Im calling it.....

It will continue to rise. It will be less than it was since it rebounded from the credit crunch but it will still continue at a fair pace. This will be driven by high amounts of immigration and further shortfall in the number of properties being built.

Yeah, it'll go up long-term. London is, and will remain, a desirable place to live. It would be naive to think London is somehow immune from bumps along the road though. It's vulnerable to falling consumer confidence and the credit markets, just like everywhere else.
 
London is a different market to normal reality for many reasons. In the real world, prices are going up, wages aren't - sooner or later that has to come back into balance.

Only it doesn't, really.

You just end up with more people house sharing; more people paying £600 for a single room in a shared house; more landlords converting a 3 bedroom house into 4-5 "studio" flats...

It's happening down here like you wouldn't believe.

Also net migration is going up and up... another 300k+ this year - more than the number of houses being built...

The future is bright (for landlords). The future is Mexico (for tenants).
 
This is why I am voting for out !

that is one thing I've noticed on facebook

I'm still switching between IN/OUT but some of the really adamant IN voters also bitch and moan about people having to live at home in their 30s, not being able to afford homes etc.. Not that increased migration thanks to our EU membership is completely to blame or anything but along with insufficient supply and cheap/easy availability of mortgages it is certainly a factor.
 
I think the migrant issue has more to do with London being such an attractive destination internationally. People come for London, then settle elsewhere in the UK once taking stock. I cant see leaving the EU changing that.
 
I don't think they are being bought by speculative investors. There's an ample supply of home buyers in London who can afford a £1 million house.

Is there though? Average mean salary is 48k and median salary is only 35k, so only half of Londoners earn above 35k.
Keeping that in mind, with the average being 33% higher than the median, it shows that there are people earning huge amounts which skews the data.
Those people are not in.abundance.

So lets take a couple each earning the median, they could get a 340k ish mortgage, which would still need a hell of a deposit to get a 1 mill property.
 
Is there though? Average mean salary is 48k and median salary is only 35k, so only half of Londoners earn above 35k.
Keeping that in mind, with the average being 33% higher than the median, it shows that there are people earning huge amounts which skews the data.
Those people are not in.abundance.

The average salary might be £48k but that's spread across 7 million people. Even if it's only the top 1% earning over £125k, that's a potential 35,000 couples who can afford a £1 million house. That's probably a very conservative figure, especially considering equity in current properties.

Four-bedroom terraced houses go for around £1.8mil where I live in London. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of mostly lawyers, 'bankers' and business owners buying them.
 
A couple do not need a family home. They might but not yet. Arguing that you can't afford that 3 bed 2 bath semi in SW1 for your first home and that the market is screwed is ridiculous.

People start somewhere. And if that's a 1 bed apartment that needs a lick of paint and tlc what's wrong with that? You need to save for a deposit and throwing your toys around because that means you can't have the latest iPhone car gym membership super fast broadband superdry clothes worthless toot and save for deposit isn't the markets fault.

My parents and I'm sure lots of parents here saved every penny to buy their first place and then lived off hand me down furniture and sheets for curtains.

You can't have it all unless you are incredibly luckily then I doubt you'd appreciate it anyway.
 
I don't think anyone is making that argument. But when a couple can't afford a 1 bed flat in a crappy part of zone 3, that is an issue. There's serious social ramifications of younger people not being able to out down roots, have kids, be "proper" grown ups etc.
 
I don't think anyone is making that argument. But when a couple can't afford a 1 bed flat in a crappy part of zone 3, that is an issue. There's serious social ramifications of younger people not being able to out down roots, have kids, be "proper" grown ups etc.

There's 1018 properties excluding shared ownership in zone 3 between 200 and 300k minimum 2 bed for sale now on rightmove.

How is that unaffordable for any couple on reasonable salaries with a decent deposit?
 
There's 1018 properties excluding shared ownership in zone 3 between 200 and 300k minimum 2 bed for sale now on rightmove.

How is that unaffordable for any couple on reasonable salaries with a decent deposit?

this... maybe people need to lower their standards... Lewisham for example, actually zone 2, should be easily affordable for a couple earning an average wage or even a bit below average. Easy direct trains or DLR to Canary Wharf, the City(Canon Street) and the West End(Charring Cross), London Bridge - so a 15-20 minute commute.

Whole bunch of new developments... ditto to the zone 3 areas nearby - for example Lee is right next to Blackheath but not as expensive (unless the estate agent is marketing the property as Blackheath), Hither Green too.. both zone 3, nice enough suburban areas and easy commutes.
 
A couple do not need a family home. They might but not yet. Arguing that you can't afford that 3 bed 2 bath semi in SW1 for your first home and that the market is screwed is ridiculous.

