may be suprised to find out I'm a normal person who believes the people who want prices to rise are just selfish and greedy with their own vested interest.

I also notice you didn't attempt to answer the question, hardly suprising...

The reason why is, it's not a good thing from anyone's perspective but the lenders, and property developers.

Just can't work it out, technically on a 3½ mortgage, I now couldn't afford to buy the house I bought in 2000, even though I earn 3x the local area's salary.

How can this be a good thing?

nembot

Must admit I'm feeling a little attraction myself, it's the "off work tomorrow b33r's" I think