Financial Times "Looks like a bubble ready to burst"

mobfant

padington wrote: »

Really ? Do you think even the next labour government will let the cashpoints stop working? It would be political suicide.

I would have thought that they would effectively print a billion pound note and hand it to the banks and request lots in return.

... And the fashionable assets of the day would eventually boom again and those relying on just their wages and savings to thrive will get hit again.

Do you even think the government gets everything it wants all the time? Do you not know there are countless examples of extreme crashes in probably every country in every generation?

They'll probably do everything in their power to prevent such a scenario, as they did a few years back. But that power is not limitless.

AndyGuil

The space is limited and what property is available is being bought up and lived in. So the commute time argument is better solved with faster transport. I.e. more undergound and train stations, increased frequency and increased speed. That means it doesn't matter if you live in zone 2, zone 6 or in a commute town the ease and speed of getting into London is the best it can be.

mobfant

AndyGuil wrote: »

The space is limited and what property is available is being bought up and lived in. So the commute time argument is better solved with faster transport. I.e. more undergound and train stations, increased frequency and increased speed. That means it doesn't matter if you live in zone 2, zone 6 or in a commute town the ease and speed of getting into London is the best it can be.

That will all help, and they are doing this e.g. expanding the London Overground and going from 8 to 12 carriage trains in many places, but building new stations esp on the tube takes far far longer than building more houses. We could build up more, replace social housing with social housing rather than 5% the number with luxury flats, improve planning laws, force developers to build on land they are stockpiling.

No silver bullet among my suggestions, granted, but there's more that could be done.

AndyGuil

Very true. If they are going to embark on building more properties then more trains and underground infrastructure is needed to cope with the higher density and new built on areas.

TickersPlaysPop

There is a lot of talk on here and BOE and press/media that rates will start to rise within 6mths to 2 yrs....

What would stop interest rates from increasing?

Thrugelmir

TickersPlaysPop wrote: »

What would stop interest rates from increasing?

Continued low growth in Europe. As will impact on the UK's recovery as well. Then there's the issue of household debt which is going to take some management to bring back under control without creating a panic of some kind. .

chucknorris

mobfant wrote: »

It should be a god given right. Commutes over 40 or so minutes increase stress levels significantly, which in turn have a significant impact on quality of life,

I wouldn't feel as if I had had a proper work out cycling for less than 40 mins. A good work out will actually reduce stress levels not increase them. I would love to be about an hours cycling distance from work but it is not only more than that but I don't like cycling through central London. I have thought about cycling to Morden tube station (end of the Northern line), but sometimes I have to carry quite a bit of stuff in.

padington

TickersPlaysPop wrote: »

There is a lot of talk on here and BOE and press/media that rates will start to rise within 6mths to 2 yrs....

What would stop interest rates from increasing?

I'm no economist but I think they could use Quantitative easing to keep the house of cards from falling down for a good while yet, Which I suspect they might just keep on doing if necessary.

Which results in asset booms ...

I suspect the way they are going to play this dynamic is by increasing the tax on whatever asset is proving to be anti socially booming, hence the mansion tax etc.

Which is where we are and where I think we will remain for a long time.

As long as a fresh Jenga bottom row of bricks is magicked every now and again from somewhere the game can continue. It will all fall down fairly spectacularly one day but the people that own a house or two (by taking the chance and pulling out a block or two early ) will probably be in a better position than most.

If they feel they can raise the interest rates without too much fall out, they will, but raising interest rates won't be the key goal, it will be to ensure the Jenga game continues.

... And if your not playing it, your paying for it because the 'magic' taxes us all invisibly.

padington

mobfant wrote: »

It should be a god given right. Commutes over 40 or so minutes increase stress levels significantly, which in turn have a significant impact on quality of life, and on wider societal priorities such as mental health funding on the NHS, and health-related business costs from increased time off work, lower productivity.

Don't be silly, you can't expect that everyone can have the right to live in London, flipping heck, there is enough people already.

Some people should get a place at cost because they are key workers, the rest of the chancers and hangers on should be made to scrap over the finite resource in the market place or do something more worthwhile.

That would be my utopia anyway.

It would require some central planning to decide how essential each job is to the health of the city or the nation but would probably offer an important counter weight to short term market forces.

mobfant

chucknorris wrote: »

I wouldn't feel as if I had had a proper work out cycling for less than 40 mins. A good work out will actually reduce stress levels not increase them. I would love to be about an hours cycling distance from work but it is not only more than that but I don't like cycling through central London. I have thought about cycling to Morden tube station (end of the Northern line), but sometimes I have to carry quite a bit of stuff in.

40 minute commute wasn't specific to cycling, just in general.

I cycle from south of Croydon to Westminster when I go in by bike. Takes about an hour. But the stress levels once you get near the centre go up, because you have to be so alert to all the obstacles, so I'm not sure if there is a net benefit.