London home 'needs £93,000 wage'

Really2

So the average London property price is fairly irelevant to the average London wage.

(I now give up and relish the more simple ways of the north (well above Watford))

lostinrates

Really2 wrote: »

So the average London property price is fairly irelevant to the average London wage.

(I now give up and relish the more simple ways of the north (well above Watford))

No, its relevant, but so are the property prices of outside London! ( But also, we've gone back to needing to separate the issue of meaning Londn not the City).....I have no idea what proportion of people in th City commute in from outside London, or Greater London, for example...does anybody know?

(It would be intersting to know, also, how the statistic availablity of Council accomodation and HA accomodation stood., as an aside, both in the City and in London)

My guess is there are fewer owner occupiers amoung the working population of London. Much fewer if you look at say, the under forties, or under 35s.

the_ash_and_the_oak

Really2 wrote: »

Indeed, so it goes with what I thought local wage as little to no connection to house prices.
In modern society most people commute and that is just as valid where I live as the centre of London.

I realize you've set this up to make this particular point that "high prices are viable in location x even though wages are low - because of people commuting to where wages are high". Which is a valid point, but the figures for London already include these people (is your point about London here that if you strip out their wages for suburb x then ave salaries would be lower in that suburb and therefore the high prices there are justified by city commuters?)

Harry_Powell

The_White_Horse wrote: »

this is what I have been saying all along (as I live near London). My wage is pretty fair - but not enough to buy a small run of the mill terrace house. I must earn more than a lot of people in London.

It is just unsustainable.

when my parents bought their house, in the 70's - it was 3 times my father's (then low) salary. When he sold it to move to a flat, it was the equivalent of about 10 x the average salary. He said himself, there was no way he would have been able to afford the house if he had to buy nowadays.

The whole house price issue is nonsense. they are too high. not only that, without self cert, 100% loans and ridiculous multiples, they can't be sustained. How can they be???? it is impossible.

time for people to wake up and smell the coffee.

London was a very different place in the 1970s than it is now. Even just putting aside the amount of regeneration and its standing in the World as an 'international' city, the population within London has grown exponentially since the 70s whereas the actual size of London itself has not.

Comparing anything from one generation to another rarely works unless complete stagnation has occurred, an accusation that cannot be made at London.

We're moving into our new home in a couple of weeks (touch wood) and we're first time buyers. We've had to move to move to the outskirts of London (UB4) in order to afford a decent place.

lostinrates

Harry_Powell wrote: »

We're moving into our new home in a couple of weeks (touch wood) and we're first time buyers. We've had to move to move to the outskirts of London (UB4) in order to afford a decent place.

Congratulations.

Harry_Powell

lostinrates wrote: »

Congratulations.

Thanks!

We're both (myself and gf) really excited at the prospect of the move and of owning our own home. It's not much, but it'll be all ours.

Really2

the_ash_and_the_oak wrote: »

I realize you've set this up to make this particular point that

To tell you the truth I never meant to set anything up I was just trying to get some more rational from the data and trying to even it out a bit more.
(I do not have what the ONS stats mean by the"city of London" i just thought some people from London might )

But the point is fairly valid like people above have made out local wages + local house prices are not going to be a match, commuting can have a drastic effect on house prices without changing a "local" wage.

(But can I please use this thread if someone goes on about my local wage is £4,000PA but house prices are £4,000,000 )

lostinrates

Harry_Powell wrote: »

Thanks!

We're both (myself and gf) really excited at the prospect of the move and of owning our own home. It's not much, but it'll be all ours.

Chucky linked some proerties for under £230 k in a right move search, some of which was not bad at all.

Pete111

My what a lot of debate.

And yet...somehow....people are still able to buy property in London. How can this possibly be?

My twopenneth:

1) The average house is not an FTB house (as mentioned) so knock at least 30+% off the figure used for starters
2) Most white collar professional couples in their late 20's / early 30's (of which London has many) will have a combined income of 60-70k+ These people can and do buy starter properties at 3-4 times joint salary in the capital as they settle down. Once the mortgage is approved the bank will not check (or care) if one partner goes off to have a baby etc - as long as they keep paying the interest on the loan so eligibility for a mortgage becomes a non issue
3) London is very overpopulated and will continue to be going forward. This alone will likely prevent the falls hoped for by some posters
4)Those on the lowest wages are not going to be in the market for a house so for house price purposes they are irrelevant - these people will not cause the prices to rise or fall as (unfortunately perhaps) they are not in the game.
But...
5) ...the city is on the way back (and no, they have not really learned their lesson!) - bonuses in 09/10 will likely be at near 2006/7 levels. This will boost the market .

P

the_ash_and_the_oak

Really2 wrote: »

To tell you the truth I never meant to set anything up I was just trying to get some more rational from the data and trying to even it out a bit more.
(I do not have what the ONS stats mean by the"city of London" i just thought some people from London might )

But the point is fairly valid like people above have made out local wages + local house prices are not going to be a match, commuting can have a drastic effect on house prices without changing a "local" wage.

(But can I please use this thread if someone goes on about my local wage is £4,000PA but house prices are £4,000,000 )

I think overall they somehow have to be a match though (I can see how your point relates a lot to commuter towns and particularly rural villages - Cornwall and Devon the most extreme examples I presume?) but this surely can only be true of particular locations rather than all locations (if the high urban eaners are all living in small towns pushing prices up there then who is keeping the urban prices high?)