So will the UK house prices ever come down ?

Soldato
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It won't go continue to keep going up at the same rate prices are way to inflated. Like every other investment bubble it will burst and people will be left hurt and shaken when it does. Foreign investors are only looking for short term gain, once the money starts to dry up and these investors cash their assets in the effect on prices will be quite spectacular.

I think we're some time away from this yet tbh, but it will happen.
With a bit of luck it'll co-incide with me having enough for a deposit, and I'll be able to buy at the bottom of the market :p
Either that or I'll build, I've always wanted to build an awesome house anyway, I just might practise with a starter home.
 
Man of Honour
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It won't go continue to keep going up at the same rate prices are way to inflated. Like every other investment bubble it will burst and people will be left hurt and shaken when it does. Foreign investors are only looking for short term gain, once the money starts to dry up and these investors cash their assets in the effect on prices will be quite spectacular.

It's only a bubble if people can't afford it. Whilst they keep inflation low and offer high LTV and FTB schemes, they will continue to go up.
 
Associate
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It won't go continue to keep going up at the same rate prices are way to inflated.

Agreed

Like every other investment bubble it will burst and people will be left hurt and shaken when it does. Foreign investors are only looking for short term gain, once the money starts to dry up and these investors cash their assets in the effect on prices will be quite spectacular.

It really wont. Not in London at least.

The fact is London property is actually quite 'cheap' and backed up by the fact we're a relatively safe country with low levels of corruption. Try looking at somewhere like Hong Kong if you think London is expensive!

Prices might go 'down' relative to inflation, but if you expect a value drop from 500k to 400k (for example) in todays money then you'll never own a property

Its more likely that come 2020 the average wage in Central London will be something like 80k and 1 bed flats will cost £550k.

Mortgages naturally get 'cheaper' over time (inflation) which means people will just remortgage and buy 2nd, 3rd, 4th properties. There is a major shift happening in how people are saving for their later years. That along with a growing population and a lack of supply means things will only get worse

Granted this is just my opinion, but I live and work in London and there are a lot of very rich people and that number is only growing.
 
Soldato
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It's only a bubble if people can't afford it. Whilst they keep inflation low and offer high LTV and FTB schemes, they will continue to go up.

It's a bubble people like with any other asset which have been in a bubble will soon realise that their asset is overvalued and will want to cash out the problem everyone will be aware of that same fact.
 
Man of Honour
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It's a bubble people like with any other asset which have been in a bubble will soon realise that their asset is overvalued and will want to cash out the problem everyone will be aware of that same fact.

Not in the slightest, as it's not like any other asset. You can't just cash out. You still need a place to live, and rent is just as expensive as a mortgage.
 
Soldato
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there's a very bitchy tone in this thread and i'd ask you to think whether owning a house is a right or a privelage.

Clearly a privilege for those who can afford to do so. I wouldn't class it as a right, because what right do people who don't work have to get a house?

It's an aspirational thing.
 
Man of Honour
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Clearly a privilege for those who can afford to do so. I wouldn't class it as a right, because what right do people who don't work have to get a house?

It's an aspirational thing.

It should be a right to be able to house yourself. Laws need changing to come in line with rest of Europe. Doesn't mean a big expensive house for everyone. But you should have the right to put a roof over your head in the form of mobile housing at the very least.

It's a basic human need to require shelter.
 
Soldato
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Well it isn't really a human right. If you don't work and just live on benefits why should you be able to OWN your own home.

so why are people whining about house prices then?

people on benefit's don't own their own home and when they hit retirement, the tax payer will be bailing them out into a retirement home. i don't mind, if that's how they want to live their life. fine.

get on with saving. take a look around at all the gadgets, nights out, takeaways, cigarettes, clothes etc you may have bought and decide whether or not you feel that money may have been better used towards a deposit for a house.

you'll find that most people who moan about house prices probably could have saved enough for a deposit if they'd been a bit more smart with their money. it's about a balance and what you want out of life.

if my house is worth 25% more than what i paid for it 5 years ago, are you saying that's unfair as i've made a potential gain if i sell? sounds pretty unfair if i didn't make a gain imo as i worked very hard to save for my deposit.

the answer is simple, make the right choices in life and save.
 
Soldato
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It should be a right to be able to house yourself. Laws need changing to come in line with rest of Europe. Doesn't mean a big expensive house for everyone. But you should have the right to put a roof over your head in the form of mobile housing at the very least.

It's a basic human need to require shelter.

Yes, shelter is a basic human requirement. As is gathering the tools to allow you to provide said shelter for your family. If you can't be arsed to get the right tools, then you don't get the shelter. You shouldn't EXPECT to be given ANYTHING in this life. You should be EXPECTED to WORK for whatever you get.

Now obviously there are people out there who wont need to work for anything, and will get given everything they desire. But for the general population, it is RIGHT that you have to work for YOUR shelter.

Those who choose not to work, either end up on the street, or in social housing that isn't theirs. Those that DO go out and work have the opportunity to buy their own place. Whether they have to move to a cheaper part of the country, or get a better job, or give up a certain lifestyle to do so is irrelevant. They have the same opportunities as almost everyone else in the country to get what they want.
 

s-p

s-p

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get on with saving. take a look around at all the gadgets, nights out, takeaways, cigarettes, clothes etc you may have bought and decide whether or not you feel that money may have been better used towards a deposit for a house.

