C4 Dispatches - The British Property Boom

Cornucopia

Just watched this programme. Not a great piece of journalism. Unusually for Dispatches, it was narrated by an actress rather than presented by a journalist (perhaps no one wanted to put their name to it?)

Amongst the flaws...

- Comparing London to the rest of the UK

- Lack of credible examples (find us someone ordinary who is genuinely priced out of London now, that wasn't at a point in the past).

- Lack of credible info about the examples they chose. (Like the lady who sold her flat in Hackney, and presumably had £250k+ in the bank and (a) rented in Woolwich, and (b) took the slowest, cheapest route to work).

- Lack of affordability detail. Find us someone on a reasonable salary, with reasonable expectations of where & what they want to buy and see how that pans out.

- Lack of examination of fashion changes which have made Zone 2/3 areas (particular previously run-down places like Hoxton & Hackney) suddenly very desirable. Lack of understanding that in some of these areas there are very few small houses.

- (As discussed above) lack of consideration of the balance between renting & buying. If there are no more houses, there are no more houses - whether they are bought to let or by owner occupiers makes no difference to overall availability.

Oh, and I saw nothing that could conceivably make one's blood boil (bad journalism is a given, these days). Therefore conclude that the OP's reaction was either an over-reaction, or a faux reaction.

enthusiasticsaver

London is an expensive place to live but so are other major cities in other countries. This is also nothing new. We moved out of London more than 25 years ago as we were fed up of living in an area we weren't that keen on simply because that was all we could afford. Dreadful schools and constant traffic jams to work every day.


I do wish that when they make these programmes they would look at other areas of the UK. London is not the only area with problems. Down here in the south west we have to cope with rich people inflating the prices of homes as it is a desirable area of the country but with low wages it is very difficult for our children to buy houses without help.

TickersPlaysPop

CLAPTON wrote: »

The homes are occupied by either owner occupiers or by renters.

The demand for occupying the homes isn't affected by whether the rented house is owned by an Englishman or a foreigner.

If the system increases the proportion forceably allocated to OOs, that means less is available for renters. At best, this would be supply/demand neutral; in practice its likely that OO to have a lower occupancy than rentered and so would add more competition between renters.

As I've already posted, the funding for Battersea Power station development is being supplied by a foreigner company.
After 30 years of decay surely you welcome this increase in jobs and housing even if funded by the foreign devils.
Would it make any difference if it was funded by a pension fund?
Would it make any difference if funded by a foreign pension fund or a UK one?

More supply is the solution to lack of supply.
If you are hungry you need food and not platitudes about food for people and not for profit.

You have not been reading my posts throughly, so I will explain again.

While there is a shortage of housing in the UK we should not allow purchasers from outside the UK from buying them. It is insane to allow a shortge problem, which in turn pushes the prices up, which in turn prevents owner occupiers and increases the number of poeple renting. This is sitting back and allowing a problem to get much much worse, and in my mind negligent of the UK government.

Preventing non UK pirchasers is a way of reducing demand in a constructive way to prevent excessive price increases while still having the same number of properties, simples.

Please don't suggest I am making this an Englishman vs foreigner point. I am only saying UK resident people should be able to buy UK property, as owner occupiers or buy to letters.

Ok, so that is the excessive housing price inflation slightly fixed by reducing demand. Please do not confuse this point with my other ideas.

Please please please do not use the word foreigner, it is negatively suggestive and provocative. I love all nationalities, ages and ways of life and can see the beauty in diversity.

Foreign investors are not evil. The evil ones are our own government for allowing this socially devisive activity to occur. Firstly, not keeping house building at a sufficient rate, then allowing the shortage of UK housing to be exposed to global market investment.

Therefore, while there is a shortage, money from non UK pensions funds is not acceptable because it is again allowing the market to be subjected to excessive demand.

I have a second idea, and that is allowing owner occupiers to buy before buy to letters. This again is debatable as to whether it is good or bad for renters.... I think if it had been in place long ago, it would have resulted in a much better housing market now. This is because there would have been less demand/ competition at the purchase stage.

