JoeDavola

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/may/13/top-bank-of-england-economist-warns-of-1970s-style-price-inflation

I'd assume what's being compared there are the 3 most expesive areas of NI - Belfast still seems more expensive than most parts of NI IMO. Your point about the opportunity cost of paying rent every year is perfectly valid. Prices would have to fall faster than the money you're blowing on rent. The other factor I guess is that many houses on sale are fixer-uppers, and I'm hearing a few reports of people being surprised at how high the quotes are from tradesmen to get work done these days.

Yes quite possibly. The only example I can think of is my parents old house. Rateable value 160K, peaked at 320K, sold about 7 years ago for 170K and only had one offer at that, now would be worth about 270K if similar houses listed recently are anything to go by. I have no faith any more that prices will crash. Too many government schemes to prop up the bubble. Help to buy seems tame now compared to government-guaranteed 5% mortgages. They've made it quite clear they'll throw everything at keeping this inflating.

If this keeps going some of these wee terraced houses are gonna end up at double the rateable value: https://www.propertypal.com/22-eastleigh-dale-ballyhackamore-belfast/691302

I remain skeptical that wages will inflate much, especially in industries where there isn't lots of opportunities to 'jump jobs' frequently for pay-rises like there is in IT for example. If you're an IT bod who is ambitious and can hop jobs between these various American companies that are setting up in NI then yes you may well have very large pay increases over the coming decade. I guess it will hinge on what kind of pay rises the public sector gets since so much of NI is public sector? I think current prices are utterly ridiculous especially in Belfast but over the next 10 yea

Apologies, wrong link: https://www.propertypal.com/25-09-obel-62-donegall-quay-belfast/689834

https://www.propertypal.com/25-09-obel-62-donegall-quay-belfast/689834/photo-17 ....£400K for a flat in the Obel tower, anyone?

My family are in East Belfast which has been going mental price wise over the past year. Couple of odd things happened recently - a house that went on for about £160K and sold within the week, mysteriously came on the market again and hasn't sold several weeks on - I'd have thought buyers would have been fighting over it even though it needs a serious facelift. Another house that sold quickly for 200K seems to have had the sale fallen through, then got a new roof put on it (failed the survey?), and is back on a couple weeks back - be interesting to see how fast it sells. A few s

Oh and check out this beauty from the BT9 rental market - have a poo in the bedroom whilst gazing out the front window over University Street: https://www.propertypal.com/flat-1-12-university-street-belfast/688410/slideshow/photo-5

Careful what ya wish for....check back to this topic in another month when prices are up another 5% Well as we've seen the government can shut down a big chunk of the economy and cause a second boom in 15 years. And we've also seen that the government will throw everything they can at the boom and indeed are taking steps to drive it even further (lower deposit mortgages) - so it'll need to be some event outside of the government that puts a stop on things. All I do know is that anyone who did buy since the last crash, many of whom are in what would have been 'starter' homes for 1

Or perhaps the best part of 200K to live in what looks like an ex-council terrace house in Sydenham East Belfast: https://www.propertypal.com/88-brandon-parade-belfast/688446/photo-5

Imagine my surprise at people not wanting to spend 300K to live in an attic during a lockdown.

I think we need a new topic entitled "feels like 2005 all over again"....270K to live in a converted roofspace in BT9 anyone? https://www.propertypal.com/4-atelier-house-atelier-house-sans-souci-malone-road-belfast/687933/photo-4

I know quite a few people well into their 30's and getting toward 40 who never bought a house, and at these prices I think they'll be renters for life.

In addition, it would seem to be that if the average couple say 30 years old is paying that for a very normal house that would often be considered a starter home or one rung up at most, the concept of a 'housing ladder' is gone unless we have major wage inflation over the coming 10 or 20 years.