Prices Stable or Rising in 94% of the UK....

Charterhouse

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

All of that wealth, every single last penny of it, will ultimately get transferred to the younger generation.

You may have heard of this little thing we call "death"....

Ultimately. Ultimately. You are a blinkered selfish fool. What does ultimately count for if the younger generation bankrupts itself trying? It's not economically efficient to have all the country's wealth held by a small proportion of wealthy landowners. That's not a socialist viewpoint or anything like that, it's just simple economics. Rich people have a lower propensity to spend and to invest. So the more unequal the country becomes, the lower economic growth will be. But ok, keep on going, because your crappy 80k terrace in Aberdeenshire might be worth 1mio woop de doo.

westv

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Oh cry me a river, Graham....

70% of households in the UK are owner occupied, and so the children of 70% of households will almost certainly be inheriting a house.

The vast majority of people do inherit something. It's the ultimate form of intergenerational wealth transfer.

But an inheritance could happen anytime between 18 or 118 and, unless you are an only child, you are unlikely to get 100% of the value of a property so it's probably best discounting inheritance.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Charterhouse wrote: »

Ultimately. Ultimately. You are a blinkered selfish fool. What does ultimately count for if the younger generation bankrupts itself trying? It's not economically efficient to have all the country's wealth held by a small proportion of wealthy landowners. That's not a socialist viewpoint or anything like that, it's just simple economics. Rich people have a lower propensity to spend and to invest. So the more unequal the country becomes, the lower economic growth will be. But ok, keep on going, because your crappy 80k terrace in Aberdeenshire might be worth 1mio woop de doo.

And you are an idealistic, impractical, dreamer.

There is a huge housing shortage in the UK, and no amount of whining about prices will change that. Whether high house prices are good or bad is irrelevant.

Prices will keep rising until supply catches up with demand, and given the Tories plans to implement policies will most likely reduce building levels, that doesn't appear likely to happen anytime soon.

People can either position themselves to take advantage of the inevitable price rises, or choose not to do so.

But if you choose not to, then don't come on here whining when prices are 20% or more higher than todays levels 2 or 3 years from now and expect any sympathy.

[Deleted User]

westv wrote: »

But an inheritance could happen anytime between 18 or 118 and, unless you are an only child, you are unlikely to get 100% of the value of a property so it's probably best discounting inheritance.

The reason I brought up inheritance is simply because it's one of the big advantages of house price increases.

By age 44 I'd paid of my morgage and owned my house outright - that was before inheriting. From that age onwards I was living rent and mortgage free thus giving me an increase of about £800 - £900 a month to spend. Even if the value of that house had halved in value from when I bought it I was better off than had I rented all my life. So I would say there is little risk in buying property.

But the argument people often make is that you don't benefit if your house increases in value as you can never release the money from that house - you have to live in it.

Well this isn't strictly true. It gives you a HUGE sense of security to know that you've got that safety net. The more your house increases in value the more money you can potentially get your hands on. Either by selling up, buying an anuity and renting, downsizing or getting into some scheme whereby someone pays you £X per month in exhcange for getting your house when you die. These options give you a huge sense of security and they also mean that you can get away with using a little bit less of your cash to create safetynets for the future.

Some people say that it's not fair on future generations as they can't afford to buy. Well, think how inheritting a large sum of money could help them. Wishing won't keep house prices down (not when demand outstrips supply). So the one practical thing you can do for them is invest in property yourself - and hope that prices go sky high so that you can help them out. I didn't get my inheritance until AFTER I'd paid of the morgage on my own home. But I can assure you it's been a very welcome help. We knew the money would (almost certainly) come our way one day so we could afford to divert pension money into paying off the house.

It's scary for people starting out - especially with so much talk of house price crashes. I'm trying to point out that it's always been the case really. You go through good times and bad. But it's hard to loose on property simply because the investment doubles up as a place to live. Even if the worse happens you're still quids in. And if the best happens it can change your life....and your childrens' life.

