Have the last 20yrs been more difficult to buy a property?

Planet_Switzerland

triathlon wrote: »

This thread really should be changed to have young adults become way to soft in the last 20 years and want everything handed on a plate with zero struggling or pain.

No sympathy at all from me

Complete utter nonsense.


I don't know whether you actually know these young adults who want everything handed on a plate or you just believe everything you read.


In my experience most of these people who take 7 holidays a year, eat takeaway every day, have the latest technology etc are people who end up being given 40% deposit from their parents and get on the property ladder anyway. Sure there are some who do the same and not have that luxury but there isn't that many of them.


I did manage get on the property ladder a few years ago and did save hard to achieve that though as you referred to under 35s on an earlier post I'm a bit too old to be in that group you're referring to.


Aside from the fact I've still never ordered a takeaway in my life and I'm a bit of a technophobe, what really helped me to get my property was a comfortably above average salary and being old enough to start saving before rents became ridiculously high and the fact the rent didn't go up in my final rental property to the same extent comparable properties did.


I have friends who bought 20 years ago, even 15 years ago and by their own admission it was easier to buy back then than it is now.

dinsdale_

The way I see it in London is that millennials either see property as so out of reach, or are waiting for their parents to help with a deposit (if they are lucky). In both cases they tend to spend most of their money on rent, and the rest on holidays or pubs (hardly know any who would spend a lot on a car though...).
I guess these days rent on average is a much higher proportion of the average salary then it was in the past, plus certain forms of entertainment may be cheaper and more commoditised. This may contribute to the lack of saving for a property.

It is very odd when people label an entire generation of 'lazy' or 'entitled'. People respond to incentives, and incentives change...

My parents were working class without higher education qualifications and managed to buy a period semi detached property in a leafy London suburb on a single salary without any financial assistance in their late 20s. I am pretty sure that would be a hard one to swing today.
 

seradane

dinsdale_ said:

It is very odd when people label an entire generation of 'lazy' or 'entitled'. People respond to incentives, and incentives change...

Completely agree, I mean if you're living in London, and your options are:

1. Eat out at nice restaurants, have lots of city breaks in europe, buy nice clothes and go out for drinks most weekends 
2. Live like a pauper for years in order to scrape together a deposit that will allow you to get a tiny flat in a crappy area in Zone 4, with hefty mortgage payments that will mean you have to continue living so
3. Move hours away from all your friends and family

Is it really that surprising that a lot of people opt for option 1? You hear a lot of young people who've basically given up on ever owning a home, so figure they may as well actually enjoy their lifestyle instead.

snowqueen555

In the south it is difficult for a single person on a low salary. Looking up north, the cheapest properties are actually veryaffordable, even  for minimum wage workers.

ukcarper

snowqueen555 said:

In the south it is difficult for a single person on a low salary. Looking up north, the cheapest properties are actually veryaffordable, even  for minimum wage workers.

It's always been difficult for a single person on low salary to buy in south.

knightstyle

Just to remind people that unlike some posters figures on here about house prices going up by 16% in the 80s they also crashed!
We bought a semi for £130k in Nov. 88 and by Jan 89 it was worth £100k and the mortgage rate soon went up to 14%.
So not as easy as some on here are trying to make out.
Yes we were both working full time, had school age children and did extra jobs in the evenings, electrical work, pup cleaning, curtain making, remember swags and tails? Plus anything to get the mortgage paid and food on the table.
Holidays were camping in a second hand tent but not too far away as petrol was expensive.

silvertooth

MaxiRobriguez said:

Home ownership is falling and average age to buy first property is increasing.

There will be plenty of opinions here based on house prices, interest rates etc but the reality is that home ownership remains a priority for most but the ability to achieve that is decreasing.

The answer is therefore categorically yes.

Well said

but after this pandemic crashes the global financial markets property will be affordable again for those still with cash to buy because there will be no banks to get mortgages 

JamesN

knightstyle said:

Just to remind people that unlike some posters figures on here about house prices going up by 16% in the 80s they also crashed!
We bought a semi for £130k in Nov. 88 and by Jan 89 it was worth £100k and the mortgage rate soon went up to 14%.
So not as easy as some on here are trying to make out.
Yes we were both working full time, had school age children and did extra jobs in the evenings, electrical work, pup cleaning, curtain making, remember swags and tails? Plus anything to get the mortgage paid and food on the table.
Holidays were camping in a second hand tent but not too far away as petrol was expensive.

And what’s the house worth now?

Thrugelmir

knightstyle said:

Just to remind people that unlike some posters figures on here about house prices going up by 16% in the 80s they also crashed!
We bought a semi for £130k in Nov. 88 and by Jan 89 it was worth £100k and the mortgage rate soon went up to 14%.
So not as easy as some on here are trying to make out.
Yes we were both working full time, had school age children and did extra jobs in the evenings, electrical work, pup cleaning, curtain making, remember swags and tails? Plus anything to get the mortgage paid and food on the table.
Holidays were camping in a second hand tent but not too far away as petrol was expensive.

Similar experience. Bought a property at £88k. Peaked at £125k. Eventually sold at £88.5k. 
Remember there was a couple close by who sold near the peak and moved ito rented. Looking back what a wise decision. 

dinsdale_

triathlon said:

This thread really should be changed to have young adults become way to soft in the last 20 years and want everything handed on a plate with zero struggling or pain.

No sympathy at all from me

Well if that is the question then I would suggest that the answer is an emphatic 'no'.

Do people really think labels as broad as 'young adults' adds to the debate and encourages reasoned and informative discussion in good faith?

Are you referring to all 'young adults' in the UK, Europe, the globe? Does it include all socio-economic backgrounds?

Do you mean 100% of the group in question? Or the majority?

Very odd indeed. I am new to this forum, I would have guessed that the level of discussion would be above this sort of thing as the people in here are mostly adults discussing money and economics.