Is it really that expensive?

PollySouthend

Trebor16 wrote: »

Rubbish! Winters in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece might be warmer than the UK but Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania are no warmer than here and in many cases suffer colder winters.

there are other cold countries, but the Nordics, germany and that have a much higher wage.

that is why the UK has the 2nd highest level of fuel poverty in europe, after Slovakia.

PollySouthend

givememoney wrote: »

I don't expect people to agree with me on this but I suppose I take umbrage at being called `gormless`.

give me money it was almost as gormless as going to people on the street and saying "Harrods isn't that expensive"

LesU

PollySouthend wrote: »

What planet are you on? houses are the most unaffordable they have been in living memory.

I guess it depends how you measure it and just how long your 'living memory' goes back.
Oh for the heady days of 1990 when house prices were 5 times average salary and mortgages were at 65% of disposable income.
Ref:-
http://www.ercouncil.org/chart-of-the-week/tag/house-prices

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

PollySouthend wrote: »

give me money it was almost as gormless as going to people on the street and saying "Harrods isn't that expensive"

It is nothing of the sort.

Harrods is a luxury. Energy isn't, and I think the OP was trying to demonstrate that.

PollySouthend

LesU wrote: »

I guess it depends how you measure it and just how long your 'living memory' goes back.
Oh for the heady days of 1990 when house prices were 5 times average salary and mortgages were at 65% of disposable income.
Ref:-
http://www.ercouncil.org/chart-of-the-week/tag/house-prices

I counter your graph with this graph showing that first time buyer average house price to earnings ratio. Its way higher than the 90s and in the 90's it peaked and fell very quickly.

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

PollySouthend

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays wrote: »

It is nothing of the sort.

Harrods is a luxury. Energy isn't, and I think the OP was trying to demonstrate that.

It's all relative. Let them eat cake.

DragonQ

PollySouthend wrote: »

I counter your graph with this graph showing that first time buyer average house price to earnings ratio. Its way higher than the 90s and in the 90's it peaked and fell very quickly.

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

Um, don't those two graphs show the same thing? Houses were certainly more affordable in the 1990s than they are now, although these new 5% mortgages probably help a bit with that.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

PollySouthend wrote: »

It's all relative. Let them eat cake.

Fatuous garbage, and an entire incapability to grasp the point the OP was making. Your Harrods argument remains stupid.

Trebor16

PollySouthend wrote: »

there are other cold countries, but the Nordics, germany and that have a much higher wage.

that is why the UK has the 2nd highest level of fuel poverty in europe, after Slovakia.

And they also have much higher costs in the Nordic countries. Take Norway for example. When I visited in August 2012 I paid between £1.51 and £1.67 for a litre of petrol. In the UK it was £1.33 a litre. Beer (always a good indicator ) was £7 for a pint (ouch) and eating out in a restaurant or even a fast food establishment was twice as much as in the UK. Even the cost of a pint of beer in a supermarket was more than £2.50.

As for the higher wages, according to this link (which is for 2011) when it comes to disposable income the UK is ranked 6th which is above the Nordic countries and Germany.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_wage

You can't just look at the wages earned and then make statements, you have to look at the bigger picture. For example, sales tax on motor vehicles in Denmark runs at 140%:eek: so cars are way over the price we pay in the UK.

danthemoneysavingman

DragonQ wrote: »

... That doesn't help those stuck in older properties without insulation though, like I am now...

Just in case this one slipped by... Everyone is paying a subsidy to enable those with poorly insulated homes to get free/cheap insulation! Aren't they?
If you're on this site you should've noticed this as its been on-going for a long time now... but may be your property is really old?... just in case you missed it...