Harder now for 1st time buyers?

ukcarper

1979 was a good time to buy almost as good as mid 90s 5 years earlier in relation to earnings prices were almost twice as expensive.

littlegreenfrog_2

always_sunny wrote: »

You're missing the point, generations change over time, folks now in their early 20's would be at uni. Demographics have changed. What was a starter home then, is a starter flat now because of density, In '79 London population was 6 mil, there are now 2 mil more, which means the way we live is different.

We can debate to no end whether it's better or worse but it is reality. These 2 mil will more likely increase than decrease.

People also live longer, don't marry till much later, have different jobs. 2 professionals on good salaries (50k ea = 100k) can afford more depending on their priorities, it can be a new build studio in zone 2, a 1 bed in zone 4 or a 2/3 bed further out and commuting to London.

Was Guilford a prime location in 1979?

Actually both my parents went to uni. They got married when they were younger than I am, but they didn't start working that much earlier than I did. (My dad started working at 23, my mum at 24, and me at 25 because I worked full-time before uni to save some money and then did 5 years of study.)

Guildford has always been a prime location because it is a nice town and easily commutable to London. But it was affordable for people like my dad back then (he bought it by himself before he met my mum) and it isn't affordable for people like me now.

I get that things have changed. That's obvious. But isn't that the point of this thread? The question the OP asked is are things harder now, and the answer is quite obviously yes.

And the fact that more people are going to uni and working for longer and getting married later may be true, but it doesn't change the fact that if you are a woman you only have a certain number of fertile years. If you can only manage to buy a one bed starter flat by the time you turn 30 because that's all you can afford, how are you supposed to start having children before it's too late? Where are they going to sleep? A baby can sleep in a moses basket in the corner, but babies grow up.

ukcarper

always_sunny wrote: »

You're missing the point, generations change over time, folks now in their early 20's would be at uni. Demographics have changed. What was a starter home then, is a starter flat now because of density, In '79 London population was 6 mil, there are now 2 mil more, which means the way we live is different.

We can debate to no end whether it's better or worse but it is reality. These 2 mil will more likely increase than decrease.

People also live longer, don't marry till much later, have different jobs. 2 professionals on good salaries (50k ea = 100k) can afford more depending on their priorities, it can be a new build studio in zone 2, a 1 bed in zone 4 or a 2/3 bed further out and commuting to London.

Was Guilford a prime location in 1979?

I tried to buy in Guildford in the early 70s all I could afford was a flat, I eventually bought a 3 bed terrace 8 miles away similar house are now selling for less than £300k.

A thing you failed to mention was that very few single people bought in 70s.

littlegreenfrog_2

ukcarper wrote: »

I tried to buy in Guildford in the early 70s all I could afford was a flat, I eventually bought a 3 bed terrace 8 miles away similar house are now selling for less than £300k.

A thing you failed to mention was that very few single people bought in 70s.

8 miles away in which direction?

My dad bought as a single person in 1979. He had a good salary, but probably not as good as mine is now.

ukcarper

littlegreenfrog wrote: »

Actually both my parents went to uni. They got married when they were younger than I am, but they didn't start working that much earlier than I did. (My dad started working at 23, my mum at 24, and me at 25 because I worked full-time before uni to save some money and then did 5 years of study.)

Guildford has always been a prime location because it is a nice town and easily commutable to London. But it was affordable for people like my dad back then (he bought it by himself before he met my mum) and it isn't affordable for people like me now.

I get that things have changed. That's obvious. But isn't that the point of this thread? The question the OP asked is are things harder now, and the answer is quite obviously yes.

And the fact that more people are going to uni and working for longer and getting married later may be true, but it doesn't change the fact that if you are a woman you only have a certain number of fertile years. If you can only manage to buy a one bed starter flat by the time you turn 30 because that's all you can afford, how are you supposed to start having children before it's too late? Where are they going to sleep? A baby can sleep in a moses basket in the corner, but babies grow up.

More people go to university now a degree was worth a lot more in the 70s.

ukcarper

littlegreenfrog wrote: »

8 miles away in which direction?

My dad bought as a single person in 1979. He had a good salary, but probably not as good as mine is now.

Toward Hampshire, if you like you can have my 4 bed detached for £450k

But we digress the house a bought in the 70s in relation to earnings is about 50% more expensive so things have obviously got worse.

littlegreenfrog_2

ukcarper wrote: »

More people go to university now a degree was worth a lot more in the 70s.

Yes, that's true. But I am not someone with a degree in underwater basket-weaving from a third rate university complaining because all I can get are unpaid internships and bar jobs. (No offence to people doing this stuff, there are very bright, determined people doing internships and working in bars. And I had the time of my life working in bars when I was younger.)

I am a professional earning a decent salary, and I probably would have been one of the few who went to university back in the 70s if I had been born in my parents' generation.

Two of my friends (a couple) are looking to buy somewhere together in London. Each of them earns more than me, so they can borrow a lot more than I can. But they both work long hours and so commuting isn't an option for them. They are finding it very hard to accept that with the soul-destroying hours they work and the high salaries they earn, the only places they can afford are absolute dumps in stabbyville.

It genuinely looks like hard work and professional success are not going to translate into any kind of financial security or quality of life for my generation, which rather makes us wonder why we bothered.

littlegreenfrog_2

ukcarper wrote: »

Toward Hampshire, if you like you can have my 4 bed detached for £450k

That is the area where I'm looking to buy. Unfortunately my budget only seems to be turning up one bed flats and the odd two-bedder with some issue like a short lease.

ukcarper

littlegreenfrog wrote: »

That is the area where I'm looking to buy. Unfortunately my budget only seems to be turning up one bed flats and the odd two-bedder with some issue like a short lease.

Looking at rightmove it looks like if I wanted to borrow the equivelent amount I borrowed in the 70s I would have to settle for a flat.

always_sunny

littlegreenfrog wrote: »

I get that things have changed. That's obvious. But isn't that the point of this thread? The question the OP asked is are things harder now, and the answer is quite obviously yes.

And the fact that more people are going to uni and working for longer and getting married later may be true, but it doesn't change the fact that if you are a woman you only have a certain number of fertile years. If you can only manage to buy a one bed starter flat by the time you turn 30 because that's all you can afford, how are you supposed to start having children before it's too late? Where are they going to sleep? A baby can sleep in a moses basket in the corner, but babies grow up.

I don't think things are harder, though I look at them with an outsider eyes. I think things are maybe different and that's fine, people who get on with things will keep doing and those who are caught in the past will just keep on waiting.

here, another one in Leighton Buzzard, 30/40 min from Euston for £130k affordable for a single on very basic salary in London. If both buy a one bedder, when they meet and when decide to start a family can sell and buy something bigger.