Housing Affordability has peaked, now decreasing

Rob_Marx

from your posts i gather 'affordable' means that joe 'supermarket cashier' bloggs can get a mortgage with no deposit on a cheap deal for 2 years before becoming financially crippled for life, whereas 'unaffordable' means joe won't be accepted for a life ruining debt but billy '20% deposit' bunter will be able to get a reasonable deal without owing a huge amount of capital

carolt

breadlinebetty wrote: »

Another sour puss I see!:D Sorry this has spoilt your Christmas!

Did ypu have a good christmas, pickledpink?

carolt

I thought the article in the OP was interesting, too.

Hardly a surprise.

As a would-be FTB, it's clearly a bad time to buy, and about to get worse. As all those desperate to sell find there are no buyers, prices will fall to comfortable levels again.

Best not to be in a hurry.

Graham_Devon

I've just had a moment.

After sitting back and reading pobby's post today, I then read this one, and it's all just clicked.

This whole optimism stuff seems to be built on fear. Fear that if you don't get in now, you will miss the boat, don't get in now prices will be higher, don't get in now, mortgages will be more expensive. Don't get in now, you will miss the only chance you have. Don't get in now it will be 15, 30, 45% more expensive later.

Everything seems to revolve around making the person without a home fearful of their situation, trying to make them jump before they are ready.

But who's fear is it? Why are the people with the property already spending their time trying to telling others to jump in before they are ready and stirring up all the inevitables, the inevtiables all ending with higher prices and the person without being shut out?

I'm starting to lose interest with whether house prices are going up or down. It's a crazy world out there and the market can, and will be manipulated, it's not a free market. Loans will rise beyond safe loans, the government will intervene, the BOE will print money. The BOE will reduce interest rates to almost nothing in an attempt to put a plaster on a severed limb.

Generali

breadlinebetty wrote: »

The report didn't say the end of 2012 - it said 2012! D'oh!

Not correct. It says the end of 2012:

It will also predict that by the end of 2012, house prices will be around 15pc higher than today.

D'oh!

If you can't read and understand a few hundred words of text then I think you have bigger problems than what the price of a house might be in 3 (not 2) years time.

ess0two

carolt wrote: »

I thought the article in the OP was interesting, too.

Hardly a surprise.

As a would-be FTB, it's clearly a bad time to buy, and about to get worse. As all those desperate to sell find there are no buyers, prices will fall to comfortable levels again.

Best not to be in a hurry.

The same could be said at the turn of 2009.

chucky

carolt wrote: »

I thought the article in the OP was interesting, too.

Hardly a surprise.

As a would-be FTB, it's clearly a bad time to buy, and about to get worse. As all those desperate to sell find there are no buyers, prices will fall to comfortable levels again.

Best not to be in a hurry.

that's what many have been sayinng since the end of 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and now 2009... :rolleyes:

The_White_Horse

you can say what you like about this prediction or that prediction.

the simple truth is, houses are UNAFFORDABLE. in and around London you are looking at 200k plus for a bog standard terraced house. the repayments, even at these very low interest rates are over 1000 a month (at say 4%). For most people, over 1000 a month is not really affordable. it is probably 60% plus of their disposable income. When you then factor in bills and council tax the average person will have next to nothing to actually spend in the greater economy.

And in and around London 200k will get you a real dive. To live in what I call a decent family home, you are looking at 350k.

they are NOT AFFORDABLE. and no chart, graph or statistics will change that fact.

stueyhants

So affordability is going to get worse due to price rises, IR are going up causing mortgage payments to increase and we are still predicting a 15% increase in prices. Wages are flat and will be for some time so where is the extra money going to come from to cause this rise?

The banks are going to be hard pressed to fund this mortgage lending as they are going to be forced to invest in governement gilts to support the new banking regulations.

Spartacus_Mills

The_White_Horse wrote: »

you can say what you like about this prediction or that prediction.

the simple truth is, houses are UNAFFORDABLE. in and around London you are looking at 200k plus for a bog standard terraced house. the repayments, even at these very low interest rates are over 1000 a month (at say 4%). For most people, over 1000 a month is not really affordable. it is probably 60% plus of their disposable income. When you then factor in bills and council tax the average person will have next to nothing to actually spend in the greater economy.

And in and around London 200k will get you a real dive. To live in what I call a decent family home, you are looking at 350k.

they are NOT AFFORDABLE. and no chart, graph or statistics will change that fact.

You're wrong.

According to Hamish affordability is very good and virtually at an all time low. Therefore it must be true.