House prices rose 7.3% this year, average now almost £250k

[HACO]

By buying up the housing stock to add to their portfolios, BTL landlords know exactly what they are doing. You know what you are doing, and it's pointless to pretend otherwise.

This is all there is to it. Every single person who acts like they don't understand this are just trying to hard to not understand. There's supply and demand, if you dry up all the supply by a combination of not building and BTL mega landlords buying up everything, it's pretty clear what happens to house prices for FTBs.

You can get a house for free if you don't want to work for it, this is the UK not India.

If you can't afford to live near your office you sacrifice until you can afford it, if you need to work harder also to do that then thats a choice we can also make.

Moaning does nothing.


There are issues with housing and prices in this country, but they are not the fault of landlords.

Wanting sensible policies that help people is not moaning. It's called progress. Any policy that benefited people started from those of us who pointed out to problems and searched for solutions, and those people faced opponents like you who blamed everything on the victims and told people to get over it.

The only people I see moaning are people who are triggered that others are mean to almighty landlords and don't have their best interest at heart. Do you want to turn landlords into a protected class? Would that stop you from moaning about how unfair everyone is to poor landlords? You're the one moaning while telling others (who don't moan) to stop moaning.

 

[Haggisman]

@FoxEye, unless I'm confusing you with another poster, you live in Cornwall? Do you believe everyone, even on minimum wage, should be able to afford a property there? I'd love to be able to move to a nice 3 bedroom beachfront property in Cornwall and not have to worry about finding a job more difficult than a call centre or checkout operator...

Problem is, so would everyone else! So what's your solution to that? Reality is, there aren't enough 3 bedroom beachfront properties for everyone, so they demand a premium. The same goes for houses anywhere desirable, more people want to live there than can do - building more houses in those places isn't necessarily a solution, either because there's just no space, or because it would destroy the area. As has already been mentioned, there are plenty of areas where houses/flats are affordable to people on minimum wage.

 

[southernorth]

You can get a house for free if you don't want to work for it, this is the UK not India.

If you can't afford to live near your office you sacrifice until you can afford it, if you need to work harder also to do that then thats a choice we can also make.

Moaning does nothing.


There are issues with housing and prices in this country, but they are not the fault of landlords.

When did you start buying your houses, like what decade?

 

[FoxEye]

@FoxEye, unless I'm confusing you with another poster, you live in Cornwall? Do you believe everyone, even on minimum wage, should be able to afford a property there? I'd love to be able to move to a nice 3 bedroom beachfront property in Cornwall and not have to worry about finding a job more difficult than a call centre or checkout operator...

Problem is, so would everyone else! So what's your solution to that? Reality is, there aren't enough 3 bedroom beachfront properties for everyone, so they demand a premium. The same goes for houses anywhere desirable, more people want to live there than can do - building more houses in those places isn't necessarily a solution, either because there's just no space, or because it would destroy the area. As has already been mentioned, there are plenty of areas where houses/flats are affordable to people on minimum wage.

If you think everywhere in Cornwall is some picturesque rural idyll I'm afraid it isn't.

The desirable places in Cornwall are and always have been the coastal towns, where you're lucky to find a sea-view property for less than £700k to well over a million. Locals don't worry about those, except the poor fishermen who now have to live miles inland from their boats, because all the fishing cottages are holiday homes. But there's no fixing that, that ship has long sailed.

The problem in Cornwall is (as the league table posted earlier attests to) the multiple of average earnings to house prices. That being >11x where I am.

Wages in Cornwall are very depressed. But you still need people to run your shops, sweep your roads, do your plumbing.

I'll flip the question for you. Should most of the workforce in Cornwall be unable to afford to buy their own homes? Most are fairly low paid, given the nature of industry in Cornwall. Should only the retired bankers from London be able to afford any house in Cornwall? Actually there are some dilapidated cottages you can buy for £100k in the middle of nowhere, with no electricity or running water or .. If that's your thing, and you don't need to work.

 

[Haggisman]

Wages in Cornwall are very depressed. But you still need people to run your shops, sweep your roads, do your plumbing.

Perhaps there's a reason for that? (Hint: people want to live there anyway)

I'll flip the question for you. Should most of the workforce in Cornwall be unable to afford to buy their own homes? Most are fairly low paid, given the nature of industry in Cornwall.

