subspace Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Enter a knight, then, in suspiciously shiny armour. Save up to £12,000 towards a house in one of George Osborne’s new help-to-buy Isas, launched in this week’s budget, and he will add £3,000 gratis (or £6,000 if two of you save). Free money! Who doesn’t want that? If I were 28 again, gloomily contemplating an eternity of creepy landlords who never fix the boiler, I’d probably grab that lifeline with both hands. But let’s be honest about who else this is a lifeline for: about who benefits from reheating a property market that had looked as if it were starting to cool a little faster than had been expected. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/19/britain-obsession-ownership-housing-pyramid-scheme Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybong Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 (edited) But let’s be honest about who else this is a lifeline for: about who benefits from reheating a property market that had looked as if it were starting to cool a little faster than had been expected. Then as usual the article proceeds to be half baked rather than "honest" about "who else this is a lifeline for" - stating it's mainly "granlords" and not much mention of the long list of other VIs. Edited March 20, 2015 by billybong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subspace Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 Then as usual the article proceeds to be half baked rather than "honest" about "who else this is a lifeline for" - stating it's mainly "granlords" and not much mention of the long list of other VIs. baby-boomers are mentioned ageing rural nimbys are mentioned foreign speculators are mentioned buy-to-let landlords are mentioned Who else is there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canbuywontbuy Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 (edited) If I were 28 again, gloomily contemplating an eternity of creepy landlords who never fix the boiler, I’d probably grab that lifeline with both hands. Typical shit Guardian article that is hard of thinking. Instead of "creepy landlords" and broken boilers, why not campaign for a better renting system - with 5 year contracts and properly regulated to do repairs. No. Instead they promote buying a home as a lesser evil. Edited March 20, 2015 by canbuywontbuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybong Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 (edited) baby-boomers are mentioned ageing rural nimbys are mentioned foreign speculators are mentioned buy-to-let landlords are mentioned Who else is there? Granlords is the proxy for 1,2 and 4. Foreign speculators granted. Then there's bankers, builders, politicians, estate agents, property developers, bbc/media wallahs - and all the rest. Then the other causes of crazy house prices aren't mentioned such as level of lending and the aggravating factor of the rapidly increasing population. The article does make some fair points but as usual it doesn't cover the whole picture but relies on pointing at a limited cross section of the problem - and that's a misleading picture. Edited March 20, 2015 by billybong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest_northshore_* Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 It's a mainstream article referring to a ponzi, which it technically is. Then inferences two-income requirements, the largest demographic setting the rules for everyone as they go through life, political not economic choices, lack of infrastructure, BTL vs everyone else, can kicking, eventualities. Some pickiness to the point of dreamworld above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Granlords is the proxy for Public sector 1,2 and 4. Foreign speculators granted. Then there's bankers, builders, politicians, estate agents, property developers, bbc/media wallahs - and all the rest. Then the other causes of crazy house prices aren't mentioned such as level of lending and the aggravating factor of the rapidly increasing population. The article does make some fair points but as usual it doesn't cover the whole picture but relies on pointing at a limited cross section of the problem - and that's a misleading picture. Which is worse, as you not only have to pay their rent, buy their over priced house off them AND pay their unfunded pension too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyme2 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Some eastern european countries have ownership way in excess of the uk, near 100% I believe. It is when accommodation is financialized and used by the banking system including the central bank to pay them wages and commission for the production of nothing other than fake money that you get to this situation. It is an organized raid on the economy, a protection racket from the weather, no less. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John The Pessimist Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Unfortunately I can't provide a link, however in today's Daily Telegraph there's an article titled 'Renting your way to poverty: the future of housing'. Instead of the usual puff piece by the DT's in-house airheads (property correspondents), it's by Danny Dorling, apparently an Oxbridge Prof of 'Human Geography'. The article could be straight from the pages of HPC! Articles like these in the MSM makes me think that there might still be hope....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmax2 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/11482696/Renting-your-way-to-poverty-welcome-to-the-future-of-housing.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCountOfNowhere Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 housing pyramid, now who'd have thought it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bankstersparadise Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 baby-boomers are mentioned ageing rural nimbys are mentioned foreign speculators are mentioned buy-to-let landlords are mentioned Who else is there? What about the welfare state for paying so much money to private landlords to house people at rates which are eye watering for many working people? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidg Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 (edited) > foreign speculators are mentioned So for the left it is greedy swarthy foreigners wot is to blame, and for the right it is poor swarthy immigrants to blame. Left and Right, they are like a couple of corner shops that buy from the same cash and carry run by the Americans. Edited March 20, 2015 by davidg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 For a crash to happen it is first necessary to re-assure buyers that they are not going to miss the boat. To date all the VIs have succeeded in frightening people onto the 'Ladder' Now however, there are more and more signs that sentiment is turning. House prices are no longer discussed as 'Joy for homeowners' if the prices rise. More likely 'Sadness for your children and grand children' Boris Johnson got a mauling at Haringey the other night, newspaper articles are beginning to back away from the VI angle. Slowly, the worm turns. As the elections nears, panic will set in amongst the politicos. Ozzies ISA house benefit is just a sign that the Tories, but probably Libs and Labs as well want prices to stay high, even until if necessary, just E day +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si1 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/11482696/Renting-your-way-to-poverty-welcome-to-the-future-of-housing.html Reading this I wonder how this guy became an Oxbridge professor. He cherry picks data and never seems to back it up either systematically or by other literature. It's just a bunch of numbers thrown around to suit his opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Reading this I wonder how this guy became an Oxbridge professor. He cherry picks data and never seems to back it up either systematically or by other literature. It's just a bunch of numbers thrown around to suit his opinions. I see you're new to Economics . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si1 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 I see you're new to Economics . . . He isn't an economist, he's a quantitative human geographer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 I see you're new to Economics . . . I see you're new to the Social Sciences ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shindigger Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Shirley Williams want everyone in a prefab. ****** you Shirl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Shirley Williams want everyone in a prefab. ****** you Shirl. Apart from herself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy soy Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 > foreign speculators are mentioned So for the left it is greedy swarthy foreigners wot is to blame, and for the right it is poor swarthy immigrants to blame. Left and Right, they are like a couple of corner shops that buy from the same cash and carry run by the Americans. At least the left and the guardian are addressing the problem. What is the response of the right? " there is no bubble" So they've just scratched the surface, boomers, overseas speculators and BTL gran lords are at the top of the pyramid. They're not wrong there either. This is a positive that this sort of article is published in a leading newspaper on Britain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sPinwheel Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 I say a massive pyramid building boom not seen since khufu is the solution to Britains housing crisis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si1 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 I see you're new to the Social Sciences ;-) Sadly no. I could have applied my comment to many others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si1 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 At least the left and the guardian are addressing the problem. What is the response of the right? " there is no bubble" So they've just scratched the surface, boomers, overseas speculators and BTL gran lords are at the top of the pyramid. They're not wrong there either. This is a positive that this sort of article is published in a leading newspaper on Britain. The left are far far better in opposition than they are in government, imho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidg Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Not between 1997 and 2010 when the bubble actually happened though. Indeed the Guardian's Polly Toynbee was Gordo "bubbles" Brown's biggest cheer leader. At least the left and the guardian are addressing the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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