pizza

This is going to be a massive fraud. Spoken to a couple of people recently who are on furlough, but still happy to pick up the phone to me and talk business. We the taxpayer are paying their wages, and although they are technically on furlough, in reality they are still working.

Yeah, it's nonsense isn't it? I think this was not at all unexpected, given 1) stock piling for a March brexit, 2) the global slowdown/trade war 3) a new government whose central assumption as that we will have a no-deal Brexit in October.

Those two tables at the end are quite comprehensively down. Every price bracket: down. Prime central London and prime outer London: both down. Houses and flats: both down.

Chasing the market down.

He meant this to be a reason to vote remain, not realising that for a great many it is a reason to vote leave.

That man is bonkers, a fruit-loop. This is his priority?

Oh yes, I can see it now. US big pharma submits a junk new medicine for approval to the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency. MHRA rejects it for being unsafe. US big pharma then takes UK to a secret trade tribunal for $10bn of 'lost profits'. Think it can't happen? It has already happened to Canada.

If he delivers a no deal Brexit he won't be.

I hate this expression. It just means the seller's fantasy asking price is too high. Much too high. Can they sell their house for £500 million? No, of course not. Can they sell it for £500? Yes, of course. Somewhere in the middle is the right price, and it is lower than what the seller thinks it is.

I see the same in my area of London - asking prices generally below 2015/2016 sold prices. Some refurbished properties with designer loft conversions, side return extensions, basement dug-outs etc etc on the market for higher prices, but when you think how much the all that work would cost I still think things are below peak, similar to the maths with Confusion of VIs Harringey example. But why do we need anecdotals? Official stats show 8 consecutive quarters of YoY falls in London.

The powers-that-be keep saying that a hard Brexit will trash the economy. I don’t think they realize that quite a lot of people want a hard Brexit for exactly that reason, because it is their only chance to be able to afford a house. “But you won’t be able to buy a house if you don’t have.a job,” they say. Well, true, but most people can’t afford to buy a house scen with a job. And I think people are willing to take a chance that it won’t be them who loses their job. It’s the last role of the dice.

Headline in today’s Evening Standard, on all their billboards: Biggest house price fall for a decade

What? London house prices slide for eight quarter in a row (The Guardian, today)

?

Enjoyed? This is the established narrative. But the only people who 'enjoy' rising prices are the already wealthy with a substantial investment in property. Everyone else loses out.

Registered directly with the agents. I mentioned before that prices reduction/alteration emails seem to be coming quite frequently recently. Thought I'd check my inbox history for the number of price reduction emails received per month. Here are the results: January: 0 February: 1 March: 1 April: 0 May: 3 June: 11

Latest ONS figures are out today, and the answer to the question posed by this thread is "no".

That's funny. Landlord owned buildings are (almost without exception) the most run-down and neglected properties on any street.

Yep, another way to rip you off. Can just imagine an interview with a lucky lottery winner from White City: "I am delighted to have won the jackpot of £2m! I have some savings, so after stamp duty and legal fees, I'll be able to buy a 2 bed leasehold flat by taking out a mortgage of only half-a-million. My children will have to share the bedroom, but the noise from West Way and the overground railway are not too bad. We will struggle with the ground rent and service charges, which are about £5,000 a year, but at least we can stay in London."

If there is no rollover, the lottery prize fund is set at £2 million. Here is a 2 bedroom leasehold flat in White City, west London, on the market for £2.5 million: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-69792775.html Can we let that sink in? Winning the lottery is not enough to buy a 2 bedroom leasehold flat in area of London that is far from being central and far from being prime. Not only that it is a flat formerly owned by a public body (the BBC). Where is the outrage in this? Where is the political action? And by political action, I mean measures to REDUCE PRICES not keep the bubble inflated.

If it was purchased with a mortgage, the entire initial investment (and then some) could be wiped out. Leveraged returns are great, aren't they?

That is 5% decline per year over the last 4 years. A total loss of 18%. And of course it hasn't sold yet, so when a bid eventually comes in, the loss will be even higher. As Freki says, adding in stamp duty, agent's fees, survey fees, legal fees etc, the total loss is going to be quite dramatic, a quarter of a million maybe.

The price range I gave when I signed up for email alerts is often ignored, so I get all sorts. I'm north of the river. Received another "price alteration" notification on Monday, two yesterday and one received already today. For the avoidance of doubt, the alterations are downwards in price.

But what credibility is there for any index that reports an average house price of £230,400 in December, £223,700 in January, then £236,700 in February?

https://static.halifax.co.uk/assets/pdf/mortgages/pdf/May-2019-House-Price-Index.pdf