Why were house prices cheaper in the 1970s than they are in the C21st?

ukcarper

Malcolm. wrote: »

My parents bought a 3 bedroom property on a single wage, and could afford to bring up 4 children in the 1970's. Greater London Location.

There's no way the young of today can afford to do this.

(disclaimer: it may be different in other areas of the country)

I’d love to know what that wage was because I couldn’t on an average wage at that time

Malcolm.

ukcarper wrote: »

I’d love to know what that wage was because I couldn’t on an average wage at that time

Average wage too.

ukcarper

They must have bought at the very beginning of the 70s because after the boom of 72 in 1973 a 3 bed terrace on the Surrey Hants border was £11k (nearly 5x average earning)

FATBALLZ

Baby boomers

"Mortgages were rationed so many couldn't buy despite being able to afford the repayments", this would be fair enough, but why do all the baby boomers whine about how hard affording mortgage repayments was when they were obviously in the top percentage of those able to afford those repayments, seeing as many others who could afford it on lower incomes were apparently kept out for no reason?

marklv

Generali wrote: »

Why were house prices cheaper in the 1970s than they are in the C21st?

Simple - much less demand. Working class people lived in council houses and few even considered buying. Then Thatcher came and the rest is history.

ukcarper

FATBALLZ wrote: »

"Mortgages were rationed so many couldn't buy despite being able to afford the repayments", this would be fair enough, but why do all the baby boomers whine about how hard affording mortgage repayments was when they were obviously in the top percentage of those able to afford those repayments, seeing as many others who could afford it on lower incomes were apparently kept out for no reason?

I’m a baby boomer and I’m not sure many moan about paying their mortgages it was getting one that was the problem. When with the lending restrictions in place at the time and if house prices were only 4.5x average earning it was impossible to buy if you only earned an average salary and the Building society would only lend you at the most 3x joint.

Malcolm.

ukcarper wrote: »

They must have bought at the very beginning of the 70s because after the boom of 72 in 1973 a 3 bed terrace on the Surrey Hants border was £11k (nearly 5x average earning)

You're right, there was a boom in 1972, I'll have to ask the exact year of purchase.

I think the HP to earnings ratio was lower then than of late according to these (I can't get them on the same graph though).

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/graphs-average-house-price-to-earnings-ratio.php

http://www.housingmarket.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/hp-earnings-ratio-92-09.jpg

marklv

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

It's a trick question.

The cost of purchasing a house, including mortgage interest, was more expensive in the 1970's than this century.

Interest rates were higher, but this is outweighed by the fact that you had MIRAS then.

Graham_Devon

Jesus.

This is what I can't get my head around....

Some people telling us how hard it was back then....5x this, 4x that. Oh it was so hard. We had it so hard.

The boom....oh the boom hurt us so bad....but shutup complaing and whinging about the boom you just been through, you youngun's don't know anything about suffering, what with buying 8 ipods a year and going on 53 exotic holidays every 6 months.

It's now 5-6x TWO wages. But apparently this is easier. The same people will invent a variety of ways to tell us how we can do it and stop whinging....but have to listen to them pick out CERTAIN part of a whole decade to tell us it was much harder for them.

It's getting boring. It's been factually documented that it's harder now. Same boomers see a documents rise in HPI and that document is absolutely undeniably right in every way.

Seems to be more of the boomer generation moaning that this document has come out, than there is younger generation moaning about the position they are in!!

StevieJ

Why were house prices cheaper in the 1970s than they are in the C21st?

Simple answer = Inflation