desertorchid

Yes, bizarrely the "road" of belt and road is a sea chain link of ports to secure shipping lanes and supply routes east to west. If you do a bit of research on Belt and Road you soon realize what all the fuss is about Iran and Afghanistan as they are clearly on the front line in the sphere of geo political influence.

15M is impossible simply via employed work and investments. You either inherit it (a very small number of people individually inherit of that size), or nick it.The only way is a very succesfull business where you have maintained ownership and control through its rapid growth. Even then your wealth will likely be tied up in financial business capital/assets rather than cash in your bank account.

But surely this attitude just leads to the conclusion that if your priced out of the housing market then stuff you, tough luck. After all, this is "the whole point of capitalism"

This is the crux of the matter. Anybody seeking financial independence ( an honourable aim in my book) is forced to take more and more risks due to BOE policy (BTL being one of the least risky options). It is disgusting that showing prudence results in crooked financiers milking the system behind the cloak of of FCA diligence.

Christ , those photos! Red flags to me if there is so much effort going into making everything look twee and pristine.

In most cases stamp duty is introduced/ raised to limit flipping of property. Give it a year or so and this will be in the news as prices rise and the government will be forced to re-introduce it.

Cheerleaders of the stamp duty cut have conveniently forgotten how 'flipping' houses is a scourge of the housing market when prices are upwards causing rapidly rising prices, in fact one of the main reasons stamp duty is needed and at significant levels in some cases as a deterrent. This is why the holiday must end in mMarch, but as many do I have my doubts.

Except in Hong Kong, the reason is more to do with the complete impracticality of closing the cafe's for lunch. Hundreds of thousands rely on these daily to get out of the 35 degree C heat and grab a bite to eat, the culture of a packed lunch is not so common. In the one day they were closed the roadsides and parks were jammed with people getting heat stroke.

Does this apply to overseas buyers e.g 3 million HK residents who were previously faced with an additional stamp duty next April?

.....and yet tens of thousands has travelled thousands of miles in Covid containers with hundreds of others from all corners of the world. The policies of the UK government at this time have been the most obviously awful I have ever witnessed.

Its not just real terms though is it...... If you look at a property that is the same price as 2007. 1) In real terms it is actually 10-20% cheaper. 2) In Exchange rate terms (USD being international base currency) it is 30-40% cheaper. The crash has already happened, UK property prices have halved. This website is effectively defunct. However, the population has already been made poorer and the housing market saved (in terms of nominal values and perception). The government really are a bunch of ****.

"Agree about not being clear about where the cash is coming from to maintain the house prices. But properties are still being listed daily even now at the same pre crisis prices." These will be listings of transactions that have fallen through. I pulled out of a purchase last week. The agent has just re-listed the property at 15k above sale agreed price from January. Go figure.

Property in London in 2003-4 felt unbelievably unaffordable at the time. Yes maybe more so now, but still stuck with the same decisions and problems re- shelter. No better judgement, mostly luck, but if you are unhappy with your situation you may as well chance your luck.

Well you are still very young and one thing that is certain in life is constant change, especially if you live with a level of dissatisfaction you display. It sounds like you just need a different perspective. Evaluate your skillset, think about what motivates you and take steps to move in that direction . This may involve starting a business, moving abroad or career change, but at 33, do something (and OK if that must be a mortgage and a purchase in the next 6 months, just do it, and bargain hard- the governments intention is to get prices higher again). You are still young enough to take risks and come out the other side if things don't work out. It may not feel that way now, but you are. FWIW when I was 33 I was living in a shared house on Hendon, London and felt very similar to you. I am now 50 and made some big decisions that worked out well. 33 seems a very very long time ago. Best of luck.

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?