House buying affordability now best since 1997

Mr._Pricklepants

the_flying_pig wrote: »

.

incidentally the methodology is a bit dubious since it assumes 70% LTV and that the other 30% magically comes out of nowhere.

No, it assumes 70% because - as we can read in the definitions tab;

The national average loan to value over the period from 1983 to 2008 of 70% has been applied to the average standardised house price to calculate the average new mortgage.

Nothing dubious here.

Graham_Devon wrote: »

House "buying" affordability, as stated by Hamish, based on a single data point alone, is absurd.

What's this single data point you're talking about?

The excel sheet I'm looking at shows:
- definitions
- HP/earnings ratios
- mortgage repayments/% income ratios

both for 120 odd quarters + regional data

What single data point?

IveSeenTheLight

Graham_Devon wrote: »

House "buying" affordability, as stated by Hamish, based on a single data point alone, is absurd.

This is mortgage affordability, for those with current mortgages. Got diddly squat really to do with actually buying a house, today.

I find it somewhat odd, that you, someone who continually asks for data and research into said data, can be happy with a singular calculation, with no context added, to prove houses are at their most affordable in 20 odd years.

Just typing the last sentence shows how absurd it is.

I am aware of where the data comes from and have linked to it in the past myself.

True, this is a reflection of mortgage payments as a percentage of income, meaning you need to have a mortgage to be included in the figures.

Not exactly rocket science

Incidently I was replying to flying pigs questioning the data methodology and not your pedantic (although with a point) issue with the title wording.

Originally Posted by the flying pig
read another way:

house prices are still so high that, even with prices 20% down from peak & even if you choose to focus on a super-myopic 'mortgage affordability' measure [that also by the way conveniently ignores female wages & the millions of people working PT who'd prefer to be FT, in other words even if you're one of Halifax's mythical 'male, FT' earners], it was easier to service a mortgage at 6.5% base rate in early 1997 than it is to do so at 0.5% base rate in late 2012. hold on to your hats if & when rates go up.

[Deleted User]

grizzly1911 wrote: »

You've got the one of best chances of FT well paid job too.

Isn't the logic the wrong way round? Only those people in FT well paying jobs can afford to live in those areas