Conrad

More than a year ago I invited the bears to tell us why hey were'nt following the mantra of Warren Buffet to 'buy when no one else is'. I went on to predict nearly all of them would miss the bottom, in thier zeal to wait for the 'green to buy' to glow. Once they are finally convinced it's safe to buy, prices have gone up 20%.

Charterhouse

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

And you are an idealistic, impractical, dreamer.

There is a huge housing shortage in the UK, and no amount of whining about prices will change that. Whether high house prices are good or bad is irrelevant.

Prices will keep rising until supply catches up with demand, and given the Tories plans to implement policies will most likely reduce building levels, that doesn't appear likely to happen anytime soon.

People can either position themselves to take advantage of the inevitable price rises, or choose not to do so.

But if you choose not to, then don't come on here whining when prices are 20% or more higher than todays levels 2 or 3 years from now and expect any sympathy.

Smart investors will always do okay. I bought a long time ago (2001), upsized in 2006 with a modest profit, downsized in summer 2007 at the absolute peak, clearing 210k in profit, and I always buy on a price per square foot basis. Price rises aren't inevitable, there might well be money to be made in the housing market but not by buying indescriminately as you seem to promote. If there is such a housing shortage in the future it is almost certain that planning restrictions will be lifted. Planning is what makes UK housing expensive, that and too much credit availability in the past. Both those things may well change. I'm not so sure that you understand the market that you are so keen to pump as well as you should.

And as for being an "idealistic, impractical, dreamer", I will take that as a compliment if it means that I think that young people should be able to get on the housing ladder without being coerced into one of these disgusting, demeaning, shared ownership programs.

Really2

Charterhouse wrote: »

Smart investors will always do okay. I bought a long time ago (2001), upsized in 2006 with a modest profit, downsized in summer 2007 at the absolute peak, clearing 210k in profit,

And as for being an "idealistic, impractical, dreamer", I will take that as a compliment if it means that I think that young people should be able to get on the housing ladder without being coerced into one of these disgusting, demeaning, shared ownership programs.

Bit confused about you being able to make money on buying and selling houses but then go on about them being expensive for young people.

You had a chance to make a home affordable for someone but were still happy to take top wack.

I don't blame you but you can see it is a bit like saying we should all be vegetarians while eating a 16oz streak.

Charterhouse

I don't really see that. I had to live somewhere, didn't want to rent any longer, could afford it, and bought.When prices got silly (above what I considered sensible on a £ per sq ft basis) very quickly, I sold out and got something at what I considered to be a reasonable price. I personally don't see that you are in a comfortable position unless you own one dwelling (not more, just one), to live in. Pursuing that simple strategy has had fortunate windfall gains for me, but more due to careful property selection than the general market. I do not advocate BTL nor would I pursue it. It is not for me to regulate the underlying property market, but I would be happy to give a government recommendations on how to do so.

As an amusing aside, when I sold up in 2007 it was to a financial professional who, amusingly enough, was doing exactly what Hamish seems to encourage people to do, and chasing the market. I would say he is a good 150k offside right now, and his wife didn't even like the house. Idiots.

Really2

I supose the point is every £ you take out in HPI makes it more expensive for someone else.
No mater who purchases off you you are still capitalising on HPI.
You cant believe you have some kind of canny knack at getting a bargain and think that the majority of the gain is not down to HPI?
You see it on these housing programs, gains are down to HPI value add usually accounts for very little of any gain.

treliac

This thread makes me uncomfortable. There's a sense of self-congratulatory greed running through it, which is not pleasant. All those expecting to live off the fat of their HPI or inherited wealth would be wise to wait and see. Governments have an uncanny knack of relieving people of their wealth if at all possible.

All those waiting for the generation above them to die may have a long wait if their relatives need to be cared for, as their estate could well be spent on that care.

And, just in case anyone thinks I am speaking from a position of envy... we've had to struggle in the past but, thankfully, have a nice home (low loan to value and in Conrad's neck of the woods, I believe) and we now look likely to have secured our long-term future. However, nothing's set in stone. Redundancy can always threaten and I still don't want to lay out my financial table smugly for the rest of the world to see.