All the jabbering about Brexit is clouding one fact about the UK housing market. ItÂ’s currently slowing down. I suspect itÂ’s less to do with Brexit or buy-to-let, and more to do with the fact that house prices in the UK are wildly expensive. House prices are too damn high compared to wages.

RENTS in London fell in April taking landlord returns to almost the lowest level in the country, in yet another sign the market could be heading for a shock crash.

Despite the propaganda, Britain's economic growth peaked prior to joining the Common Market and has fallen ever since. Is it a co-oincident that our major heavy industries collapsed after that date, leading to the winter of discontent, 3 day weeks? Our heavy industry, fishing, mining, etc. continues to be gutted, and our service industry takes in in-spite of rather due to the EU, who would strip mine it to resolve problems in Greece, France, Eastern Europe, etc. before they would give us a hand. Next to go is the NHS and our welfare system. That is the horrible truth.

this cheap borrowing had been the biggest driver for demand for homes. “Since 2013, the demand for housing has been turbocharged by chancellor [George] Osborne’s help-to-buy policy and the search for yield – which has resulted in the accumulation of housing wealth as an investment alternative for low-yielding financial assets,” it said. “As a consequence, house prices are now close to an all-time high of more than six times disposable income.” The firm said couples buying together were increasingly taking on large loans relative to their income. Before the crisis fewer than 30% of joint mortgages were taken at more than 2.75 times income , but now that proportion has risen to more than a third.

Starting on Friday, Purdah will prevented civil servants from helping the Government's referendum campaign. The incessant slew of panicked briefing papers telling us the sky would fall and why toddler Britain couldn't survive on its two feet should come to an end. In light of all that propaganda barely lifting BREMAIN above 50%, we could see BREXIT soar and take over during the next month, as Cameron looses his paid thugs in Whitehall. Final question is whether postal vote fraud will see ballot boxes stuffed like in Austria.

More young couples are choosing to live with their parents these days because they can't afford to buy or rent. But apparently there are some positives - such as being able to eat and go on holiday, as well having a bit of company around the house.

"This is the incredible staircase of a £3m '"forgotten" Georgian mansion which has gone on the market in the heart of London's East End. Built between July 1741 and October 1742, the spooky four-storey Malplaquet House has not been lived in since 1895 but has been restored by its current owners." On top of it, squatting has been criminalised now. This could have provided housing for lots of people for 120 years and the owner would still have made out like a bandit even if they burnt it to the ground.

Property prices in Britain may be surging due to a horrendous imbalance of supply and demand — but the market is poised to implode. Why? Because Britons are not earning enough money to either get on the housing ladder or are spending such a large portion of their wages on mortgages that may not be sustainable.

Posted by debtserf @ 09:03 PM 8 Comments

Ok I can believe that World War 3 will break out if we leave the EU but this latest prediction really takes the biscuit

Posted by cyril @ 08:37 AM 9 Comments

Its not BREXIT, its a global deflationary slump, stupid. Of course, BREXIT would help encourage wage inflation and help lift the UK economy from its present malaise, but the globalists in charge will not tell you that, because it does not support their corporatist objectives..

Peter learns from a real estate "expert" how to pay more for less !

But David Cox, the head of Arla, said tenants should not get too excited about rent falls, as buy-to-let landlords may quit the market en masse following a vote in favour of Brexit. "The fact that rent costs would face downward pressure is both a blessing and a curse. While renters should face fair and reasonable prices, landlords need to be able to at least break even on any outgoings they have, such as a mortgage. If demand eases to such an extent that landlords cannot recuperate costs, we'll likely see a mass exit from the market, which would then just have the opposite effect on demand as supply falls – and we'd be back to square one." -- How could we possibly get by without all those landlords to help?

Posted by quiet guy @ 12:47 AM 9 Comments

The average value of a home in England is expected to reach £457,433 Typical prices to rise to £307,712 in Wales and £297,222 in Scotland The highest average expected to be in London, reaching £1m

Posted by hpwatcher @ 07:51 AM 13 Comments

More and more Londoners are moving to the countryside, with 66,000 households leaving the city last year - the highest number since 2007. 1/3 of people actually want to stay in London.......

Investors might be looking to increase their buy-to-let yields by searching for property outside London, but new research suggests the hunt should go well beyond British borders.

House prices could crash by 25pc and the pound drop by a third if the UK leaves the EU, according to Fitch, which warned that social tensions risked boiling over even if Britain stays in the bloc. and then right at the end "Economists at ING also calculated that a Brexit would deal an economic blow to the eurozone."

Buy-to-let landlords should to be made to "squeal" under George Osborne's crackdown to help people to buy homes, a Treasury minister has suggested. The Residential Landlords Association said it was "shocked" by the response of the minister, during a private meeting earlier this month as it tried to raise concerns about a crackdown.

Best mortgage rates around at the moment..... huge uncertainty with the referendum..... most people stretched financially........

Posted by tom101 @ 10:41 AM 12 Comments

So many prominent... respected... individuals warning us of impending house price crash.... yes crash.... if we vote OUT. It makes me think would i really risk my job and vote OUT? Or endure more of this stagnation?

Posted by tom101 @ 10:33 AM 7 Comments

So the last time we had a buyers strike like this was in 2008, Mmmm....

More pressure on renters to vote Brexit

"Foreigners suspected of using London's property market to launder ill-gotten gains will be forced to declare where they got their money from, Under new government proposals to fight global corruption. The measures, known as "unexplained wealth orders", will form part of the agenda on Thursday as David Cameron hosts an international anti-corruption summit in London." If this gains any traction at all it will destroy the London 'safe deposit housing market' The artice suggest that between 7.3% and 9.3% of the money is dirty. However, there are different shades of grey and it will send a massive warning signal tthat if you buy in London you could be exposed.

