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Debate House Prices


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House price correction - Taking the hard route

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Comments

  • grizzly1911
    grizzly1911 Posts: 9,965 Forumite
    TruckerT wrote: »
    Do you mean the majority of the lenders, or the majority of the borrowers?

    The 'gamble' so far has been on the rate at which property prices will increase. Everybody lost!

    TruckerT

    I was thinking more about the actual cost of mortgage, I doubt it would come cheap and adding in flexibility would become even more costly.

    Something tells me the Banks wouldn't wish to lose.
    "If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....

    "big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham
  • N1AK
    N1AK Posts: 2,903 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    Tancred wrote: »
    Nonsense. House prices are driven by demand, supply and availability of mortgages. Also, it depends on the type of house - i.e. everyone wants to live in a 4 bedroom detached so prices of these properties tend to rise almost by the hour. Jobs are plentiful in the south-east and demand very intense, fuelled by constant immigration.

    It's interesting that you speak of supply, demand and mortgage availability; mortgage availability is a factor of demand when it comes to the housing market. If you treat it separately then you should really separate out government policy, difficulty to develop etc and many other things that are factors of supply and demand.

    The 4 bed detached example is actually quite inaccurate. Although everyone may 'want' to live in one (and drive a new bmw and take 2 foreign holidays a year) the proportion of the population who can afford it at the current prices is limited. Small properties are often the most expensive in terms of what you get for your money.
    Having a signature removed for mentioning the removal of a previous signature. Blackwhite bellyfeel double plus good...
  • Generali
    Generali Posts: 36,411 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    TruckerT wrote: »
    I'm not sure that recent events in Ireland and Spain allow us to use their property markets as typical examples.

    Why are mortgages subject to a variable interest rate? Personal loans and HP agreements have a fixed repayment for the life of the loan. What is the difference between a new house and a new car?

    TruckerT

    Because a bank uses a product called an Interest Rate Swap as insurance when they lend at fixed rates. Those become very expensive over longer periods.

    Google swap pricing if you want to know why.

    Americans get long term fixes because the Government (in effect) subsidises them.
  • Conrad
    Conrad Posts: 33,137 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    macaque wrote: »

    When interest rates go up, house prices will start falling.

    Well above 99% of owners sustain a mortgage no matter where rates go. Plenty of us managed rates of about 6/7% for long periods in the past.

    Your logic minds me of that which asserted millions of sockpuppet landlords would bail out as values fell. As ever the doomsayers got it all ars%$e about face.
  • Conrad
    Conrad Posts: 33,137 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    TruckerT wrote: »

    Why are mortgages subject to a variable interest rate?




    Gordon Brown and others tried very hard to get the public to fall in love with long term fixed rates but I can tell you it never works because people do not want a 15 year tie in in case they need to move home / get divorced etc where there is no guarantee on moving home they will still fit lenders criteria.

    Long term fixes also represent a considerable compo target "we you sold a 15 year fixed rate and now find yourself having to pay thousands to exit - call compo-claims line now???:mad:


    I often hear the following "I was stitched up with a 10 year 6% rate"
  • carslet
    carslet Posts: 360 Forumite
    macaque wrote: »
    when interest rates return to 5 or 10% (which has to happen at some point).

    When interest rates go up, house prices will start falling. This will increase the number of would be borrowers who can afford to service the debt. Ironically, that will be exactly the point when people will lose the desire to buy (as has happened in Ireland and Spain).

    Whilst I totally agree with you on what would happen when interest rates rise. But this is the question, they are saying that they will be low for a couple more years. there is no sign of them rising yet. and who is to say that they will not keep them low for 20 years...
  • shortchanged_2
    shortchanged_2 Posts: 5,546 Forumite
    Conrad wrote: »
    Well above 99% of owners sustain a mortgage no matter where rates go. Plenty of us managed rates of about 6/7% for long periods in the past.

    I wonder how much more someone would have to pay on the average mortgage since say 2002 at 6 or 7% compared to someone with a mortgage pre boom? Seeing as house prices have doubled or more since then.
  • TruckerT
    TruckerT Posts: 1,714 Forumite
    N1AK wrote: »
    It's interesting that you speak of supply, demand and mortgage availability; mortgage availability is a factor of demand when it comes to the housing market. If you treat it separately then you should really separate out government policy, difficulty to develop etc and many other things that are factors of supply and demand

    The housing market appears to not actually exist - it is simply manipulated by governments and bankers in much the same way as a communist state might behave.
    Generali wrote: »
    Because a bank uses a product called an Interest Rate Swap as insurance when they lend at fixed rates. Those become very expensive over longer periods.

    Google swap pricing if you want to know why.

    Americans get long term fixes because the Government (in effect) subsidises them

    The UK government's Help to Buy scheme is a government subsidy which offers no long term guarantees.

    TruckerT...
    According to Clapton, I am a totally ignorant idiot.
  • grizzly1911
    grizzly1911 Posts: 9,965 Forumite
    TruckerT wrote: »



    The UK government's Help to Buy scheme is a government subsidy which offers no long term guarantees.

    TruckerT...

    The Help to Buy scheme is a political ploy to get some traction, to get some money moving to pep the economy up and help keep developers solvent. WIll be a nice sweetnener just before the election too.

    It has little to do with the long term housing situation.
    "If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....

    "big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham
  • TruckerT
    TruckerT Posts: 1,714 Forumite
    Many of the antiquated procedures involved in 'property' transactions stem from medieval ideas about 'property' ownership which bear little relevance to modern ideas of house purchases and sales.

    The idea that lenders should be able to vary their interest rates at will goes against modern ideas of consumer rights.

    TruckerT
    According to Clapton, I am a totally ignorant idiot.
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