Bought at the worst time?

caronoel

Crashy_Time wrote: »

:rotfl:Yes, the "Welcome to the club!" circle jerk was going so fast nobody noticed :rotfl:

Jealousy is never an attractive emotion

N1AK

martyp wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm feeling that my house purchase hasn't really paid off much at all and really envy the people that bought in the 5 years before me and kicking myself for wasting money renting for years before (was in temporary employment and didn't think I could get a mortgage + unsure if moving area).

It'll just be interesting to see how things work in the next 10 years, surely with incomes staying generally quite low houses can't become even more unaffordable?

All perfectly normal thoughts and mostly true. It is however best not to dwell too hard on things like that. You're likely considerably better off than if you had rented instead based on the figures you have given :beer:

I'm not a big believer in speculating on the property market and where it might go, however given how much property has gone up in price already I don't think it's safe to assume that it couldn't go up considerably more.

Graham_Devon

This is a rather stange thread.

On the one hand you have a bit of "I wish I had made more money out of my house" while on the other hand you have a whinge that people can't afford houses and so are having to move further out.

Can't really have it both ways.

PasturesNew

A house is to be measured in how it performs as your home, your security, over that time. In that time you've known where you live - you've known that if you make the payments then it'll continue to be where you live. Your home.

Up or down is relative.

If you'd wanted to move to somewhere bigger then that bigger place is also relatively without an increased value over that same period of time.

On paper mine's "lost" £10k in the last 6 months ..... I'm not bothered. It's my place. Nobody will be wanting to do an inspection. No increased rent letters. No eviction letters.

My home ... I can sit in my pants all day and know nobody will knock on the door with a "surprise letter" for me. Nobody will phone and TELL me when somebody's coming to do an inspection, or to service the gas boiler.

THAT is what you buy: security and peace of mind. A settled lifestyle.

This can't be measured in values.

You're "lucky" to have one at all. Think of those who are sitting, bemoaning the fact they can't get a mortgage and/or houses in their area are £500k etc.

Crashy_Time

caronoel wrote: »

Jealousy is never an attractive emotion

Neither is inability to process someone`s post properly due to cognitive bias........ :rotfl::rotfl:

Crashy_Time

jacko74 wrote: »

I don't think there's any level of property market bad news could disrupt the rhythm of the HPI forever circle jerk on this forum.

I think Hamish has slowed down a bit since the HPC "got real" for him......:rotfl:

caronoel

Crashy_Time wrote: »

Neither is inability to process someone`s post properly due to cognitive bias........ :rotfl::rotfl:

Says the fantasist whose rent has not increased since decimalisation

TheeMaskedTurnip

Crashy_Time wrote: »

:rotfl:Yes, the "Welcome to the club!" circle jerk was going so fast nobody noticed :rotfl:

He's bought. He's happy. He's putting down roots. He's contributing to his local community. He's getting on with his life.

Sorry, what are you again?

princeofpounds

No, you haven't bought at the worst time. The worst time to buy is just in advance of a serious housing crash, with a variable mortgage, when interest rates are heading up (and probably causing the crash). That's a recipe for negative equity and payment stress at the point you are most likely to be financially stretched.


For example, the late 80s.


Clearly you haven't bought at the best point either. The best point is normally when house prices are low, and interest rates are high, with a variable mortgage. As rates fall and house prices rise, you gain equity and relieve the payment burden. Also helps if you have a bit of inflation along the way to minimise the real burden of your mortgage.


For example, the early 90s, just a few years later.


You have probably bought at a not-great time.


But in truth what really matters is what you have to pay the owners of capital (either landlords or banks initially, and later yourself) over your lifetime to satisfy the liability for your own accommodation.


This is not a simple picture of house prices, but a complex web of rental rates, interest rates, maintenance costs, tax rules and so on. It's also very path-dependent; a house price crisis in your early years can bankrupt you, whereas a house price crisis in your 'forever home' is effectively meaningless, or even an investment opportunity.


These things also have their way of balancing out over a lifetime to some extent. The boomer generation will probably have to liquidate their property assets to pay for old-age, for example.


The balance isn't perfect and every generation will have its economic obstacles thrown up against it, but it's important to keep in perspective. For example, housing might be a pain, but at least employment has been good.

padington

Alright time, bad area. The digital age is showing that the major cities are becoming much more important than they ever were. This trend is a wise one to follow. There are very little industrial incentives to spread populations around a country and lots of post industrial incentives for people to live within meeting distance of each other.

The midlands is always going to look like a dead duck compared to London, expect that dynamic to go on for a very long time.