borassic

There you are: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/8511223/Families-have-lost-500-over-past-12-months-says-think-tank.html They've eased interest rates, they've eased money supply, what's left to go easy?

Ex local authority two bed flats in Chesham (Tube to town 1 hour) going for £160,000 (yes, selling). Too much. God knows what they went for in 2007. I ain't buying as rent off housing assocation £400 a month. Bollox to buying for the next 5 years at least.

And I think the pound is going to get spit roasted. I mean, spending is still huge, our trade gap is huge, WTF is keeping the pound at $1.63 I think it was a few day ago?

No, no, they will be a hell of a difference! Since Thatch they have recieved stunnning amounts of public money in order to remain relatively civilised. City of Culture bollox (Liverpool, Glasgow). This final support is now going.

Well we may not have physical ghost towns here in the UK, but ghost towns nonetheless - thanks to chronic structural unemployment in our once great industrial cities of the midlands and north. When the cuts really kick-in these towns that were net takers of public money will become very horrible places in which to live. If our "growth" is purely down to "financialization" type activities (I suppose that means flogging off debt, or participating in zero-sum activities like trading) we really have no choice to become a Ruritanian holiday destination for Asians! We have rid our means of wealth creation, what/who/how will bring it back? Indeed when?

Lets all live on the South Downs! as the government embarks on austerity (TBC) HM Govt has now created another wasteful red tape self-generating machine stuffed rlul of "access officers, squirrel counters and carbon footprint monitoring officers!" Brilliant, just brilliant! I love the UK deeply, and Sussex is a beautiful place, I daresay it's new status a National Park will be another inflationary tool for the estate agent. The tragedy for the UK is huge regional gap in wealth (the biggest in the developed world) and no means of quickly creating wealth with which to pay off our debt. I have only just realised that we are where we are becuase of socialist, state expansion since 1945.

In the good olde days, EAs were a respected part of the business community. Like the solicitor and bank manager. "Corporatization" has changed all that. You get callow ninkompoops who should really be selling double glazing, private healthcare, or mobile phones. A good EA would sell to the right buyer, not nessarily the highest bidder. I would say in their defence, that EAs earn their fee to some extent after the sale - keeping the chain intact and chasing up solicitors. It's a nightmare in a buyers market with gazundering etc. I personally don't like negotiating deals worth 100s of thousands of pounds direct with a buyer, a good agent will act in the vendors interest, and ensure a swift completion (then he gets paid). EAs in UK are cheap (pay no more than 1.12%) compared to EU. They are regulated like mad and there is stiff competition with other EAs. Poor reputation is a killer. Check out "agents diary" blog to know what it's like working as an EA. Yes, I used to work as an EA.

Not to mention IRs as well! Read Denninger's latest on bonds to put the fear of God in to you!

Perhaps EAs (especially ones for whom this is their first recession) will now see that sales turnover is a better way to meet their sales targets, rather than giving large valuations on prospective clients (in order to win the instruction). Of course, I suspect they know this already, but fight the tsunami of VI and media-ramping that spouts property only ever goes up, plateaus for a bit, then resumes upwards... Once the people realise that QE/Brown's last gamble hasn't worked then we may see a market with more activity. Low borrowing costs are presently a God-send for the indebted - does anyone know how, or what will bring IRs to a real level?

You are both right DrB and CamperVanMan. There is also however a significant part of the market where vendors can't drop the price because they are only have a wafer thin slice of equity left (having been on a spending spree for 10 years). I see a nasty deadlock ahead, then some shocking falls - the capitulation phase. An EA in High Wycombe told me yesterday July was a record month for them (and they are a new business only 2 years established).

The main shortage in the market is not even buyers or land, but finance Cold turkey for consumers as they learn to live without debt...most amused that the Koalition are getting the blame!

Yep. It's pretty obvious we are at the top of the second slightly smaller housing peak of the roller coaster and about to hurtle down. But don't worry, the private sector is going to create 2m jobs in 5 years! And I ask - what in exactly? Can someone enlighten me?

It's a funny thing, when I was 17 I listened to lots of pychedelia, sometimes whilst under the influence...now I loathe most amplified music. It's also everywhere these days - shops, restaurants, on hold - Spike Miligan noticed it and said it sent him round the bend. I have become Hans Keller! (now he seems a really interesting person - telly really was quite intellectual then)

Shiver-tastic.