Does anyone still think the housing market isn't broken?
- Thread starter Uther
- Start date
I cant tell you how much I agree with this. Watching a millennial is like watching them keep up with the Jones.....
Sad reason is the wealthiest people are hoarding incredibly large amounts of cash which could be used to generate jobs and help other businesses grow. Why are they hoarding it? I think the depressingly continuation of uncertainty which has stuck around since the 2008 crash has made these people and banks just decide the sit on the money......
There seems to be a few comments in this thread laughing at 'millenials' and I don't get it... it's not their fault that the price of property is so high.
'Consumerism and people not being able to save for a house' is a different problem as house prices being insane.
'Consumerism and people not being able to save for a house' is a different problem as house prices being insane.
That is one of the indicators for me - when I was seriously looking at it a few years back - at my age my dad could afford a far nicer house on a roughly similar income. Not just slipped a bit but a gulf in affordability.
There is a bit of both to it - there is increasing entitlement but that doesn't negate that things have change considerably and that even with a fair amount of saving and doing without, etc. a lot of people will struggle with renting or buying a property commensurate with the lifestyle their income would otherwise support.
Last edited:
What we have is people relatively recently tied into the system I.e. Saved up a deposit, taken out a relatively large mortgage.
Then we have people who can't even think about the above due to circumstances,
So it depends on which side the political will lies. If things don't change , the number of those who lose out will just increase, if things do change those who have recently bought will lose out.
My view is the tide is turning, but change will take years.
Then we have people who can't even think about the above due to circumstances,
So it depends on which side the political will lies. If things don't change , the number of those who lose out will just increase, if things do change those who have recently bought will lose out.
My view is the tide is turning, but change will take years.
Soldato
- Joined
- 16 May 2007
- Posts
- 3,221
There are two real problems. The first is nowhere near enough housing has been built for decades driving up prices.
The second is the instant gratification consumer society we have now. I remember ordering computer games which said allow 28 days for delivery, now you just click and the game rapidly downloads. Not that what have now is a bad thing it’s just some people can’t control themselves and expect everything now.
Either way it is now much harder to afford the same house as your parents and tougher to find jobs that pay as well, especially if lower skilled.
The second is the instant gratification consumer society we have now. I remember ordering computer games which said allow 28 days for delivery, now you just click and the game rapidly downloads. Not that what have now is a bad thing it’s just some people can’t control themselves and expect everything now.
Either way it is now much harder to afford the same house as your parents and tougher to find jobs that pay as well, especially if lower skilled.
Mum and dad bought their modest London 3 semi in 1975 for 13000. Lol
Recently valued at 375,000. That's just shy of 30x more.. really?
How is that not insanity?
Sister just bought her 2nd house 575k 4 bed, hideous area of African London.
My disgusting working class family will soon be property millionaires.
It's so British it hurts.
Recently valued at 375,000. That's just shy of 30x more.. really?
How is that not insanity?
Sister just bought her 2nd house 575k 4 bed, hideous area of African London.
My disgusting working class family will soon be property millionaires.
It's so British it hurts.
Do they still get paid the same wage as in 1975 as well?
I doubt it don't you?
Do you think it's thirty times more though?
THey would have been taking home 400k. Not bad..... For a gasboard typist and a London underground worker
Last edited:
Wow, gosh. A whole year? How did you cope? Firstly your obviously ridiculous assumptions aside (most people I know don't buy a phone every year, don't spend every night in the pub, don't own a flash car; if any) that part of your post proves you have absolutely no idea what is going on in the real world. Have you even looked at the prices of places further south than Birmingham? Even saving £1k per month for a year only nets you £12k. You give £12k to someone in the south for a deposit and they'll laugh you out of town. You ain't get diddly squat with that. It's just impossible. The average deposit is over £33k, so pull the other one with your holier-than-thou attitude; http://www.independent.co.uk/news/b...-housing-market-report-mortgage-a7816321.html
If you really want to compare apples to apples then fortunately Shelter and other bodies have already done the independent research for you. If grocery prices had risen as much as house prices than a 4 pint of milk would cost over £10 and a whole chicken would cost more than £50. Now do you still think house price inflation isn't out of control? https://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/feb/07/shelter-extent-dysfunctional-housing-market
Where is African London? Perhaps if London had not had to accommodate so many Africans the demand wouldn't have pushed prices up so high.
Supply and demand.
At what age did your dad start earning, what age did you start earning?
Soldato
- Joined
- 27 Dec 2005
- Posts
- 17,316
- Location
- Bristol
Personally I don't think it is broken, simply because I don't think something that's just based on supply/demand can necessarily be broken in the traditional sense. Nobody would pay the figures quoted here for a house if they didn't have to and there were cheaper alternatives. If you break it down the problem is pretty much that there's not enough houses and there's too many people. The first problem is incredibly expensive and slow and an astronomical undertaking to make more than a ripple. Plus in certain areas - cities basically - the only solution would be to build blocks of flats due to physical space limitations. However flats are getting knocked down more than being built as no British person wants to live in flats, thinking they have a false entitlement to a 3-bed semi because their grandparents did, plus they're terrible on a social level.