Not at all - but that can't realistically be fixed by reducing house prices (unless you're suggesting ruining the place by concreting over it, which will have the double effect of increasing supply and reducing demand because no one will want to live there any more). It's more of a wage issue. What do you think will happen to wages if everyone doing minimum wage jobs decides to move away to somewhere more affordable? People will start to pay more! (of course this won't happen - see above re. people wanting to live there anyway, because let's face it, it's a nice place to live).

Incidentally, plumbing is a poor example. A decent plumber will be earning significantly above minimum wage.

 

[FoxEye]

Perhaps there's a reason for that? (Hint: people want to live there anyway)

Not at all - but that can't realistically be fixed by reducing house prices (unless you're suggesting ruining the place by concreting over it, which will have the double effect of increasing supply and reducing demand because no one will want to live there any more). It's more of a wage issue. What do you think will happen to wages if everyone doing minimum wage jobs decides to move away to somewhere more affordable? People will start to pay more! (of course this won't happen - see above re. people wanting to live there anyway, because let's face it, it's a nice place to live).

Incidentally, plumbing is a poor example. A decent plumber will be earning significantly above minimum wage.

Well house building down here is a mixed bag currently. In some places they are doing exactly that.. building new estates that double the size of the village/town.

In other places (like where I live) there has been planning permission for over 10 years for more than 4000 new homes - massively increasing the size of the town - but one of the developers folded* and the others are just sitting on the land. (*kind of, the shareholders voted to liquidate the company's holdings for a big pay-out).

And erm, have you been to places like Penzance or Camborne? For Cornwall, sprawling concrete jungles with copy/paste housing estates and lots of drug use. Lots of unsavoury places down here. Lots of drug use. Lots of child abuse. People down here aren't living the dream you know. I think your view of Cornwall is a bit idealistic.

 

[Haggisman]

And erm, have you been to places like Penzance or Camborne? For Cornwall, sprawling concrete jungles with copy/paste housing estates and lots of drug use. Lots of unsavoury places down here. Lots of drug use. Lots of child abuse. People down here aren't living the dream you know. I think your view of Cornwall is a bit idealistic.

I have actually, and yes, sure there are some not great parts (the same as everywhere), but like you say "for Cornwall"...

If it's so bad, why haven't you moved away, e.g. to the Midlands, where houses are cheaper and there are more jobs?

 

[FoxEye]

I have actually, and yes, sure there are some not great parts (the same as everywhere), but like you say "for Cornwall"...

If it's so bad, why haven't you moved away, e.g. to the Midlands, where houses are cheaper and there are more jobs?

I live with parents. This is actually becoming quite normal in Cornwall even for 30+ year old children. On my estate there are several children my age (odd turn of phrase but I'll stick with it) still at home.

e: Actually they're older than me even bar one.

 

[XeNoN89]

I live in London so this doesn't effect me as I can't afford to buy anything anyway while I'm paying london rent prices!

 

[moon man]

Cornwall does have dodgy areas but I don't really encounter any , live here work Padstow ,rolling fields ,25 mins to Polzeath ,it's not exaclity Dante's inferno ,I did once go to Camborne though (shudders)

 

[Haggisman]

Then I'm confused about what the problem is if you're happy living with your parents?

Also quite ironic that someone who is very vocal about how unfair it is that kids are able to benefit from their parents success (in terms of inheritance) is happy to benefit from their parents success (in terms of living in a very desirable part of the country)

 

[neil_g]

I live in London so this doesn't effect me as I can't afford to buy anything anyway while I'm paying london rent prices!

Same in a lot of the commuter areas now. By some peoples logic I should probably move further out but that would increase my commute cost and time (I'm already 1hr from work providing no delays) significantly. Catch 22.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I live with parents. This is actually becoming quite normal in Cornwall even for 30+ year old children. On my estate there are several children my age (odd turn of phrase but I'll stick with it) still at home.

e: Actually they're older than me even bar one.

There are plenty of kids in my estate too living with parents. It's the same everywhere.

You can buy a flat in my area on minimum wage.

It's not the prices that are stopping anyone from buying.

It's the fact they want more than they can afford. They would also need to give up the party lifestyle and stop leasing expensive cars and phones.

A great example is the young girl in my previous team. Always had th latest iPhone, Apple Watch, Audi TT on lease.

Living with parents.

She gave up the Audi TT and after a year got her own flat.

However had she kept the car she would never have been able to get her own place.

