Shark Man

I smell in the future esepcially since a certain party retaining its third term.....

Money amongst the Middle to lower/high classes is drying up as their mortages and increasing living costs contiunue to eat into what money they don't have left.

Raises glass - here's to being able to buy a house at a resonable price soon and taking full benefit of the situation

pslewis

I wouldn't mind adding to my property portfolio ...

Pete

PCatWork

Don't hold your breath, though.

The "great house price crash" has been widely predicted since about 1999.

Shark Man

I've been holding my breath since 1999...good things come to those who wait.

You see, I started on the ladder well before the rise....sold up at the peak....now waiting for the crash to buy agian.

PCatWork

Fair enough, then. Prices are already well down in many areas. How far and how fast they will drop remains to be seen.

Shark Man

I'm giving it a coupe years. But may happen a little sooner than I expected.

TopBanana

Bring it on!

Mrs WRX

I have to agree with this one. My partner and i both work full time and bring home a decent wage, but we cant afford to get on the property ladder. We have been priced out of the market. We cant even buy a terraced house since prices in our area shot up about 3 - 4 years ago. Have been in rented accommodation for years and it is just dead money. We would love to buy a house but at the moment it is never going to happen.

Mrs WRX

But that doesnt mean i want people to get in financial trouble or have their houses reposessed.

jjones

prices not dropped here yet (midlands). certainly seem to have peeked tho. wouldn't be holding my breath if i were you. also prices would have to drop over 50% for prixes to be near the 1999 values.

Peanuts

iTrader: (15)

Yawn...

too many people have ideas above their station, if you cant afford to live where you think you deserve to live, you have to move somewhere where you can afford to live.
you then find your economic equilibrium, or continue to rent.

davegtt

who cares, interest rates that'll really effect people not the VALUE of somebodies home

bunch of hopers who pi55ed their money up the wall in the pubs 3-4 years ago living their youth instead of planning for the future if you bought 4 years ago everything would be hunky dory

obviously not everyone is put into that catogary but its true from alot of people I know

chris singleton

Ditto the above

ProperCharlie

It's all relative. Plus as davegtt points out, low IR means it's affordable to borrow more. Two people working with a bit of a deposit saved would be able to afford a 2 bedoom place in many areas, even if you are on average salaries. Prices did get excessive, but the market has cooled and vendors are now starting to get more realistic. If "no one" could afford a house, then the crash would have already happened.

Flatcapdriver

Low interest rates can still be unaffordable if they increase where people are financially stretched with their existing mortgage.

GC8

When has there ever really been a 'housing crash'? It cant happen because people cant afford to sell a house with negative equity; they just have to sit tight. If interest rates rise sharply then some people may be repossesed or simply give-up properties to their lenders, and they may sell relatively cheaply; but the most that you can hope for is a modest re-alignment.

ProperCharlie

Of course. Cheap things can become expensive if they go up in price. Who could argue with that?

The key is not to overstretch yourself in the first place. Buy within your means. Buy a flat instead of a house. Buy in a cheaper area. Keep renting until you have saved up a decent deposit. It's not fundamentally about how much things cost, it's about adopting the right mindset. If you have recently bought a huge telly on credit, don't buy a house.

That's my free advice for the day.

Petem95

Yes interest rates are low, but so is inflation, so the actual mortgage debt isnt being eroded like it was in the days of high interest rates, so people who've taken out interest only mortgages may struggle.

It looks like this house price crash wont happen quickly, but will probably be drawn out over a good few years, with constant small price falls. The only good thing with house prices cycles is that prices always overshoot - ie when prices rise they overshoot the true value, and when prices fall they overshoot the bottom (ie became cheaper than their true value), so there will be a point when property becomes a good buy again.

ProperCharlie

That's true - but who did they think was going to pay off their mortgage - father christmas? If you take out an IO mortgage without a good strategy for paying off the capital then you are either a few beers short of a p*ss up or happy with the idea of handing your house back to the lender.

Mrs WRX

AND WHO THE **** ARE YOU TO JUDGE ME. I have never pissed my money up the wall. I used to own a house and had to sell when me and the ex split up and couldnt afford to get back on the property ladder. From your reply i would have to say that you are an arrogat tosser so **** off.

suprabeast

where as me and paul-s on the other hand have got very pissed for the last 4 years.... mostly

Mrs WRX

[QUOTE=suprabeast]where as me and paul-s on the other hand have got very pissed for the last 4 years.... mostly[/QUOTE

And i am not knocking you for it in the slightest, as long as you had a good time doing it. all i said was that i would like to buy a house and got called a no hoper was told i pissed my money away and i should be able to afford a 2 bed house (brilliant idea with 3 kids) and told that i should buy in a crap area as i feel i deserve not to live in a scummy area. amazing.

suprabeast

thats crap mrs WRX, you shouldnt have to move anywhere that you dont want to, its not your fault that you've split... prices will come down more i reckon, its just gonna take time

Mrs WRX

I hope so, but like i said first time i dont want anybody to have their house repossesed or anything, I wouldnt like anybody to be in financial hardship because of a massive rise in interest rates, maybe just more affordable housing to be built. Oh well, one day!

ProperCharlie

[QUOTE=Mrs WRX]Apologies - I didn't mean to be rude.

However, hard luck stories are ten a penny - I could even tell a few myself. There's no point in trying to shout down the market - it won't listen. Either houses are over priced in relation to current economic conditions, in which case they will become cheaper, or houses aren't over priced in which case they won't become cheaper. Whether or not this is convenient for you or me is irrelevant.

Mrs WRX

Apology accepted. I know what you are saying about pricing, but many new buyers are priced out of the market and nothing is going to change for the foreseeable future. Relying on boom and bust is not an option, affordable housing has to be built. Believe me i do live within my means but with anymore hikes in interest rates i would be struggling to pay a mortgage as i would have to stretch way beyond my means to get one in the first place. Oh well, rant over.

pslewis

ProperCharlie is quite right in what he says.

Market forces will drive the market, if no-one can afford to buy it will drop until they can (it often overshoots, due to the confidence being lost and this is where speculators make their money - on the overshoot!)

I think it has overshot upwards at the moment .... speculators have sold or are selling.

Pete

davegtt

lol.. rag week is it? did I say you had pi55ed your money up the wall no? I specifically said that, that particular statement doesnt apply to everybody but it does for alot of people I know so get off you high horse please.... Were all allowed opinions on people and fair enough, you have made your mind up on me.. Do I give a **** nope... I still believe alot of what I said though, I be an idiot to not believe myself... Just dont think you should always take what I say out of context... if my reply was aimed at yourself I would have made it clear.... so **** off yourself

davegtt

Blimy pete. Youve made apost in a housing thread where you aint taking the micheal on cashing in on others demise

Like I said Mrs WRX, I didnt aim anything or say anything aimed at you... I made a general sweeping statement but also made a comment saying its not aimed at EVERYONE.......

Vegescoob

Those interested in deeper discussions on housing might like to visit www.housepricecrash.co.uk