The other problem and a solution at the complete other end of the spectrum is something like a one-child policy. Other than closing the doors and crippling the economy of skilled, flexible and affordable labour, I can't think of any other option to solve the population issue.
Whilst that is true, it's a completely different market; there's an equal amount of demand but more supply. Producing more of something on a massive scale, with improved technology and methods, and distributing to huge supermarkets is of course cheaper than it was previously.
The other problem and a solution at the complete other end of the spectrum is something like a one-child policy. Other than closing the doors and crippling the economy of skilled, flexible and affordable labour, I can't think of any other option to solve the population issue.
Whilst that is true, it's a completely different market; there's an equal amount of demand but more supply. Producing more of something on a massive scale, with improved technology and methods, and distributing to huge supermarkets is of course cheaper than it was previously.
16, 21.
So it also took me over twice as long to get to where he did. I dare say I had more parental support in doing so aswell by living at home that long too.
The fact is that's it's significantly more expensive to buy now and significantly more difficult to get on the ladder. People can take digs at 'millenials' all they like but you have to realise, if you were starting again today, you wouldn't be able to fund half the lifestyle you've enjoyed if you were buying 20+ years ago.
Soldato
- Joined
- 5 Aug 2006
- Posts
- 11,428
- Location
- Derbyshire
I still don't think the housing market is as badly broken as people make out.
I am 29, so I fall into the younger bracket.
I have a very comfortable lifestyle in Stoke On Trent. I think people need to be willing to relocate or prioritise their personal spending.
I bought my house at age 25. My clothes are from Primark, my food Aldi and (at the time) I had an 8 year old Ford Focus. I also had no annual holidays and no TV packages. My house was full of hand-me-down furniture too. I did not decorate for 3 years, even though it needed it.
Fast forward to 2017 and the house is worth 36% more so I have already won the 'buy or rent' argument, even with my hour-long commute.
Don't forget that in the 1990s the interest was insane too. Whilst I don't remember this, my parents certainly do.
Do houses cost more than they used to in relation to your earnings and/or cost of living? Yes they do, but that is just how it is. Either you suck it up and cut your living costs elsewhere, or...well, don't.
Whilst I am fond of nostalgia (especially cars and gaming) there is really no use comparing it to what your grandparents bought their house for.
I really do believe that those in their 20s and 30s need to spend more time focusing on the future. Each to their own, but if I do work until I am 70 it will be because I choose to rather than have to, based on the decisions I made earlier in life.
I am 29, so I fall into the younger bracket.
I have a very comfortable lifestyle in Stoke On Trent. I think people need to be willing to relocate or prioritise their personal spending.
I bought my house at age 25. My clothes are from Primark, my food Aldi and (at the time) I had an 8 year old Ford Focus. I also had no annual holidays and no TV packages. My house was full of hand-me-down furniture too. I did not decorate for 3 years, even though it needed it.
Fast forward to 2017 and the house is worth 36% more so I have already won the 'buy or rent' argument, even with my hour-long commute.
Don't forget that in the 1990s the interest was insane too. Whilst I don't remember this, my parents certainly do.
Do houses cost more than they used to in relation to your earnings and/or cost of living? Yes they do, but that is just how it is. Either you suck it up and cut your living costs elsewhere, or...well, don't.
Whilst I am fond of nostalgia (especially cars and gaming) there is really no use comparing it to what your grandparents bought their house for.
I really do believe that those in their 20s and 30s need to spend more time focusing on the future. Each to their own, but if I do work until I am 70 it will be because I choose to rather than have to, based on the decisions I made earlier in life.
Last edited:
Soldato
- Joined
- 27 Dec 2005
- Posts
- 17,316
- Location
- Bristol
Why would you expect to be able to buy a similar house to your dad, what, 50/60 years later? They're already owned by your dad and everyone else's dad. I'm guessing we're talking a 2/3 bed house as well, not a flat.
I've no idea where you live but you only need a £10,000 deposit with the HTB scheme to buy a £200,000 property. Probably even enough to get a flat in some parts of London. If that took you 9 years then that's saving less than £100 a month whilst staying at home which is very low. You'd normally expect to pay anywhere from £250-500 renting, which could be saved. If you (plural, not you personally) were able to save £500 a month living at home then it'd only take 10 months to save the same deposit. And with the new LISA's or whatever they're called, the bonus would likely cover stamp duty and legal fees too.
What an absurd question. You may as well ask why you should expect to buy a house at all.
If supply kept up with demand this wouldn't be a problem, but it hasn't. That is where the market is broken,