Why has some things quadrupled in price, yet other things are cheaper to buy?

ukcarper

Prices certainly vary around country according to Land Registry average price for terraced house is.

SW.         £217k
SE.          £271k

NE.          £105k
NW.         £126k
London.   £504k

RelievedSheff

renegadefm said:

RelievedSheff said:

Can your son not relocate to an area where house prices are cheaper?

Where we live wages are relatively high compared to house prices and younger generations are able to get onto the property ladder very easily.

Well obviously he doesnt want to move away from the area he conciders home, and to be honest I wouldn't welcome that aswell. 
The thing is Cornwall hasent always been this way,  but now the cost of living is high and house prices driven up as its seen as a very popular tourist area, especially sensationalized by things like Poldark. So rich folk from further up the country over the years have payed over blown prices for basic property's which has imbalanced the comparison between wages and housing prices. 
Basically not to sound harsh but locals are driven out by having to work away from home. But why should they? 

So your son can afford a home elsewhere but doesn't want to move somewhere where he can afford?

Sometimes if you want something you have to compromise to get it.

RelievedSheff

pickledonionspaceraider said:

It is hard.  Really hard for the younger ones.

I don't get how some people put THAT much importance on owning a pile of bricks....that they would seriously consider moving to a cheaper area, completely alone, to sit in an empty house, miles away from family and friends.

That is no kind of solution at all

Why do they have to sit in an empty home.

They can go out and make new friends in a new area.

Martin_the_Unjust

Generally, in my experience the less governments interfere/regulate in products/markets the cheaper things become.

Clearly some things need regulations etc but higher prices is the price we pay for that those regulations etc.

ukcarper

I don't think the move to where you can afford to buy is a good argument. The cheap areas are normally where good jobs are harder to find and if everybody moved to those areas there would not be enough work for them.  I accept that people might have to move to a reasonable commuting distance and not live it their preferred area.

scaredofdebt

renegadefm said:

I started driving in 1986, when petrol was just £1.07 for a gallon,  now we all know there are 4 litres in a gallon,  which means at on todays prices on average at £1.20 a litre its more than quadrupled in price in just over 30 years.

I seem to recall petrol was around £1.70 a gallon when I passed my test in 1987, doubt it was much more than in 1986.  Are you sure you're remembering correctly?

Electronics have come down in price as the technology has improved, minaturised and thus got cheaper.  I remember my parents bought a microwave circa 1982 and it cost £400 or so and was the size of a small country but only had enough space inside for a tin of beans.  That would have been about a months wages then, today they are much better and cost a couple of hours wages for a basic one.

House prices is due to Thatcher and supply and demand. 

renegadefm

RelievedSheff said:

So your son can afford a home elsewhere but doesn't want to move somewhere where he can afford?

Sometimes if you want something you have to compromise to get it.

But why should he be forced into doing that and move to an area away from family and friends?
Plus no real guarantee hes going to find a job somewhere else. 
Its a bit cold hearted dont you think to have my children move away from home. I didnt have children to do that. Its hurtful for both parents and siblings. 
If all local siblings did this eventually places like Cornwall in a generation would be filled with non local people but be eventually in the same situation themselves so it doesnt solve anything. 

ukcarper

renegadefm   

What do you think the solution is though?
I don't think moving a reasonable distance is unreasonable, I had to move 20 miles to be able to buy and that was in early 1970s.

rocket_llama

Not got data to hand but I think some things have definitely got better but others have got worse. I think younger folks focus on what's gone wrong, but older people focus on what's improved. For instance its hard to get a deposit on a house, but interest is very low. These days every house has a bath and an indoor toilet. You will be paid when you're sick. But it's hard to find a good job, and you can never be certain you have a 'job for life'.

To an extent some people are just unlucky or have to deal with the world as it is, whether it's inconvenient or not, which can mean not owning the perfect house or living exactly where you want. On the other hand as a proportion of income houses are in some areas impossibly expensive or punishingly expensive even for couples.

The way I see it, the cost of being entertained has gone down, but the cost of having a cookie cutter 'normal' life only continue to go up.

renegadefm

ukcarper said:

renegadefm   

What do you think the solution is though?
I don't think moving a reasonable distance is unreasonable, I had to move 20 miles to be able to buy and that was in early 1970s.

There isnt an easy solution,  it would mean leaving the county of Cornwall which is saddening that we have to do that.  My frustration is based on the fact if wages and job prospects are low why cant in an ideal world the properties be priced low for the young to get them. But the high prices are maintained due to people selling their properties in London for example and then move down to Cornwall and pay silly prices for basic places just because they want to live here that badly. The situation has got worse in the last 30 years I'd say because even for me to buy a house was reachable. But it wouldn't be now.