UK House prices: News & Views

[John Doe]

Yet someones doing alright.

 

Nationwide Gives Boost To Home Loans By 44%

 

the UK's largest customer-owned financial group

 

Mr Beale said Nationwide provided a "real and viable alternative" to the established banks.

 

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/nationwide-gives-boost-home-loans-075021382.html

 

Quite right, customer owned, no shareholders and doing well! (Also very careful who they lend to )

[BoldAsBrass]

I am selling a house in Marlow. Probate sale. Chalet style on at £395 - SL7 3PW if you want to look. Tip top order.

 

Anyway, three viewings in as many weeks ALL DOWNSIZERS. Thing is, feedback reports house is too small!!

 

Interesting to see you are using a fixed fee agent - be interested to know how that works out.

 

Know the area well - used to live in Frieth. Kind of really a 2 bed house in that most people would think the bedroom on the ground floor is a dining room. Best part of 400k for that - boy, it's a lot of money for a small, family house in an okay area. Marlow is nice and the surrounding villages are nice ... Marlow Bottom has a big housing estate and the drone of the M40 as one's ever-present background noise. Prices are still truly nuts.

[borassic]

One agent valued at £450! And he was a senior partner. We took the lowest valuation.

 

I lived in the house for a few years as a lodger. The M40 was never noticeable - except perhaps a strong northwest wind but even then not bad at all, and I'm sensitive to noise. What seemed to get worse over the years was aircraft noise!

 

Yes the feedback is that it's a good location but too small. Reviewing price end of month.

[BoldAsBrass]

One agent valued at £450! And he was a senior partner. We took the lowest valuation.

 

I lived in the house for a few years as a lodger. The M40 was never noticeable - except perhaps a strong northwest wind but even then not bad at all, and I'm sensitive to noise. What seemed to get worse over the years was aircraft noise!

 

Yes the feedback is that it's a good location but too small. Reviewing price end of month.

 

I must be sensitive to the noise. In Frieth - every time you step outside the house when it is quiet - it is there - a constant drone in the background. Drives me nuts I must admit but, to be fair, you can hear road noise in the background almost anywhere in the South East. Marlow Bottom is in a dip - you must miss the worst of it there. Frieth is up in the air - second highest village in the Chilterns.

 

I used to love watching the endless little planes from Booker towing the gliders up. On a summer Sunday you'd see loads of them circling above you and, occasionally, someone would whoosh over the house on their approach. You're right though, I had forgotten the aircraft noise. I can remember standing in the garden a few times pointing a pretend gun at the light aircraft - there are days when it is bloody constant.

 

I like the fact that you got local agents to value and are using a fixed fee agent from Bournemouth to sell - the local agents will be sitting there now like preying mantis(s?) waiting for the fixed fee agent to fail and for you to come, cap in hand, to them. (That's how they will see it.) I lived over there during the 1988 house price bust. Before the bust there were 13 agents in Marlow - a couple of years later there were 6.

[borassic]

I liked living there - I think Marlow itself is over-rated, far too congested and house prices insane - especially for houses that are sited on what were watercress beds (and flooded a few years back). In Marlow Bottom we also got loads of red kites - a welcome flying object. I seldom went into Marlow.

 

I'm in Chesham now. Fantastic place to live.

 

Toying with advertising in ebay and gumtree - anyone ever had success with these?

[BoldAsBrass]

I liked living there - I think Marlow itself is over-rated, far too congested and house prices insane - especially for houses that are sited on what were watercress beds (and flooded a few years back). In Marlow Bottom we also got loads of red kites - a welcome flying object. I seldom went into Marlow.

 

I'm in Chesham now. Fantastic place to live.

 

Toying with advertising in ebay and gumtree - anyone ever had success with these?

 

Just an observation ... I have seen loads of houses advertised over the last few years with one of the commission free agents or the DIY house sale 'pack providers' ... I can't think of one where, a few months later, one of the boards belonging to a local agent did not go up.

 

Good luck with it though - agents' fees are a bloody outrage. Why, in your case, they think SIX THOUSAND POUNDS PLUS VAT - making 7.2k in total (based on 1.5%) - is a fair price for sticking a property on Rightmove and fielding a few phone calls baffles me. I'd happily pay them on the same basis I pay a solicitor. On an hourly rate. £50 an hour for a relatively unskilled, unprofessional job - 10 hours work (absolute max) - £500.

[John Doe]

Immigration up again!

 

Another 250,000 NET incoming.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2149572/The-broken-pledges-immigration-Coalition-promised-cut-net-migration-100-000-Yesterday-hit-252-000.html

 

Now where are they all going to live?

