BrownField

Just a bit strange that neds seem to have taken to this, for the first time, twice, in the last six weeks since all the builders started reporting problems. Coincidence?

http://theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.v..._city_flats.php This article was reported in the Daily Record too (no link) and they mentioned that investigators had highlighted how circumstances were very similar to previous set that burned down six weeks ago! What do you reckon is going on....

Aye the Property Pushers have been spouting this pants all day on the media. However funnily enough not been making such a big noise about the other bits of the report: "However, new buyer enquiries fell in Scotland last month, with 34% more chartered surveyors reporting a fall than a rise in enquiries." And when you look at the actual report you could reword this bit of journalistic trash as: "74% of surveyors report falling or static house prices in Scotland, up from 41% in July 07".... http://www.rics.org/NR/rdonlyres/32D728DD-.../0/hms_0308.pdf Sickens me how the media falls for this spin time and time again.

Everytime FP is finishes one of these things it's like a cold wind is blowing through the studio....

What: "Evil Tory HPCers plot downfall of housing market, seen consorting with known paediatrician's"

yes all we need is an airing time and channel now

I agree with the above... it's short-termism derived directly from a bonus structure that encourages it. When the loans go bad the bonuses aren't recalled.

I would strongly recommend complaining not only to the ASA but also to Barratt themselves... It doesn't take many complainers to get an advert investigated, we got another non-housing related ad pulled once just by complaining enough to the company doing it, before the ASA even bothered to get involved. I'll fire off a complaint myself, I reckon 20 or so would be enough to force the ASA's hand into investigating that claim. Has anyone got a copy of it recorded, so I can see it myself...before I let fly?

Yes they did a sum but unfortunately it was a political one rather than a mathematical one. It goes something like this: We need lots of housing.... The people who bother to vote riot every time we try to build new family homes in the fields near their family homes that were built on fields... So instead we'll build BTL rabbit hutches on the sites of ex-businesses that closed down because their land was worth more than the business due to the artificially high price of land caused by the above. Oh and we might as well build them on the remaining few green spaces in the cities too while we're at it, no-one complains about that so much.

Nicely put, there is a lot of elasticity in the system. Can I refer people to the report from Shelter that highlighted the cramped accomodation way too many families now find themselves bringing their children up in. The most acute part of the problem is the demographic bulge of the older generations, living longer holding onto family homes, whilst younger new families are increasingly forced into flats and/or rented accomodation. It's ridiculous to argue that home building is meeting "demand"... the demand is clearly there, whether it is right or wrong, sustainable or not. To say it'll stop a crash is the myth you should spend your time on. Japan, Japan, Japan, Japan.

How about instead of trying to deny the bleeding obvious (i.e. that home building isn't meeting demand - whether that demand is artificially high or not), you focus on the more important point.... failing to meet demand makes the boom and the subsequent crash worse.... Why_the_housing_shortage_wont_stop_the_crash Japan showed us this in action...

Two points here, back on the Radio 4 program last year the Land Registry stated they weren't required by law to take incentives off the price logged even if they knew about it. Secondly the CML/lenders are "working" with the industry for more "transparency"... bet you that doesn't feed back into LR figures only into the lenders LTV figures... you watch and see, if no one puts any pressure on them this'll carry on.

Wouldn't it be interesting to use FOI to find out if the Land Registry were aware of these practices and if they realised it was distorting their figures. Any takers? BTW Is there a UK equivalent of a class action suit...

Actually this is a cracking idea, was already thinking of popping in and giving my MP a battering over this issue.

I suggest you take a look at the stories coming out about ETrade's money market funds woes. Basically as far as you know your broker could have invested in anything, like subprime... if it has well hmmm. It could also have all sorts of liabilities where a creditor, or group of creditors, have priority over the other creditors like you (this is common practice with bank loans for example), some of it's shareholders may even have Class A shares that get the cash before you do. It's a minefield, I know this personally having lost money to a couple of companies that went bust. I'm not the only one worrying about this, read this story in the Independent: http://money.independent.co.uk/personal_fi...icle3189607.ece The solution appears to be, don't use Nominee Accounts go for Personal CREST accounts instead.