Debate House Prices


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It's as easy to buy a house now as it ever was!

124

Comments

  • jay213
    jay213 Posts: 270 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts
    I thought immigrants were all taking handouts etc, that's what the Daily Mail says!

    Cheers fj

    Houses got handed out too you know :money:
  • post has a point, when I were a lad... seriously, couples saved for a house, they stopped going out and spent as little as possible.
    I have spoken to a couple looking at renting because they cant possibly afford to buy, both tattooed, both Iphone contract holders, had a new fiesta on finance, smart clothes and eat out a lot.
    None of which is any of my concern, except it comes down to choices.
    Is it can't afford or not willing to make sacrifices?

    My first house I fitted carpets myself, very cheap they were too. We bought a second hand fridge and cooker - that didn't work out too well.
    I ran a 5 yr old car. We borrowed 30k (house was £35k) and monthly payment was £300 then went up to £320. I was earning £12k pa gross.
    some things were much more expensive then, utilities and insurance were much higher.
    Did we have the latest gadget (walkman then diskman ...? no chance.
    Holidays were 1 a year. Meal out was a special occasion. Designer clothes were unheard off among my peers. We had no money left at the end of the month for the first couple of years, but that was what we expected and were happy with.

    I don't feel particularly lucky, both wife and I have worked none stop. We made our choices and got on the ladder young. Some did, some didn't.
    Mr Generous - Landlord for more than 10 years. Generous? - Possibly but sarcastic more likely.
  • ukcarper wrote: »
    Compared to 40 years ago they are not as much more expensive as you see to think.

    Saying that in London and the south east agree I agree it's more difficult to buy that it it has ever been.

    Well I agree at some extent. But today,
    FTBs are paying much more for their properties in a shadow of various scheme.
    Govt has deposited their money in market to help FTBs to get on property ladder, in return govt won't let this home price go down, because govt need their money back with profit after 5 years. In short, for current and next generation has to earn harder than ever before.
  • CLAPTON
    CLAPTON Posts: 41,865 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Joy_mate wrote: »
    Well I agree at some extent. But today,
    FTBs are paying much more for their properties in a shadow of various scheme.
    Govt has deposited their money in market to help FTBs to get on property ladder, in return govt won't let this home price go down, because govt need their money back with profit after 5 years. In short, for current and next generation has to earn harder than ever before.

    how exactly does the government stop the house price going down?
  • lisyloo
    lisyloo Posts: 30,007 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    CLAPTON wrote: »
    how exactly does the government stop the house price going down?

    Putting down interest rates (yes they can still go down)
    Helicopter money
    Stopping building by rules or taxes/incentives
    Easing General taxation
    Encouraging foreign investors e.g. Dropping taxes
    Dropping various taxes e.g. Stamp duty, cat
    Coming up with help to buy version x

    Btw -I'm not claiming they want to.
  • Apodemus
    Apodemus Posts: 3,410 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    We should be starting a new thread on "when I were a lad"! But back then, due to tight control of credit, we had to wait for a mortgage to become available, have a pre-existing account with the mortgage lender and show regular saving into that account. Earlier someone said it was easier back then as there were no credit checks...but there was next to no credit!

    I am even old enough to remember when the Barclaycard was first introduced, as the first widely available credit card in UK. I was in primary three or four at the time and it was of such momentous significance that it was even a discussion item in the playground - the concept of being able to buy stuff without actually having the money to do so! I really can't think of any financial news being of such significance now that it would be discussed amongst 7 year-olds!
  • ukcarper
    ukcarper Posts: 17,337 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Joy_mate wrote: »
    Well I agree at some extent. But today,
    FTBs are paying much more for their properties in a shadow of various scheme.
    Govt has deposited their money in market to help FTBs to get on property ladder, in return govt won't let this home price go down, because govt need their money back with profit after 5 years. In short, for current and next generation has to earn harder than ever before.
    I agree it is harder now. If I was in a similar position now as I was in the 70s I would not be able to buy a similar house but I would still be able to buy a smaller place. The point I was trying to make is that although prices are expensive it was not as easy as people try to make out in fact if I had not bought when I did it would have been some time before I could.

    Each generation faces different problems in the 70s the general cost of living was much height in fact earnings have outstripped inflation considerably since then.
  • JP08
    JP08 Posts: 851 Forumite
    edited 4 October 2016 am31 8:16AM
    My reply in this thread a while back : https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5403080 - The point I was making is that overall it is harder for the direct equivalent now to buy that house than it was in 1992.

    "Back in 1992 when I first bought, the two up two down terraced house in a town commutable to London was £45,000 (10% deposit) and my gross salary as a Grad Trainee with LUL was approx 15,000. So three time salary.

    A graduate trainee with TfL now gets ~26k a year. The house is on Zoopla as being worth £130k. So now five times salary.

    But the mortgage rate on that first house was 8.32% (that sticks in the mind !). And that was a discounted rate for the first year. The base rate peaked 3 months later (17.5% ?) as we crashed out of the ERM

    My mortgage payments then were just over £300 a month. 3% mortgage on the current value is just over £600.

    So as a proportion of gross salary, that house is as affordable today for todays TfL Grad trainee as it was in 1992 for this Grad Trainee. They just wouldn't get a mortgage due to the 5 times salary multiple. And would be totally shafted if the rates went up. "
  • ukcarper
    ukcarper Posts: 17,337 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    JP08 wrote: »
    My reply in this thread a while back : https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5403080 - The point I was making is that overall it is harder for the direct equivalent now to buy that house than it was in 1992.

    "Back in 1992 when I first bought, the two up two down terraced house in a town commutable to London was £45,000 (10% deposit) and my gross salary as a Grad Trainee with LUL was approx 15,000. So three time salary.

    A graduate trainee with TfL now gets ~26k a year. The house is on Zoopla as being worth £130k. So now five times salary.

    But the mortgage rate on that first house was 8.32% (that sticks in the mind !). And that was a discounted rate for the first year. The base rate peaked 3 months later (17.5% ?) as we crashed out of the ERM

    My mortgage payments then were just over £300 a month. 3% mortgage on the current value is just over £600.

    So as a proportion of gross salary, that house is as affordable today for todays TfL Grad trainee as it was in 1992 for this Grad Trainee. They just wouldn't get a mortgage due to the 5 times salary multiple. And would be totally shafted if the rates went up. "
    There is no doubt that it was easier in 1992 house prices to earnings were at there lowest in the 90s.
  • lisyloo
    lisyloo Posts: 30,007 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I bought a house in 1991 with a very small deposit (£750 I think) that I put on credit card (I didn't have any savings as I'd just come out of uni).

    It doesn't get any easier than that.
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