FollowTheBear

...there is a blip where prices fell slightly but went up slightly. This has not happened before. Please debunk the significance of this before I get worried that it is different this time!

Quite right. An awful lot of student BTL properties would be condemned as unfit for human habitation if they weren't occupied by students who didn't really care for the short time they're at uni.

As a slight side issue, there was an article in the economist recently which discussed how best to measure a countries economy citing Ireland as an example. Gross Domestic Product in Ireland is very high, among the highest in the world, but GDP doesn't take into account money flowing in and out of a country. Therefore Gross National Product is sometimes better and because most of the profit in the Irish economy goes abroad the GNP is no higher the the european average. So all this talk of the rich Irish being able to afford high house prices is, well, ****

In others, have more children everyone. How are the Japanese dealing with this issue? Immigration? No, the attitude of most Japanese people is something the BNP would be proud of. Raising birth rates? Well, there were some mutterings to this effect recently but it wasn't taken that seriously. The answer is more technology, robots to look after the elderly and generally boosting the productivity of the existing workforce. How does Mr Pearce know what technology will exist in 2070? I reckon nuclear fusion will provide unlimited cheap energy, something akin to the startrek replicator will provide most basic needs and most jobs currently performed by humans will be done by artificial intelligence. It may be perfectly feasable for half the population to work in healthcare. I think we worry about it too much. Humanity has frequently shown where there's a will there's a way.

You know, my only concern recently about the liklihood of a crash was that many people were attempting to sell and after not doing so were withdrawing their property from the market. This lack of supply appeared to be why many properties were still selling close to asking price and keeping the statistics looking good. Your point about your landlord not selling but renting at a loss is a case in point. So far the grin-and-bear-it attitude is still prevelant, but it won't be for much longer I'm sure.

This is true - if you are prepared to travel to another country to work you are likely to want to work hard for a short time, be prepared to live in squalor before moving back to your homeland. Also, the British work longer hours than most countries.

The benefits trap doesn't help. The same problem of cant'get-a-job-without-experience-can't-get-experience-without-a-job exists everywhere so all we do is deprive other countries of skilled labour.

Oh give over, ImUpNorth. What your saying may be true if interest rates fall, unemployment falls, government spending keeps booming, banks keep lending, consumers keep spending, IT jobs are insourced back to Britain and pigs evolve wings and start flying.

I don't understand this. In a country with millions unemployed I'm sure we can find almost all the talent we need within our shores. Perhaps if employers didn't demand three years experience for a cleaning job then they could get who they wanted.

Well that's a matter of opinion. If some people are working into their late 60s whilst others are on the dole there is enough work around.

Trouble is, half the population over 50 is unemployed. So we have a situation where half the population works till they die to support the other half who is on the scrapheap. Perhaps if we could raise older-worker employment levels then everyone could retire at 60.

"Let's hope we can keep it roughly there" In yer dreams mate, what with FTBers at 7% of the total. Is Merv suggesting interest rates of 0%?

To keep the economy going and house prices at todays levels the country really needs rates of around 2%. They are too high to sustain prices at this level.

I'd be interested to hear from our female contributors on this. Do rising house prices and lower unemployment make women feel sexier?

Before the Iraq war I read that stock markets tend to go up during a conflict due to the increased economic activity. I made a few hundred pounds by buying shares just before the invasion and selling two weeks into it. What's likely to happen with any conlifct with Iran?

This might be why productivity is much higher in Germany, and France too. If a British company has a spurt of new work the immediate reaction is likely to be "get a few temps in to help out", but in Germany they would probably first think how they could better use their existing resources more efficiently.

The only real housing shortage is for single people and couples on low incomes. Whilst no one is actualy homeless I regard having to share a bathroom and sometimes a kitchen with complete strangers in a shared house or bedsit is something no one should have to do in a country like ours. I think it is a basic right of everyone to have their own bathroom facilities, and there must be millions out there who do not. Funny how there are plenty of rooms in shared houses to rent but I've never seen anyone BUYING a room in a shared house. This also explains why the direct relationship between numbers buying and numbers renting espoused by TTRTR and others is untrue.

The company I worked for put an advert out for a part-time cleaner, around 10 hours a week, minimum wage. How many people applied? 0. Why? Because any money they earn will get taken off their benefit. So they will literally end up working for nothing. Perhaps if low-paid work actually meant people would be better off then we wouldn't need to fly in workers from 1000 miles away for a three-day stint in a factory People on the dole half a mile way up the road would be willing, and able, to do it. A total farce.

Half the companies I have worked in have not given a pay rise for years. Perhaps unionisation for some would at least keep their pay in line with inflation (or perhaps just a law requiring companies to do so).

If volumes are rising then who the hell is buying if FTBers are at an all time low? Probably explains why flats are down but big houses are still selling. Best set of figures ever.

My question is - with FTBers at 7%, WHO THE HELL IS BUYING? Surely not investors either? This can not go on for much longer. There is yet to be a boom in forced sales but it will come soon enough. IMO things haven't looked so bad for the economy and so good for a HPC for a long time. I've got quite a buzz today from reading the threads on US interest rates.

The trouble with Vince Cable's argument is that most people have got themselves into debt believing that rising houseprices somehow meant they were richer.

Actually, you are talking a load of old tosh! Blimey, your manipulation of statistics is something a VI would be proud of. This figure doesn't take into account the cost of living in Ireland and the fact that income is very widely distributed. I get my information from people who live in Ireland not from some sweeping statistic.

Yeah, income tax at 45%. Irelands 'miracle' economy has done little for ordinary people there. It's been great for foreign companies to avoid taxes and then shift their money back home.

Well said Elizabeth, it's just sour grapes from these billiob-dollar companies. Britain has some of the lowest oil taxes in the world. I believe Norway levies over 80% on oil company profits, and the public there have 100 billion stashed away to pay their pensions. In some parts of the middle east oil taxes are up to 90%. If Shell doesn't want to drill in the North Sea then I'm sure some smaller company will instead.