Friday, August 10, 2007

House Prices

I noticed that the house opposite me was up for sale. Given I'm my fathers son I nipped on the internet to see how much it was going for. No I am not thinking of buying it I'm just a nosey so and so. I had always assumed mine was worth about xxx,xxx and was surprised to see this one on the market for a good 10% more. Surprised because mine was actually 5% dearer when they were built!

House prices really shock me. The flat I bought when I left home at 22 has gone up at about the rate of my salary so I could afford the mortgage to buy it now but the 22 year old Pete today wouldn't have a hope! I do worry how people cope. I guess they are just loading themselves up with debt and desperately praying that a) interest rates peak soon and b) they keep in work.

The problem is that people "dahn sahf" eventually decide to sell up and move "Oop North" to buy a comparatively cheap property and live on the profit when they reach a certain age. Thus pricing the locals out of the market.

I remember a few years ago looking at houses in Lincolnshire and commenting how cheap they were. The locals looking at the show house at the same time gave me a frosty look!! But they were lovely houses that down here would have been hellishly expensive.

It must be a worrying prospect if you are young, either rent and "waste" your money or take on 6 figure debt.

9 comments:

Jan said...

That's what was happening in Wales for a long time, and why certain hostilities occur I think. Wales is now full of elderly English people who have sold their properties and moved here, upgrading their homes, but for a fraction of the cost of the equivalent in the south of England. The prices here have shot up beyond recognition though in the last 5 years, so that's not such an easy option any more. The young Welsh buyers haven't had a hope in hell of acquiring their own place, because the wages are lower here too.

When I bought my first house in Herts in 1983 I had 10% deposit saved up (£2,600) and got a mortgage for the rest, a nice three-bed place in a good area for £26,000. Those were the days eh?

Anonymous said...

Pete - if you'd like to know how much the house opposite sells for, it should eventually appear here:

http://www.ourproperty.co.uk/

Cherrypie said...

Get yerself back behind Watford Gap! Go on, shoo! shoo! You'll be after our barm cakes next.

The Quacks of Life said...

EB - cheers for that

CP - I'm heartbroken

oldcrow61 said...

The same thing seems to be happening here as well. Guess it's the same all over.

ST said...

It's the same all over the country.In Northumberland, the houses have shot up, in value. Many new houses built five years ago, have tripled in price.
And yes there are alot, of southern accents in my area compared to a few years ago.Can't blame them, if you live in central London a one or two bedroom flat would buy a very nice house here.

Anonymous said...

Oddly enough, our local paper was talking about that only today. Seems that houses here are so costly now that the average earner has no chance of getting one. I feel sick about the whole thing, and was putting it down to overpopulation. Doesn't mean your interpretation is wrong - we could both be right. ;-)

Anonymous said...

My daughter despairs of ever buying her own home and I'm amazed at the price one like ours is on the market for - and that needs "complete modernisation" - which ours doesn't (at least I think it doesn't)

Robbiegirl said...

So many young people have to ask their parents to help. I hear it's very common now for parents to remortgage their own house to pay for their kid's houses.

I wish they wouldn't... because if no-one could afford a house and therefore didn't buy one, the market would soon crash and house prices would come down to sensible levels.

Just to make you jealous... I bought my first house (decent sized 2-bed end town house) in 2000 for 28k. I sold it in 2006 for 80k.

Our 3-bed semi with massive garden, bought in 2004, cost 110k. Would be closer to 150 now. Definitely cheaper up here.

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