Debate House Prices


In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non MoneySaving matters are no longer permitted. This includes wider debates about general house prices, the economy and politics. As a result, we have taken the decision to keep this board permanently closed, but it remains viewable for users who may find some useful information in it. Thank you for your understanding.
We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

R.Peston blog on inflation flooded with those disenchanted with housing

245678

Comments

  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    N1AK wrote: »
    Actually doing it requires taking action to increase house building,

    Agree.

    Bricks, tiles, glass. Plumbers, Brickies, Plasterers would be a start.

    Trouble is factories aren't built nor are people trained with the right skills overnight.

    I was reading the other day about a brick manufacturer that's only just cleared their stock from the previous property boom. All 6 million bricks. In the interim period the business has struggled to survive with so much capital tied up in inventory.
  • antrobus
    antrobus Posts: 17,386 Forumite
    Thrugelmir wrote: »
    Agree.

    Bricks, tiles, glass. Plumbers, Brickies, Plasterers would be a start.

    Trouble is factories aren't built nor are people trained with the right skills overnight.

    I was reading the other day about a brick manufacturer that's only just cleared their stock from the previous property boom. All 6 million bricks. In the interim period the business has struggled to survive with so much capital tied up in inventory.

    If for 20 years (pre crisis) you have been building 190,000 homes a year, then you have a whole infrustructure of contractors and suppliers that can build 190,000 homes a year. If, at any subsequent point in time, someone decides that figure should be significantly bigger, say 260,000 homes a year, then something more than good intentions is required to bring into being the infrastructure that is capable of delivering that number.
  • padington
    padington Posts: 3,121 Forumite
    edited 25 March 2015 at 10:26PM
    IronWolf wrote: »
    People actually think Labour will do anything about this? I dont think any party is really willing to tackle the housing problem. I think Will Self on QT hit the nail on the head, all the MPs benefit from HPI, with their second homes and such. They dont want to take a hit by actually building enough houses.

    I totally agree with this point. However one statistic that has been teasing me slightly is Westminster asking prices down 17% last
    month....
    Proudly voted remain. A global union of countries is the only way to commit global capital to the rule of law.
  • purch
    purch Posts: 9,865 Forumite
    I told my house last night that I was totally "disenchanted" with it.

    It didn't answer, just gave me the silent treatment :mad:
    'In nature, there are neither rewards nor punishments - there are Consequences.'
  • Generali
    Generali Posts: 36,411 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    antrobus wrote: »
    If for 20 years (pre crisis) you have been building 190,000 homes a year, then you have a whole infrustructure of contractors and suppliers that can build 190,000 homes a year. If, at any subsequent point in time, someone decides that figure should be significantly bigger, say 260,000 homes a year, then something more than good intentions is required to bring into being the infrastructure that is capable of delivering that number.

    Given the levels of unemployment across Europe I'd have thought that ramping up building would be pretty simple, sort of Antio Pet.

    Skill shortages really aren't a problem given there's a single market with ~400,000,000 living in it with very high levels of unemployment. Bring me you huddled masses: your plumbers, your sparkies, your chippies.

    If Britain was to embark on a massive building spree I'm sure someone would sell the builders the bricks.
  • dktreesea
    dktreesea Posts: 5,736 Forumite
    It isn't just new houses that we need though; it's new affordable houses. And if we are really moving into a time of deflation, accommodation cost inflation could be one of the primary reasons. How are you going to be able to buy much of anything at all if 40-50% of what you earn has to go on rent?


    Even in Scotland, where government commitment to new affordable housing is huge compared to down south, in the year to June 2014 only 6,850 affordable homes were built, and in the year to march 2014, only 1,140 new council houses were built. Of course the report couches these stats as great achievements:


    http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Rise-in-new-homes-for-Scotland-102b.aspx


    but as an effort to get people out of relatively poor quality, badly maintained private housing into homes they can afford to buy, to me it's a pathetic effort.