Yes, a pizza from Dominos once a month is really what stops people from being able to purchase a family home in London.

you'll find that most people who moan about house prices probably could have saved enough for a deposit if they'd been a bit more smart with their money. it's about a balance and what you want out of life.

Absolute trash. Explain to me how a single income family with an average job (teacher, nurse etc.) can afford a family home in London?

if my house is worth 25% more than what i paid for it 5 years ago, are you saying that's unfair as i've made a potential gain if i sell? sounds pretty unfair if i didn't make a gain imo as i worked very hard to save for my deposit.

So you want something for nothing? Yet you complain at others who believe it is morally unjust that society allows people to profit from the hoarding of shelter/land (a basic human right) at the expense of others.

the answer is simple, make the right choices in life and save.

Indeed. I ask you though, how would you feel on the other side of the fence?
 
Man of Honour
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Yes, shelter is a basic human requirement. As is gathering the tools to allow you to provide said shelter for your family. If you can't be arsed to get the right tools, then you don't get the shelter. You shouldn't EXPECT to be given ANYTHING in this life. You should be EXPECTED to WORK for whatever you get.

Now obviously there are people out there who wont need to work for anything, and will get given everything they desire. But for the general population, it is RIGHT that you have to work for YOUR shelter.

Those who choose not to work, either end up on the street, or in social housing that isn't theirs. Those that DO go out and work have the opportunity to buy their own place. Whether they have to move to a cheaper part of the country, or get a better job, or give up a certain lifestyle to do so is irrelevant. They have the same opportunities as almost everyone else in the country to get what they want.

What does any of that got to do with what I said. a shelter can and should be free, but due to planning rules this isn't allowed. The only thing that should be needed to purchase is land and that is cheap. This is how the rest of Europe works. If you own land you can live in mobile housing without planning permission. This is the right everyone should have. It's a right to shelter, it's a right not to be forced into £600 a month of debt or outgoing (depending if you rent/mortgage)

Right to shelter is not right to a house like you make out, in most developed countries theres growing movements to tiny and mobile housing, which are dirt vheao and don't get you into a life of debt or constant high outgoing.
 

s-p

s-p

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Those that DO go out and work have the opportunity to buy their own place. Whether they have to move to a cheaper part of the country, or get a better job, or give up a certain lifestyle to do so is irrelevant.

The next time you pop in a shop to purchase your groceries, order a pint at the bar or get resuscitated by the paramedic, maybe you should tell them to move because only the good and great can afford to buy property near you?
 
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The pain in 2008 should have been far greater than it was. At the expense of pretty much everyone the BoE/government pulled every trick out the bag to keep the bubble inflated. Now they have no choice - If house prices correct, the banks/economy crash. And rising house prices gives the all important voter the *feel good factor* of course, handy with an upcoming election.

If the current differential between average wages/house prices is to be maintained there will be a paradigm shift in lifestyle & quality of life within the next 20-30 years. The dream of getting a good job, marrying, and having your own home via a bit of romantic sacrifice will be gone, at least in the SE. Lifetime shared/family ownership will become the norm.

IMO, the futures bleak.

/doomandgloom
 
Soldato
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It'll be fine until borrowing costs rise, or they build a lot more houses or unemployment rises
At the moment none of the above are happening.
Its hard to see prices dropping at the moment.

In a year or 2, if the economy and deficit stay as they are , things might change .
 
Man of Honour
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I think there will be a small fall at some point, as the market seems to be fuelled by record low interest rates and schemes whereby you only need a 5% deposit. They will dry up at some point, meanwhile more home will be built and then when the economy slows down I would expect to see reductions in demand and indeed some defaults on mortgages. I cannot see wages increasing at a rate which makes continued upward pressure sustainable.

However, I do not expect any fall to outweigh the gains made over the past 20 years, even in real terms.
 

s-p

s-p

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If the current differential between average wages/house prices is to be maintained there will be a paradigm shift in lifestyle & quality of life within the next 20-30 years. The dream of getting a good job, marrying, and having your own home via a bit of romantic sacrifice will be gone, at least in the SE. Lifetime shared/family ownership will become the norm.

IMO, the futures bleak.

That's what so frustrating about the whole situation. There is absolutely no need for a shift in quality of life if policies around planning/financing weren't so heavily favoured to those who currently hold the housing/land stock. Housing can and should be cheap.

Then again, it doesn't help when policies such as HTB, FLS etc. are introduced under the premise of helping "Hard working families" getting on the "Property Ladder", when they in fact do the very opposite.
 
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I was once a genuine believer in a housing correction back in 2009, but no longer. The government have a vested interest in this market and will mollycoddle it to ensure only those actually on the edge will lose 'their' homes.

I'm just talking about London here, because frankly the regions (as are officially called in most London-centric corporate environments) are side-lined in this country.
As more and more infrastructure is built towards the glowing lights of the capital it will attract more and more people towards it to earn more money.

Greater London will eventually become like Paris, where all the poorer people will be driven out of the centre and only the seriously wealthy can live within zone 1-2 (except for parts of Zone 2 in the East and SE).
Great for the people that have bought early enough or those with a lot of wealth, as there will be no more riff-raff around. But it will inevitably push hard working relatively high earners into areas in which the newly housed social housing residents will be located.

But the policy makers are not going to care about them as much as collectively ensuring their BTL properties appreciate in value.


One of the key ways to survive and prosper in life is to quickly adapt with the times. There is absolutely no point in having a moan about how things are!
 
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