People start somewhere. And if that's a 1 bed apartment that needs a lick of paint and tlc what's wrong with that? You need to save for a deposit and throwing your toys around because that means you can't have the latest iPhone car gym membership super fast broadband superdry clothes worthless toot and save for deposit isn't the markets fault.

My parents and I'm sure lots of parents here saved every penny to buy their first place and then lived off hand me down furniture and sheets for curtains.

You can't have it all unless you are incredibly luckily then I doubt you'd appreciate it anyway.
Great post, exactly my thoughts. Guess new younger homeowners these days expect to walk into perfect show homes straight away and turn their nose up at anything less and then complain about unaffordability.
If my kids saw my first ever property now they'd laugh.
 
this... maybe people need to lower their standards... Lewisham for example, actually zone 2, should be easily affordable for a couple earning an average wage or even a bit below average. Easy direct trains or DLR to Canary Wharf, the City(Canon Street) and the West End(Charring Cross), London Bridge - so a 15-20 minute commute.

Yeah, however Lewisham is a hole so I can understand people not wanting to lower their standards. Better to be further out and have the additional commute IMO
 
Yeah, however Lewisham is a hole so I can understand people not wanting to lower their standards. Better to be further out and have the additional commute IMO

However, if there's a flood of new buyers into a location then the quality of the area could and should improve.
 
Lewisham might be but Lee and Hither Green aren't... still in the wider borough of Lewisham, like Blackheath too

Lewsham itself is undergoing a load of new development next to the station, one girl I know has a pretty nice flat there... there are also bits of it just up from the station that are on the road to Blackheath... quite nice houses there too

this is where I bought my London flat:

Hither_Green_Clock_Tower.jpg


24 hour gym on site, security guard in the clock tower, secure gated or underground parking depending on the block, Tesco on site, nursery on site, GP surgery on site, Pharmacy attached to the GP surgery on site, some weird alternative health clinic also on site

takes 20 mins into Canon Street or 10-15 mins into London Bridge

300k or so for a one bed flat, 350-370-ish for a two bed...
 
But in the early 2000s the was not as much immigration and foreign investment.

Investors are buying up property in London off plan and not even living in them, then shifting them on when the price goes up.

London's property market is absolutely crazy.
This is why I am voting for out !
Leaving the EU will no affect this in the slightest! The vast majority of the investors are Russian Oligarchs and Arab oil sheikhs. Leaving the EU will just make things easier for them!

Do you really think that all of the foreign investors driving up UK property prices are from the EU? :confused:
 
migration is partially going to increase demand yes... foreign non-EU investors will still be able to invest whether we're out or in, that makes little difference to them... if anything some of them would take a hit upon brexit as the pound devalues and the UK becomes less of a safe haven in the short term

but yes controlling migration/part of the demand for housing can curb price rises

as could some legislation to make increasing the supply of housing easier
 
Last edited:
Lewisham might be but Lee and Hither Green aren't... still in the wider borough of Lewisham, like Blackheath too

Lewsham itself is undergoing a load of new development next to the station, one girl I know has a pretty nice flat there... there are also bits of it just up from the station that are on the road to Blackheath... quite nice houses there too

Those flats are a £420k+ for 2 bed flats now. You still are looking at a combined income which is high.

Those new developments are struggling to sell the properties. People in the Renaissance development trying to sell their purchases are seriously struggling.

£500k, now down to £475k. Still too high.
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/de...5c9870d8df2fddfcc54964e0f#g0OZZJju7IzwGa33.97

£500k now down to £485k. Same as above.
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/de...97d95ff8b8efd32750c0cde30#AFrxP5Xvt0KEksbJ.97

£490k down to £470k down to £450k.
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/de...97d95ff8b8efd32750c0cde30#DGvkCrOoi77tEV0O.97

£535k down to £525k, 515k, 500k. Too high.
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/de...97d95ff8b8efd32750c0cde30#LMtEhQOqWMKDQSBF.97

The developer is now selling the showroom flat at £400k, originally priced at £450k.
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/de...97d95ff8b8efd32750c0cde30#b1uAYtf6SCwhJPLf.97

The problem? Lots of off plan flats are about to get built nearby all at £420k-£450k price range (will be lucky to get that). With speculative foreign buyers gone, developers here are screwed.

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/new-homes/d...h_identifier=c66f2f697d95ff8b8efd32750c0cde30

It is a similarly story for new builds across SE and East London. The problem is that price indices exclude the off plan market and price decreases for new builds and so are missing the problem that this part of the market is facing.

As I've been saying in this thread, the worse impact is for flats close to the £1m price point. They have seen massive downward revisions already.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom