Home Truths 2011

kabayiri

The trouble with statistics is that over 85.6 % of them are wrong.

(maybe even this one)

geneer

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Just as I'm sure there are plenty of places in Devon that Graham would categorise similarly, where you can buy a 3 bed house for 160K.

But the question to Graham stands.

Why do you think prices in Devon or Cornwall are higher than similar places in the North of England?

It seems you have already formulated your own opinion on this Hamish.

So why don't you just express it instead of dragging things out in a bid to make things as petty and antagonistic as you possible can.

Cleaver

geneer wrote: »

So why don't you just express it instead of dragging things out in a bid to make things as petty and antagonistic as you possible can.

Annoying when posters are petty and antagonistic isn't it?

Conrad

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Can't deny, it's a very nice house for 160k.

I often see people trying to sell their 3 bed, lovely homes on the house selling forum on here. They are under 100k, and people are saying reduce the price! Just can't believe it sometimes! I think a lot of my viewpoints come from what I see around me. And that house above would be demanding 240-300k.

I've argued with you many times that affordable housing can be found right accross the land but you guys simply flatly refuse to accept it.

You know I have this British Nigerian female client who came here in 2000, and saw me in 2008. She could not afford a property in London so she bought one outside using a 90% mortgage, and then decided to rent it out. She's on £27k pa.

She's now buying her second with another 90% mortgage, of course with the intention of living there, but knowing her it will be let.

Fast forward 15 years you'll all be claiming she got lucky, and benefited from timing and that in 2026 the young simply cannot do what she did!!


Awaits usual reposte that this Woman will learn hard lessons when rates rise - but like 99% of other landlords, in all likelyhood it will all pan out fine, her world wont come crashing down. In fact I'm confident she will have several properties and a good deal of welath in 15 years time, all from a £27k income and a bit of grit.

Cleaver

Conrad wrote: »

I've argued with you many times that affordable housing can be found right accross the land but you guys simply flatly refuse to accept it.

You know I have this British Nigerian female client who came here in 2000, and saw me in 2008. She could not afford a property in London so she bought one outside using a 90% mortgage, and then decided to rent it out. She's on £27k pa.

What does this have to do with people in the South West who can't afford to buy a house? Surely the advice to people who can't afford a house isn't to invest all their money in one asset and hope that this gives them the money in ten or twenty years to buy a house?

StevieJ

Cleaver wrote: »

What does this have to do with people in the South West who can't afford to buy a house? Surely the advice to people who can't afford a house isn't to invest all their money in one asset and hope that this gives them the money in ten or twenty years to buy a house?

Maybe he was suggesting they should move?

I've argued with you many times that affordable housing can be found right accross the land but you guys simply flatly refuse to accept it.

noodle_doodle

StevieJ wrote: »

While we are at it

Nationwide's version of "North-West" doesn't include Cumbria, thus you are not comparing like-with-like

WestonDave

I find it pretty frustrating when survey's like this purposefully distort the stats to prove a point and just end up looking ridiculous.

For a start its unlikely that you would look to buy an average house on a single median salary - you'd most likely start with something below average and maybe move onto nearer average as a second or third step.

Secondly there are going to be anomalies in the house prices - take my area of Bath and North East Somerset. The average house price is quoted as being just shy of £300,000, but that is seriously distorted by some very expensive properties in the historic or luxury areas. On the market at present is a 3 bed 1960's terrace (identical to one I lived in up to 2006 so its a good house) in a good area with excellent local schools - priced at £210k so would go for £200k max. That immediately blows the earnings multiple down from 14.1 to 9.5. Even then that wouldn't necessarily be a starter home - the people we lived next door to had happily brought up a son and daughter right through to adulthood in one of those homes so its potentially a long term house if you needed it to be. That still keeps you in the renowned expensive Bath city postcodes. Going to the BA3 postcodes (still in the same district but now in the outlying towns/villages) there are currently 127 houses (not including flats etc) with 3 beds or more for less than £200k. £150k would get you something pretty decent within 15 miles of the centre of Bath.

Thirdly the median wages are also going to be distorted. They take no account of other forms of income such as tax credits, nor do they exclude wages in part time jobs which are never intended as a full means of supporting a family. In theory my wife's part time wage is in there but she only does the job for a bit of mental stimulation and to bring in a few luxuries. If she wanted to buy a house she'd have to look for something else!

I absolutely don't deny our area is expensive and needs attention to housing affordability, but using meaningless figures doesn't really help because they are so easily knocked down!

StevieJ

noodle_doodle wrote: »

Nationwide's version of "North-West" doesn't include Cumbria, thus you are not comparing like-with-like

Wow! I wish I had bought in Cumbria if their omission has changed the comparative data that much.

noodle_doodle

StevieJ wrote: »

Wow! I wish I had bought in Cumbria if their omission has changed the comparative data that much.

If you'd bought in 2000 you could have got one across the road from my mum for £10,000 never mind £100,000

Also, cumbria being rural in nature didn't knock up many of the pile'em-high city centre flats that crashed n burned the hardest.