[drbubb]

Immigration up again!

Another 250,000 NET incoming.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2149572/The-broken-pledges-immigration-Coalition-promised-cut-net-migration-100-000-Yesterday-hit-252-000.html

 

Now where are they all going to live?

Wait until all those Greeks and Spaniards arrive:

http://www.greenenergyinvestors.com/index.php?showtopic=16460

 

If they are allowed too

The Greeks are coming ! ...And the Spaniards too maybe

[John Doe]

Wait until all those Greeks and Spaniards arrive:

 

Yeah I heard about that.

 

Still, if they bring the sun with them........

[drbubb]

GELDOFF - What Progress!?

 

Organizing charity rock events to promoting property scams.

(Or is he hiding a bearish message in his keynote speech.)

 

 

The "host" is clearly in need of a shave and a better class of shirt.

Perhaps he lost his previous one

 

"When Greece defaults it will become clear Britain is in trouble."

"The poor, as always, will suffer."

"Inside London, it doesn't feel bad. Outside it is sad beyond belief."

"Who is going to rent those houses you own?" (a very good question!)

 

"In Germany, you can get a mega-place for less than a million Euros."

"That's why they're growing at 3.5%, and we are flat-lining."

"Can they compete with us in manufacturing, because housing costs less."

"Rents (in Germany) are capped by the government. People save their money

to spend on other things."

 

"The people who destroyed the economy, pay themselves proposterous bonuses."

"Essentially, these people are unproductive."

(Isnt that like the non-productive "Property Millionaires" who benefit from ultra-low rates?)

 

I think Geldoff is intelligent enough to see the disharmonies in his message.

 

Some of the

in the audience may think he is bullish.

Truly, they deserve the fire-storm headed in their direction.

[borassic]

It's a rat trap for sure. Oh and Goethe was wrong.

[drbubb]

It's a rat trap for sure. Oh and Goethe was wrong.

He always had a fascination with Boomtowns and Rats, I reckon.

 

Perhaps Estate Agents and Property Millionaires are "right up his street"

 

 

"It's a Rat-trap, and you've been conned."

 

[drbubb]

THE SPANISH PROBLEM can come to the UK,

if the young cannot get jobs and "stay at home", raising (again) average household size

 

Spain's banks may need $130B

 

IT IS ABOUT PROPERTY - the shear over-supply of it !

 

 

The Never Ending Dilemma of Spanish Banks

 

May 26, 2012 - By Tom

 

Spanish Banks Merge As Lost Decade Looms

 

A much better headline than I ever could have made.

 

The point is however that it points in a slightly other direction than was my original intention; but you pick cherries where cherries are, so let me enlarge on that post.

 

- In Spain about half the younger people never leave home! They still live with their parents when they are 30 years – women to a slightly lesser extend; but the picture is the same there.

 

- There is around 1½ dwellings pr. household in Spain. There is thus not terribly more housing than could usefully be employed.

 

- The unemployment in Spain – especially among the young is very large, so there is not a very great ability to set up a household.

 

/more: http://www.valuewalk.com/2012/05/the-never-ending-dilemma-of-spanish-banks/

[drbubb]

Global house price downturn accelerates: Q1 2012

 

by GLOBAL PROPERTY GUIDE / May 25, 2012

 

The world's housing markets moved clearly down during the year to the first quarter of 2012, according to the Global Property Guide's latest house price indices survey. House prices fell in 24 countries, of the 36 countries for which quarterly house price statistics are available, and rose in only 12 countries.

 

Country-by-country

 

/more: http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/investment-analysis/Global-house-price-downturn-accelerates-Q1-2012

[drbubb]

WHO is right... about London property?

 

 

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reports that London, far from defying price falls, is actually leading the way. The ONS, whose data is regarded as more robust than many of the figures put out by the commercial organisations, says prices in London fell by 0.2% in the 12 months to March 2012.

 

"The annual decrease in England was driven by decreases in London, the south-east and the north-east," the ONS says. Meanwhile, Wales and the south-west are seeing price rises over the past year, while Northern Ireland continues to plummet.

 

Contrast that with the Halifax, which says house prices in the capital were 3.4% higher at the end of the first quarter of 2012 compared with a year earlier, and Nationwide, which says prices were ahead 2.5%. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), whose members value houses on behalf of mortgage companies, said earlier this month that "London continues to be the only region recording price rises."

 

So who is right?

/more:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/may/23/london-house-prices-catch-cold?newsfeed=true

 

Nationwide's figure is due today, so we may get more evidence in this debate

[John Doe]

Quick question.