So my 2 ideas together both reduce demand, which would mean our housing market now would be less inflated.... and the issue about renters and owner occupiers would not be such a big issue.

CLAPTON

TickersPlaysPop wrote: »

You have not been reading my posts throughly, so I will explain again.

While there is a shortage of housing in the UK we should not allow purchasers from outside the UK from buying them. It is insane to allow a shortge problem, which in turn pushes the prices up, which in turn prevents owner occupiers and increases the number of poeple renting. This is sitting back and allowing a problem to get much much worse, and in my mind negligent of the UK government.

Preventing non UK pirchasers is a way of reducing demand in a constructive way to prevent excessive price increases while still having the same number of properties, simples.

Please don't suggest I am making this an Englishman vs foreigner point. I am only saying UK resident people should be able to buy UK property, as owner occupiers or buy to letters.

Ok, so that is the excessive housing price inflation slightly fixed by reducing demand. Please do not confuse this point with my other ideas.

Please please please do not use the word foreigner, it is negatively suggestive and provocative. I love all nationalities, ages and ways of life and can see the beauty in diversity.

Foreign investors are not evil. The evil ones are our own government for allowing this socially devisive activity to occur. Firstly, not keeping house building at a sufficient rate, then allowing the shortage of UK housing to be exposed to global market investment.

Therefore, while there is a shortage, money from non UK pensions funds is not acceptable because it is again allowing the market to be subjected to excessive demand.

I have a second idea, and that is allowing owner occupiers to buy before buy to letters. This again is debatable as to whether it is good or bad for renters.... I think if it had been in place long ago, it would have resulted in a much better housing market now. This is because there would have been less demand/ competition at the purchase stage.

So my 2 ideas together both reduce demand, which would mean our housing market now would be less inflated.... and the issue about renters and owner occupiers would not be such a big issue.

Battersea power station site has been unused for 30 years:
foreigners are now developing this to become businesses and residential housing : some will be OO and some rented.
Without the foreigner this site would not be so developed.
Why do you consider this unacceptable.


They are creating new SUPPLY.

Sapphire

Yes, but are they not creating new SUPPLY, again, only for very affluent people, mainly foreign investors who often buy several properties at a time, rather than for the indigenous population?

kinger101

TickersPlaysPop wrote: »

Please don't suggest I am making this an Englishman vs foreigner point. I am only saying UK resident people should be able to buy UK property, as owner occupiers or buy to letters.

Please wait a few sentences at least until you contradict yourself. Why would a renter care whether their landlord was English, British, Malaysian or Martian?

JencParker

CLAPTON wrote: »

Look my old friend,


Assuming your mummy will allow you to go out on your own, why not try living in a place without boomers where you can enjoy all the benefits that are rightfully yours.
Let's see, All of Africa (maybe except SA which has a few retired boomers) but that leaves all of South East Asia and South America
You have done nothing to justify the vast good fortune you have inherited from the boomers and those that came before them.


Just see what life would be like without boomers.


Peoples of the UK are the envy of most people in the world: many risk their lives for what you consider is a 'right'.

Patronising arrogance is a very unattractive trait.

purch

TickersPlaysPop wrote: »

You have not been reading my posts throughly,

TickersPlaysPop wrote: »

we should not allow purchasers from outside the UK from buying them.

Probably a good thing nobody does read your drivel "thoroughly" :eek:

getmore4less

A longer term solution is to create new work hotspots in areas where there is space and empty houses.

More commuter towns around the major cities is not sustainable.

Look at a lot of depressed areas, why are they there in the first place, employment, mining and industry they built nearby so people could live close to work.

Infrastructure employs people, building an airport east of London is madness every one and every thing has to go in one direction to get anywhere.

Build it between London and the midlands invest in new transport between the two with an airport stop HS2 money would do most of that. Airports create massive amounts of jobs directly and indirectly.

MABLE

I thought it was very selfish of the girl who was buying the £185,000 flat but in order to do this poor old mum has to sell her flat and move out of London and away from her friends.

How selfish is that. In the end her mother had to remortage because she had problems selling her flat.

Poor mum has the worry of increased debt. Never mind the daughter got what she wanted.