Typical wage £20K. Typical house £150K

Afriend_2

the_ash_and_the_oak wrote: »

You should argue imo

1. Well lets see, who are they available to exactly? afaics they are available to the banks, but not from the banks to the public
2. Would you have preferred the pain today? The pain may be worse tomorrow it may not, but that pain might have led to the end of your job?
3. The money supply expands each year - how?

1) If the banks weren't loaned money at such a low rate, the publc would be get charged even more for borrowing. So it does feed through. It just happens that this is being offest by banks now pricing in risk more realistically while also trying to repair balance sheets.

3) Many measures of money supply include liquid and illiquid assets. So asset price inflation increases the money supply, not only quantitative easing.

the_ash_and_the_oak

1. I agree it feeds through! What I don't agree with is that the the public are able to borrow at never seen before low rates

Afriend_2

the_ash_and_the_oak wrote: »

But here's the thing. If this is true - why are owner occupancy stats higher today then when you were a child?

Because social housing has been bought at a faster rate than it's been built.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

wageslave wrote: »

Mr A earns £18k a year. His missus earns £5k on Tesco checkout. They have two kids and are living in private rented accommodation. Traditionally they would have been in social housing but that avenue is closed to them. In consequence they have no security of tenure and Mrs A cant sleep for worrying about it.

They decide to buy a house, it is going to cost them £150k for a modest 3 bed terrace with a bit of a garden.

£150k seems a fair bit of cash but the nice bloke at the building society (who is on commission) assures them they can afford it. And hey it is something to leave behind for the kids. It needs a little work buy Mr A fancies himself as a bit of a handyman.

They live quite happily for a couple of years, put a new kitchen in and buy a bit of laminate. Have a couple of holidays abroad. They are living the dream.

Then one day Mr A is put on short time at work or he may fallen off his bike and broken his leg. I forget which.

They cut back. Only it isn't enough. So they start to run up an overdraft and bung the odd bit of shopping on the credit card they got for going to Benidorm. Before you know it they have bailiffs at the door and Mrs A is back to not sleeping at night.

It doesn't matter how cheap credit is, some people just cant afford to own a house. They live too close to the breadline as it is. All it takes is one little thing to tip them over.

And trust me, there is always, always that one little thing.

Their solution is to move to an area where a 3 bed terrace can be had for 60K instead of 150K.

If they are already only earning 18K and 5K, they have little to lose....:rolleyes:

Afriend_2

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Their solution is to move to an area where a 3 bed terrace can be had for 60K instead of 150K.

If they are already only earning 18K and 5K, they have little to lose....:rolleyes:

Maybe they don't want to move to Aberdeen...;)

nembot

I really don't know ash, there's probably genuine factors, tiz an interesting point.

Maybe it's a location thing wageslave, wasn't the case where I grew up - only one of my friends parents rented from the council.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

the_ash_and_the_oak wrote: »

But here's the thing. If this is true - why are owner occupancy stats higher today then when you were a child?

And not just a little higher, O/O rates were down around 40% when many of todays middle aged were children.

Because the lowest paid 60% simply could not afford to buy.

O/O rates are closer to 70% today.

Those who most yearn for the past, are usually those who view it through rose tinted lenses....

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Afriend wrote: »

Maybe that don't want to move to Aberdeen...;)

You won't find that in Aberdeen....

But you will in much of the North of England.

wageslave

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Their solution is to move to an area where a 3 bed terrace can be had for 60K instead of 150K.

If they are already only earning 18K and 5K, they have little to lose....:rolleyes:

Hamish it isn't always about the damn money.

Why should people have to uproot themselves and their families from the place they were born in, and could probably quite happily die in, for a decent roof over their heads?

Just build bliddy LA housing and then people wouldn't be forced into making untenable choices.

But then more social housing means fewer tenants for BTL landlords doesn't it. And house prices would fall even further as demand began to meet supply again.

So maybe not, Hamish, maybe not:cool:

lostinrates

wageslave wrote: »

Hamish it isn't always about the damn money.

Why should people have to uproot themselves and their families from the place they were born in, and could probably quite happily die in, for a decent roof over their heads?

Just build bliddy LA housing and then people wouldn't be forced into making untenable choices.

But then more social housing means fewer tenants for BTL landlords doesn't it. And house prices would fall even further as demand began to meet supply again.

So maybe not, Hamish, maybe not:cool:

I agree but, people always have done. My mother came here to better her luck, her ancestors left here, and elsewhere, to better their lot. People move. A lot of us have a nesting instinct, but before we were nesters we were nomads as Sarah's children.

My opinion on this changes daily.

BTW...I really was trying to stick u for you with that quote in your sig:o .