 

If each year there are about a quarter of a million people (NET) more living in the UK, then, assuming they are not all children and pensioners, where the hell are all the jobs coming from to stop the unemployment numbers going through the roof?

[drbubb]

That's a Problem - Don't you recall that thread:

 

Do Greeks need to be kept OUT of the UK?

UK's "generous health and welfare schemes" attract them :

 

http://www.greenenergyinvestors.com/index.php?showtopic=16460

[drbubb]

WHO is right... about London property?

So who is right?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/may/23/london-house-prices-catch-cold?newsfeed=true

 

Nationwide's figure is due today, so we may get more evidence in this debate

I forgot the Hometrack figures:

 

Values increased 0.2 percent from April as the supply of properties grew at the slowest pace since January, the London- based property research company said today. Prices in the U.K. capital jumped 0.6 percent.

. . .

“Increased mortgage rates and mounting concerns over the impact of the euro zone on the U.K.’s economic growth and employment are likely to keep demand and prices in check as we move into summer,” Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said in the report.

 

From a year earlier, prices fell 0.6 percent in May, Hometrack said.

 

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-28/u-dot-k-dot-hometrack-house-prices-jump-as-london-values-surge-economy

 

This part, strikes me as wishful thinking:

 

“After the tightest squeeze on consumer incomes in a generation, the worst is now behind us,” said Andrew Goodwin, senior economic adviser to the ITEM Club. “Most people should start to feel a bit better off by the end of the year.”

[Erewhon888]

http://www.dfpni.gov.uk/lps/lps-nisra-residential-property-price-index-methodology-report-may-2012-126kb.pdf

 

 

 

[John Doe]

I forgot the Hometrack figures:

 

Values increased 0.2 percent from April as the supply of properties grew at the slowest pace since January, the London- based property research company said today. Prices in the U.K. capital jumped 0.6 percent.

. . .

“Increased mortgage rates and mounting concerns over the impact of the euro zone on the U.K.’s economic growth and employment are likely to keep demand and prices in check as we move into summer,” Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said in the report.

 

From a year earlier, prices fell 0.6 percent in May, Hometrack said.

 

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-28/u-dot-k-dot-hometrack-house-prices-jump-as-london-values-surge-economy

 

This part, strikes me as wishful thinking:

 

“After the tightest squeeze on consumer incomes in a generation, the worst is now behind us,” said Andrew Goodwin, senior economic adviser to the ITEM Club. “Most people should start to feel a bit better off by the end of the year.”

 

There are some great graphs from FreeTrader on HPC showing how real incomes have fallen over the last few years (and other stuff).

 

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=152362&view=findpost&p=909016456

 

Back to Dec 2001 in real terms!

[drbubb]

There are some great graphs from FreeTrader on HPC showing how real incomes have fallen over the last few years (and other stuff).

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=152362&view=findpost&p=909016456

Back to Dec 2001 in real terms!

 

That is NOt a pretty chart.

To me, it shows why you need to deflate house prices by Income, rather than RPI.

And FT has done that to amongst his charts.

[John Doe]

So much for all the talk of the end of stamp duty.

 

BoE says mortgage approvals UP again in April.

 

http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?storyid=603e4346-d8c7-48c4-b9bd-accea26d5e2d

 

Mutuals mortgage lending UP again in April (and their market share up big time).

 

As the big old banks cut back, the mutuals are jumping in.

 

Or perhaps it's just a rush for assets, borrowing at long term fixed rates and hoping for an inflationary (wage) spike?

[Van]

Or perhaps it's just a rush for assets, borrowing at long term fixed rates and hoping for an inflationary (wage) spike?

 

They'll be waiting a LONG time.

[John Doe]

They'll be waiting a LONG time.

 

 

Indeed.

 

Unless of course the financial collapse some here imagine actually arrives, then they'll print to the moon and back, and the masses will get their wage rises, they'll pay off their fixed mortgages and then, once they've paid off their £200,000 monthly heating bill etc, they'll probably even have enough left over to buy a loaf of bread a week

[John Doe]

Especially if they go ahead with this! Eurobonds with a twist.

 

Southern Europe’s debtor states must pledge their gold reserves and national treasure as collateral under a €2.3 trillion stabilisation plan gaining momentum in Germany

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9298180/Europes-debtors-must-pawn-their-gold-for-Eurobond-Redemption.html

 

Crisis over! (Aagain )

 

Of course, if it could actually work now, they'll only go and p*ss about for months and months, so it'll probably be too late to do any good anyway