    Last month the BBC reported:
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-31082096


    So this is what a "decent effort to provide affordable housing" looks like? Imagine how much worse it is down south.


    People in the UK have had it drummed into them for generations that they need to aspire to be a homeowner. If people aren't able to see that goal within a reasonable length of time to starting their working lives they may just leave rather than spending half their pay on exhorbitant rents. Sure, there may be plenty of people flooding in from Europe waiting to move into their vacated property, but maybe they have to live 10 or 12 to a house just to be able to afford the rent.
  • Pobby
    Pobby Posts: 5,438 Forumite
    I had to chuckle when I heard that e cigarettes are going to be used as a tool to measure inflation. Deffo a winner for them. What was a quirky on line small industry has exploded hence prices will be going one way and that is not up.
  • CLAPTON
    CLAPTON Posts: 41,865 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    dktreesea wrote: »
    It isn't just new houses that we need though; it's new affordable houses. And if we are really moving into a time of deflation, accommodation cost inflation could be one of the primary reasons. How are you going to be able to buy much of anything at all if 40-50% of what you earn has to go on rent?


    Even in Scotland, where government commitment to new affordable housing is huge compared to down south, in the year to June 2014 only 6,850 affordable homes were built, and in the year to march 2014, only 1,140 new council houses were built. Of course the report couches these stats as great achievements:


    http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Rise-in-new-homes-for-Scotland-102b.aspx


    but as an effort to get people out of relatively poor quality, badly maintained private housing into homes they can afford to buy, to me it's a pathetic effort.


    Last month the BBC reported:
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-31082096


    So this is what a "decent effort to provide affordable housing" looks like? Imagine how much worse it is down south.


    People in the UK have had it drummed into them for generations that they need to aspire to be a homeowner. If people aren't able to see that goal within a reasonable length of time to starting their working lives they may just leave rather than spending half their pay on exhorbitant rents. Sure, there may be plenty of people flooding in from Europe waiting to move into their vacated property, but maybe they have to live 10 or 12 to a house just to be able to afford the rent.


    presumably by 'affordable' housing you mean housing heavily subsidised by other people?
    presumably the heavily subsidised housing will be allocated by need (or perhaps in Scotland by membership of the SNP )?

    so if you are poor and unemployed you would be entitled to a better house than say a young teacher or utility worker.

    it sounds like a good system.

    the question to ask is why is new housing in scotland so low?
    what stops more housing being built ?
  • Generali
    Generali Posts: 36,411 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    CLAPTON wrote: »
    presumably by 'affordable' housing you mean housing heavily subsidised by other people?
    presumably the heavily subsidised housing will be allocated by need (or perhaps in Scotland by membership of the SNP )?

    so if you are poor and unemployed you would be entitled to a better house than say a young teacher or utility worker.

    it sounds like a good system.

    the question to ask is why is new housing in scotland so low?
    what stops more housing being built ?

    Farmland in the SE goes for £5-10,000/acre. There's no reason that people couldn't live in a 3 bed semi with a decent garden for £150,000 including profits, cost of carry, installation of utilities and roads.

    The reason why housing costs such a huge amount of money is because planning permission is so damn hard to get. If it wasn't, the gap between development land prices and farmland prices wouldn't be as colossal.
  • Cyberman60
    Cyberman60 Posts: 2,472 Forumite
    Hung up my suit!
    IronWolf wrote: »
    People actually think Labour will do anything about this? I dont think any party is really willing to tackle the housing problem. I think Will Self on QT hit the nail on the head, all the MPs benefit from HPI, with their second homes and such. They dont want to take a hit by actually building enough houses.


    What's the point in building houses when you can never keep up with demand anyway ? Surely the answer is to control demand by reducing immigration from the net 320,000 incoming economic migrants last year. That will also help schools, the NHS, welfare etc. Nobody seems to have commonsense these days !! :(
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 348.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 452.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 240.8K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 617K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.6K Life & Family
  • 253.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.