Student Housing and House Prices

Lokolo

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

But force up rent prices. Which increases yield. Which makes it a more attractive investment. Which leads to greater interest from investors, who compete for houses to buy and let out, which raises house prices.;)

Its all theory

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Lokolo wrote: »

Its all theory

It's proven accurate so far....;)

wageslave

Lokolo wrote: »

I currently live with 1 guy that doesn't talk to me.....

You just described the daily life of almost every married woman I know.

robmatic

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

There is no shortage of housing, IF you define a shortage of housing as meaning one bedroom exists for every person or couple in Britain.

But if you define the shortage as being there are not enough homes of the right type, in the places where people want to live, and where the employment exists to support them, then there is a huge shortage.;)

Obviously, if you invent a ridiculous definition you can win any argument, but what you describe is a distribution problem, not a shortage. A 'shortage' is generally regarded to be a lack of something, and 'housing' is, well, somewhere to live. So, while there may not be enough 4 bedroom semi-detached houses in good school catchment areas, there is a conspicuous lack of shanty towns dotted around our overcrowded island.

tara747

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Ahhh, I see you have also confused the shortage of housing, which is real, with the shortage of bedrooms, which of course doesn't exist.....

Don't worry, it's a mistake commonly made around here.:rotfl:

There is no shortage of housing, IF you define a shortage of housing as meaning one bedroom exists for every person or couple in Britain.

But if you define the shortage as being there are not enough homes of the right type, in the places where people want to live, and where the employment exists to support them, then there is a huge shortage.;)

Erm, well, quite. Because everyone wants the perfect house in the perfect location. And there are only so many desirable locations in the UK. So what you *really* mean is that there is no shortage of housing, just that some properties are less desirable than others.

robmatic wrote: »

Obviously, if you invent a ridiculous definition you can win any argument, but what you describe is a distribution problem, not a shortage. A 'shortage' is generally regarded to be a lack of something, and 'housing' is, well, somewhere to live. So, while there may not be enough 4 bedroom semi-detached houses in good school catchment areas, there is a conspicuous lack of shanty towns dotted around our overcrowded island.

Well said. :T

Linton

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

....
But if you define the shortage as being there are not enough homes of the right type, in the places where people want to live, and where the employment exists to support them, then there is a huge shortage.;)

What happens is that "homes of the right type where people want to live" turn out to be those homes that cost 10% more than the potential buyer can afford.

In Victorian times a town-dwelling working family would share a house with 2 or 3 other families. In the 1950s a nice new home suitable for perhaps a 2nd time buyer was a 3 bedroom semi. Now people want a 4 bedroom detached.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

tara747 wrote: »

Erm, well, quite. Because everyone wants the perfect house in the perfect location. And there are only so many desirable locations in the UK.

OK, to put it into perspective, according to a recent Times article, there are currently around 1600 empty houses in Caithness and Sutherland, in the very north of Scotland.

Please explain to me what use these empty houses are for a Teacher looking for a house in London?

How do these empty houses help the fireman looking for a house in Edinburgh, or the accountant looking for a house in Aberdeen?

There is a shortage of housing of the types people want, where people want to live, and where the employment exists to support them.

It's why house prices are very high in Kensington and Chelsea, and very low in Orkney.

It's why a 3 bed Victorian terrace costs 60K in Preston, and an identical 3 bed Victorian terrace costs 600K in parts of London.

It's supply and demand in action.

Linton

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

OK, to put it into perspective, according to a recent Times article, there are currently around 1600 empty houses in Caithness and Sutherland, in the very north of Scotland.

Please explain to me what use these empty houses are for a Teacher looking for a house in London?

How do these empty houses help the fireman looking for a house in Edinburgh, or the accountant looking for a house in Aberdeen?

There is a shortage of housing of the types people want, where people want to live, and where the employment exists to support them.

It's why house prices are very high in Kensington and Chelsea, and very low in Orkney.

It's why a 3 bed Victorian terrace costs 60K in Preston, and an identical 3 bed Victorian terrace costs 600K in parts of London.

It's supply and demand in action.

You are setting up the two extremes. London is a special case where a large number of people have incomes grossly out of line with the rest of the population (its the bankers fault again!). They can afford to pay enormous prices for what they want. This successively pushes up prices for all housing in London.

In Orkney, people living there permanently really have no choice but to work on Orkney.

There are plenty of places in the middle - eg err the Midlands where there is both reasonable housing and work.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Linton wrote: »

You are setting up the two extremes. London is a special case where a large number of people have incomes grossly out of line with the rest of the population (its the bankers fault again!). They can afford to pay enormous prices for what they want. This successively pushes up prices for all housing in London.

In Orkney, people living there permanently really have no choice but to work on Orkney.

But every city works this way.

As population expands, the absolute number of wealthy people expands too.

There are no longer enough houses for the wealthiest in their previous areas, so they expand into the next level down.

The people who formerly lived in the next level down, the doctors and lawyers, get pushed out further into the area previously lived in by small business owners. The small businessmen get pushed out into the areas lived in by the gobvernment employees. The government employees get pushed out into surrounding towns, and the process starts again.

It's a ripple effect, and you can see it happening around every major city in the UK. Where surrounding towns get more expensive over time, then the next town out does, then the town further away yet, etc etc etc.

It happens because housebuilding does not keep up with population growth, and it happens in almost every part of the UK, to a greater or lesser extent.