What would happen if house’s dropped to the magic 3.5 times average income?

ukcarper

Looked at studio flat in 1972

Exocet

ukcarper wrote: »

Looked at studio flat in 1972

Really? I would like to believe you, but without a Rightmove link...

Graham_Devon

Exocet wrote: »

Terraces were the old studio flats, that's like a place that has a bedroom, toilet and kitchen in different parts of the accomodation - rather than expecting you to live like someone on death row.

LOL brilliant, made me laugh!!

Probably because it's all so true!

buglawton

In ancient Rome, salt was in permanently short supply so it was used as a currency as well as being a food supplement. Hence the word "Salary" since salārium is Latin for salt.

In the UK, homes are physically in short supply recession or not. In the UK, almost uniquely in the world a home is seen as an 'investment' or alternative way of storing value, just like salt used to be. Anyone of real talent who is frustrated with this situation is looking at moving to Australia, Canada etc, or retiring in France/Spain.

ukcarper

Exocet wrote: »

Really? I would like to believe you, but without a Rightmove link...

Even though I didn’t buy it I think it sold eventually

ukcarper

Exocet wrote: »

Terraces were the old studio flats, that's like a place that has a bedroom, toilet and kitchen in different parts of the accomodation - rather than expecting you to live like someone on death row.

You were lucky if the toilet was in the property

Gorgeous_George

In some areas prices would have to rise to reach 3.5 x income.

Are we suggesting that a house in Cornwall should cost £60K (or whatever 3.5 x income equates to) or that salaries in Cornwall should be £70K so that the houses are affordable?

GG

PasturesNew

Chris2685 wrote: »

I remember seeing something a while ago, can't remember what show it was. A woman had a whole bunch of houses, and basically had bought them all out of the perceived equity of the other houses, and it just spiralled on and on and on until she had a whole load of houses, but didn't actually own any of them. What she actually had was a whole load of debt, built up on equity. When the market faltered, her whole empire came crashing down. Can't remember the ins and outs of it, but it was quite interesting.

It seems to me like this type of thing is what Strings is basing his buying power on, correct me if I'm wrong though.

That was the programme where the presenter bloke drove her past a bunch of them wasn't it ... possibly in a camper van/VW?

I think she even has one in my town.

PasturesNew

Gorgeous_George wrote: »

In some areas prices would have to rise to reach 3.5 x income.

Are we suggesting that a house in Cornwall should cost £60K (or whatever 3.5 x income equates to) or that salaries in Cornwall should be £70K so that the houses are affordable?

GG

The average house price in Padstow (North Cornwall) are now 18x local average wages

What actually happens is nobody moves there, nobody starts a business there, next local companies can't get new staff because nobody can afford to live there.... so they close. Then you end up with another ghost town of 2nd homes.... and the last 4 council houses still being rented.

PasturesNew

Exocet wrote: »

I'm not sure that studio flats used to exist before this latest bubble. Maybe for renting but I can't remember people saying proudly we've just bought a studio flat for 200k.

They did. I couldn't afford a studio flat right before the bust of the late 80s, which is why I bought a mobile home instead. Finally managed to get half a studio, on a council estate, miles out of town ... it felt like all my Xmases at once ... and I was about 30.

But I did grow up somewhere that had high house prices and shabby wages.