There's also a great example of this in my street. Young moron likes his drink and drugs and his £40k Audi that he wrote off now has another powerful hatchback on lease. He refuses to move out. But he can afford to lease £40k cars and party every weekend.

He's trashed his parents house several times when they have went abroad on holiday.

Poor financial decisions is a major reason for a lot of the young staying at home.

 

[builder22]

Yeh it's hell ,would much rather be going down Dewsbury market than Polzeath today

http://www.johnbray.co.uk/webcams/webcam-polzeath.html

obviously I was meaning if you WANTED to stay where you were brought up, where family/friends etc are, and some people would prefer going to some market...not everyone likes lying in the sun/going to the beach!

 

[FoxEye]

There are plenty of kids in my estate too living with parents. It's the same everywhere.

You can buy a flat in my area on minimum wage.

It's not the prices that are stopping anyone from buying.

It's the fact they want more than they can afford. They would also need to give up the party lifestyle and stop leasing expensive cars and phones.

A great example is the young girl in my previous team. Always had th latest iPhone, Apple Watch, Audi TT on lease.

Living with parents.

She gave up the Audi TT and after a year got her own flat.

However had she kept the car she would never have been able to get her own place.

There's also a great example of this in my street. Young moron likes his drink and drugs and his £40k Audi that he wrote off now has another powerful hatchback on lease. He refuses to move out. But he can afford to lease £40k cars and party every weekend.

He's trashed his parents house several times when they have went abroad on holiday.

Poor financial decisions is a major reason for a lot of the young staying at home.

Again as said earlier you can't just blame the young for rising prices. For rising prices as multiples of average earnings.

Prices as multiples of average earnings are just cold, hard maths.

You can't blame the young for maths that paints a bleak picture.

And as said, 25% of 35-44 year olds now rent, a stat that keeps getting higher and higher. They can't all be irresponsible or happiest when paying off somebody else's mortgage.

Maths and trends. Maths and trends.

 

[moon man]

obviously I was meaning if you WANTED to stay where you were brought up, where family/friends etc are, and some people would prefer going to some market...not everyone likes lying in the sun/going to the beach!

I know, I was messing, and dewsbury market is very useful!! Especially computer bits, not. Sure about lying in the sun, damn chily wind atm, winter wetsuit back out soon

 

[FoxEye]

Then I'm confused about what the problem is if you're happy living with your parents?

Also quite ironic that someone who is very vocal about how unfair it is that kids are able to benefit from their parents success (in terms of inheritance) is happy to benefit from their parents success (in terms of living in a very desirable part of the country)

Erm... wut? IIRC I haven't had much to say about inheritance other than - again at the lower income brackets - care home costs will eat many people's inheritance before they get a chance to see it.

And I never described my happiness (or otherwise) with my situation, so you are making a lot of assumptions I'm afraid.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Again as said earlier you can't just blame the young for rising prices. For rising prices as multiples of average earnings.

Prices as multiples of average earnings are just cold, hard maths.

You can't blame the young for maths that paints a bleak picture.

And as said, 25% of 35-44 year olds now rent, a stat that keeps getting higher and higher. They can't all be irresponsible or happiest when paying off somebody else's mortgage.

Maths and trends. Maths and trends.

A lot of them are idiots though and poor with money.

Credit cards, loans, cars on hire purchase. Renting.

Then as soon as the car is paid off and they finally own it after 4-5 years they see their friend just got a new Audi and rather than saving money they go and start looking at a better car for themselves.

Only the ones that are truly frugal and really want it end up buying.

It's a vicious cycle for a lot of folk that are poor with money.

They are happy to pay someone else's mortgage because they are too dumb to make the right decisions.

Not everyone is like that but a lot are.

You can't just put all the blame on one thing.

If the wage ratio is 11 times where you are. Then that tells you wages is the real issue.

People earning more can afford it. People who don't earn enough can't.

It's a salary issue at heart combined with poor financial decisions.

 

[builder22]

dewsbury market is very useful

can you buy gigantic lighters and extra large rolling papers?

 

[rG-tom]

I live in London so this doesn't effect me as I can't afford to buy anything anyway while I'm paying london rent prices!

London is one of the cheapest places to rent relative to property value (~3.5% of the purchase price per annum rental yield, vs 5-5.5% somewhere like Manchester), so you've actually got a better opportunity to save in London than elsewhere