rent slave

I appreciate this might have been discussed before (I'm relatively new to the site) but would it be helpful to give the current downward trend a bit of a shove by making negative noises on behalf of FTBs? It seems to be that HPC.co.uk is well placed to put out a few frightening stories into the media to get people to focus on the almost complete exclusion of potential FTBs from the housing market. For example, if it were to call for a buying strike from FTBs for a contained period (let's say from january - March 2006) I'm sure some of the hysterical media outlets would cover it and it might help change attitudes at this crucial point. Maybe I'm being naive, but it seems that FTBs are the only group in this market who have no institutional or collective power. Maybe that's why they always get shafted. Any other ideas to bring the FTB voice to the ears of the other parties?

While it is true that some members of the Monetary Policy Committee do seem determined to cut rates to stimulate general economic activity, there is no getting away from increasing inflation. The target for the MPC to aim for is 2%- inflation is currently at 2.3% with signs that it will continue to creep up. Whatever the short term response it seems likely that interest rates will have to increase in the medium term to bring inflation under tighter control. As for economists, have you never heard the saying, "If you laid all the world's economists end to end, you still wouldn't reach a conclusion". I think common sense is called for - if housing is priced beyond the means of those who are expected to buy it, then clearly a correction will have to take place at some point. The only point of debate really is when and by how much. That I accept is anyone's guess!

Maybe working your hole off for years to achieve success puts you off buying a terraced house in a distant suburb. In London, a one bedroom flat would cost 250k, a family home 500k+. I think they're now considering moving abroad. Can't say I blame them

I can just about get my head around all the figures/stats/trends of the current housing market, but despite asking everyone I know I cannot find anyone who has bought for the first time recently. A guy I work with and his wife have a household income of nearly £200k, but gave up house-hunting because they couldn't find anything they could afford that they would want to live in. If the very wealthy are intimidated by current prices, who is buying? Does anybody know of any recent First Time Buyers? How many rich, insane people can there be?