I really just want to know why an average house in the UK is so expensive???
All there is to the house is just small rooms, a small lounge, one toliet and a bath, small kitchen, small garden and no parking space.

Now a 150k house will get you a beautiful house elsewhere

Who is to blame, Is it the Estate agents that over value properties, or sellers who wish thats what thier house is worth?:confused:

None of the above, blame the people who are prepared to pay through the nose, and plunge themsleves into a pit of unmanageable debt just for 4 walls and a roof.

Its called supply and demand! A population of 66 million and a lack of affordable rented social housing; and lack of desire by successive governments to address the situation..

I second Glennis. There is simply a shortage of housing in the UK, so anything where there is a shortage will be expensive. Immigration is one cause, but also the fact that more people live alone than ever before - so there is a huge demand for smaller properties.

I heard on the news last week that if the current plans for home building are not changed then by 2020 the average house price will be 13 times the average salary. I'm not sure how people will buy if it does get to that level??

it cannot be classic supplky and demand, if it was, rents would have gone up in proportion to house prices which they clearly have not.

You can however blame speculative demand, very lose lending and the fact that nulabour has convinced most of the population to forget that you cant borrow for ever.

it cannot be classic supplky and demand, if it was, rents would have gone up in proportion to house prices which they clearly have not.

You can however blame speculative demand, very lose lending and the fact that nulabour has convinced most of the population to forget that you cant borrow for ever.

No I think thats exactly why rents haven't gone up much because of everyone jumping into BTL, creating oversupply in this sector. There is still a shortage of homes being built tho.

Would everyone be happy if they built all these (alleged) extra homes that we need, and everyones houses dropped 40% in value as a result of the excess demand being removed from the system?

I thought not.....

The main factors are:
1) Lenders altering criteria over the years. 30 yrs ago you could borrow 2.5 x your salary, now we hear of 5x or more.
2) Councils being tied down with red tape, meaning planning consents for large developments take many years to come to fruition.
3) Councils not being allowed to use funds from house sales to fund new building.
4) Developers deliberately 'slow releasing' to maintain prices.
Also the over valuing of the new ' City Living' developments, a concept that is already coming unstuck, how the developers must be sweating with so many committed to.

Shame salaries haven't increased along with house prices - I'll never be able to afford one - not even with 5 or 6 x my salary!

I blame all this on the fact that the major bank directors and the wealthy landowners are basically the same people, they are mostly titled well connected people. They restrict the release of land for house building with the same lies that they have done since they stole the countryside from the common people. And now they sentence the latest cohort of first time buyers to unsustainable debts.

The only solution is Land reform. No amount of government promises to build council houses will make any difference. We have been promised land reform since the 1930s but, no government will stand up to them.

Why are house prices so unrealistic?

In a nutshell because people are able and prepared to pay those prices.

Would everyone be happy if they built all these (alleged) extra homes that we need, and everyones houses dropped 40% in value as a result of the excess demand being removed from the system?

I thought not.....

Yes, quite happy. Why wouldn't you, the value of your house doesn't mean anything. And 40% less means a 40% smaller gap to the next rung on the ladder.

Yes, quite happy. Why wouldn't you, the value of your house doesn't mean anything. And 40% less means a 40% smaller gap to the next rung on the ladder.

It would mean a great deal if you were in £250,000 house with 40% neg eq.

Yes, quite happy. Why wouldn't you, the value of your house doesn't mean anything. And 40% less means a 40% smaller gap to the next rung on the ladder.

I was just pointing out the fact that the government never mentions what the effect of a big boom in house building would have on house prices.

I was just pointing out the fact that the government never mentions what the effect of a big boom in house building would have on house prices.

The government often does, and the answer is no difference to house prices.

We would need all the builders in the whole of europe to be working full time for 10 years with very lax planning rules to make a difference. The defecit in property is so massive and we have other parts of the country were nobody wants to live.

It would mean a great deal if you were in £250,000 house with 40% neg eq.

Only if you had some reason you wanted to sell it.

No I think thats exactly why rents haven't gone up much because of everyone jumping into BTL, creating oversupply in this sector. There is still a shortage of homes being built tho.

Nope.
people need places to live regardless of them owning or renting. A shortage of supply of homes would, using simple supply and demand, result in an increase of both purchase and rents.

Its all about speculative demand and lax lending. If you can fog a mirror, then you can (could?) borrow more or less as much as you wanted - tihs is why houses are unrealistically expensive

Only if you had some reason you wanted to sell it.

or it was a buy to let property which, as part of the mortgage agreement, you had to maintain a LTV of 80% - ouch

Would everyone be happy if they built all these (alleged) extra homes that we need, and everyones houses dropped 40% in value as a result of the excess demand being removed from the system?

I thought not.....

I'd be happy as at least my job would be secure. I work with a lot of the big developers as a consulting engineer, so more building means more demand for my work. Bring it on!

im not argueing..i bought mine for 48k

im not argueing..i bought mine for 48k

yep we were lucky we managed to buy ours in 2000 so ours only cost 22k :D

prices now do seem pretty high though :(