Posted by britishblue @ 07:39 AM 7 Comments

"Renting is cheaper than buying for first-time buyers in only six towns in the UK, according to a cost of living study." "The number of people renting is also going up. The English Housing Survey estimated between 2013 and 2014 there were nine million tenants."

"Sliding consumer confidence is casting a shadow over house prices, Halifax warned today. The lenderÂ’s latest house price index showed a much sharper-than-expected 0.8% fall in average UK prices in April"

The housing bubble has burst, analysts have said, after sellers started slashing money off their asking prices and accepting offers up to 10 per cent less than the property was listed. The average discount on the original price of a property across Britain is now more than £25,000, up £4,000 compared to the discount in January, according to Zoopla, an online property portal.

House prices fell in April as buy-to-let purchasers disappeared amid rises in stamp duty on second homes, according to figures from the UKÂ’s largest lender.

Nearly a third of houses have had their asking prices reduced since being put up for sale, in a sign that the feverish property market is finally starting to cool down. (Those cheeky residents of Barnet trying it on!)

"Investing in buy-to-let property is on the verge of becoming unaffordable for middle-class savers" Saving is spending less than you earn, BTL is an investment, not saving. In addition, it's a pretty socially useless investment where it's speculation on house price rises in large parts of the country where yields are too low to make a decent income. Result is very poor quality as even the nicest landlords often can't afford to do proper maintenance. No new wealth being created here, if there was, housing would have improved vastly over the years like technology has. "limit it to an elite club of wealthy investors only." Who would ever want a landlord who isn't wealthy? Would anyone want to enter into a long term contract with a counterparty in a precarious position?

You heard it first here whilst everybody took the preverbal, but now it looks increasingly possible. Discussions will focus on this because in the case of BREXIT, despite Osbourne's lies, rates will be CUT. In the case of staying in the EU, there may be bad news being hidden until that date to keep the proles quiet.

Posted by libertas @ 09:33 PM 8 Comments

If you are under 55 and would like to improve your chances of ever affording a home then you should seriously consider voting Brexit This opportunity to vote for a Brexit really does take the issue, for a moment in time anyway, away from the politicians. It is a real shame that our politicians continue to value corporations above its own people. If the establishment is for a particular policy its usually because it will benefit influential businesses Its almost worth bringing down this whole shambolic system just to be able to say "Now we are in it together"

Posted by tom101 @ 01:07 PM 10 Comments

Excellent piece in the Spectator on why the Tories are loosing London and the shift in political topology that will usher in new politicians to curb the excesses of the Land Speculators and thier political backers. Lets hope he backs an LVT for London

Posted by pete green @ 11:45 AM 6 Comments

Rents increased across most of the UK as a stamp duty hike for buy-to-let landlords came into force, an index has found

LENDING giant Halifax has upped the top age limit on its mortgages to 80-YEARS-OLD, as Britons continue to live and work longer. Under the change, borrowers will be able to take out home loans where the term lasts up until their 80th birthday - up from the previous limit of 75.

Cashless people earning £50,000 can get three-year fixed deal at 2.99% | 100% mortgages vanished in 2008 after financial crisis took hold | Barclays deal requires family to put 10% in account for three years

Posted by hpwatcher @ 11:19 AM 7 Comments

HOUSE prices in BritainÂ’s wealthiest areas sank at an even faster rate in April than the month before, with estate agents saying the plunge is reminiscent of the 2009 market crash.

Parents will lend over £5 billion this year, providing deposits for over 300,000 mortgages and purchasing homes worth £77 billion The research shows that three-quarters of family-funded house purchases are funding by parents, with family friends and grandparents also making up the difference. Get your begging bowls out.

15pc of all mortgages now go to BTL landlords, compared to 8.5pc in 2007, before the last crash. BTL loans account for almost all the current growth in the mortgage market, with lenders planning to expand their BTL lending by 20pc per annum over the next two years. Lending standards are slipping. British banks have over £215bn of BTL loans on their books, compared to £146bn in 2009.

This is the 10% which the Tgraph was referring to. Is not a 10% fall but actually the report refers to what percentage of properties have had their asking prices REDUCED by 10%+. "Analysis of quarterly sales in prime central London shows almost half (49%) of properties sold in Q1 2016 had their asking price reduced before a sale was agreed. This is higher than the 40% of properties sold in Q1 2015 and 27% two years ago in Q1 2014. The lettings market has also seen an increase in price reductions, from 32% a year ago to 45% in Q1 2016." But aren't ALL rents increasing?? "and a fall in the number of overseas buyers are all impacting the prime central London market." Eh? A But the number of overseas b uyers are increasing .... surely? Q: Where the smart money goes does the rest follow?

Posted by techieman @ 10:20 AM 10 Comments

99% of what you read in the papers about the housing market, .... is put out by people with something to sell. Estate agents, [lenders] – all know about the market because they are selling houses,.... mortgages or financial services but they must be optimistic or they lose business. No one will instruct a depressed estate agent...so these commentators MUST have a glass that is half full. As you can see from the graphs below, what we can see is that half of all homes sold in the first quarter of 2016 sold in London went for more than 10% below the guide price. Not just in some parts but across central London and across price bands! 60% of the property that did sell in Knightsbridge and Belgravia had it’s guide price reduced prior to selling. The market is on the turn. Aha - the 10%!!