Mortgage defaults rising...

[jansman]

It will be tough, but eventually when people have paid their mortgage off, they have free accomodation and a valuable asset. The problem is not enough social housing has been built in recent decades, and a lot of it was sold off. So there's a waiting list of something like a million households. Many will never get one. And house prices are are astronomical. I just got a rough figure for mine off Zoopla. It's gone up 500% in 23 years. My previous one, which I bought in the mid 80s, has gone up about 12 x.

The idea of owning a property outright and it being free accommodation is somewhat controversial. You yourself are having roofing done. It costs. As does all work on an owned house, even if just the material minus the labour cost. In the future, when I am more ill or worse, then my wife will be paying.
As for selling, well only if someone wants to buy it! My neighbour is up for sale. 6 months and nobody.

[diamond lil]

I think too JM, the whole *my house has gone up tenfold and is now worth £xxx * sounds good - but remember you have to fork out £xxxx to buy a new one to move into!

[Frnc]

I think too JM, the whole *my house has gone up tenfold and is now worth £xxx * sounds good - but remember you have to fork out £xxxx to buy a new one to move into!

Exactly. There's no real benefit to ordinary home buyer if house prices spiral, even if you got in at the right time. My house is still the same house. How much it's worth is meaningless to me really.

[jansman]

I think too JM, the whole *my house has gone up tenfold and is now worth £xxx * sounds good - but remember you have to fork out £xxxx to buy a new one to move into!

The price of houses I find annoying. Frankly they aren’t worth what is asked,it’s bonkers!

[pseudonym]

I'm trying to downsize to free up a house for a family, can I find a bungalow to Age-proof for myself?

Not a chance.

[grenfell]

In the early/mid 80's I looked at a property and put in an offer. It needed a little bit of work but nonetheless I offered £17100 and it went for £17250 which I thought was expensive. A few years later I brought a house just round the corner and paid £45000 for it. In those few years my wages hadn't tripled. A little over a decade later I sold it for £120,000 and again my wages hadn't tripled. I then moved into our present , and hopefully last , home and paid £180,000 and 20 years later that is evidently worth twice that and again I don't think my income has doubled in that time.
There seems to be some contrary confusion going on in this thread. Houses do cost more than their value , people are on higher wages but need two incomes to afford a mortgage which is probably why they moan about childcare costs. That point could be helped by the older generation more , grandparents providing the childcare. Growing up in the 70's there was always an "auntie" that would look after kids should their parents need to be elsewhere. That could help.
One argument I'm never completely happy with is the "losing houses when council houses are sold" . The houses themselves don't simply vanish , they are still there and occupied. Take my parent's home. It was rented from the council and they brought it. Yes on the one hand that's one less house the council had to rent out but on the other it was one less family looking to rent a property. Plus maintenance costs then fell on to my parents. After their deaths we rented the place out and it's now been sold to a young couple. Save for a few months shortly after my parents died and I was working on it the house has been continually occupied.
Interest rates? Pretty much the only tool the bank has to combat inflation really...

[Vitamin c]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66237492.amp

Well intrest rates have dropped slightly..dropped enough to stop anymore bank of England intrest rates rising... ???

[jansman]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66237492.amp

Well intrest rates have dropped slightly..dropped enough to stop anymore bank of England intrest rates rising... ???

Let’s hope so. Nobody wants to pay more than they have to.