A T L A S T - A Voice That Tells The Story

[Realistbear]

http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the_no.../FEATURES0.html

THE NORTHERN ECHO

15th February 2006

How house prices are wrecking family life

HOUSE prices are on the increase again. For some strange reason, this makes the experts cheer. Why? Maybe the experts don't have small children.

Many mothers no longer take their full entitlement of maternity leave, said a recent report, because they simply can't afford it. Instead, they put their children in nursery and rush back to work as soon as they can.

These are not women consumed with a selfish yearning for designer shoes or Caribbean holidays. Mainly they're just ordinary mothers trying to keep a roof over their heads.

Government and employers all pay lip service to flexibility, to the work/life balance. But it doesn't seem to translate into very much. Fine for people like Tony Blair and Gordon Brown who live over the shop, but not much fun for the rest of us.

The average three-bed semi in this country now costs £170,000. The average wage is £26,000. You do the sums.

Gordon "Miracle Economy" Brown has much to answer for. :angry:

[lampkin]

Average wage of £26k? In London perhaps?

[CrashBear]

Average wage of £26k? In London perhaps?

yeh certainly not in the north east!

[2005]

Average wage of £26k? In London perhaps?

Depends if you are one of the many public sector workers propping up the economy in the North.

[Take me to the cleaners]

This is actually a really good article, in a local paper read by local people.

As soon as prospective purchasers twig that buying a house 4 - 5 times your salary will result in relative poverty and financial difficulties for a very long time to come then the sooner we can put this whole sorry charade behind us and people can start to get on with their lives with somewhere affordable to live.

[lampkin]

Depends if you are one of the many public sector workers propping up the economy in the North.

The average wage i read last time outside london was £23k.

Edited February 15, 2006 by sllabres

[Bingley Bloke]

Bradford:

Average Cost: £126,069

Detached: £249,705

Semi-detached: £125,616

Terraced: £93,888

Flat: £126,282

Typical wage:

£14K – £16K

Again... do the sums

My wage is the same as the national average from... wait for it... 1989

[eric pebble]

http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the_no.../FEATURES0.html

THE NORTHERN ECHO

15th February 2006

How house prices are wrecking family life

HOUSE prices are on the increase again. For some strange reason, this makes the experts cheer. Why? Maybe the experts don't have small children.

Many mothers no longer take their full entitlement of maternity leave, said a recent report, because they simply can't afford it. Instead, they put their children in nursery and rush back to work as soon as they can.

These are not women consumed with a selfish yearning for designer shoes or Caribbean holidays. Mainly they're just ordinary mothers trying to keep a roof over their heads.

Government and employers all pay lip service to flexibility, to the work/life balance. But it doesn't seem to translate into very much. Fine for people like Tony Blair and Gordon Brown who live over the shop, but not much fun for the rest of us.

The average three-bed semi in this country now costs £170,000. The average wage is £26,000. You do the sums.

Gordon "Miracle Economy" Brown has much to answer for. :angry:

I have sent MR BLair and Mr Brown and Ms Cooper ["Housing Minister"] the article above and the following:

ALL OF YOU - Go to - http://www.parliament.uk/directories/hciolists/alms.cfm - and send as many emails to as many MPs as possible expressing your disgust at the state of affairs.

Dear Mr Blair/Brown/Cooper;

House prices are a disgrace and are fixed by the vested interests: New Labour came to power promising a fairer Britain. You promise all the time to improve our lives -- and to build afforfdable housing. You are NOT doing this. You should be ASHAMED of yourself. And also -- why shouldn't "affordable housing" mean that, just like in the past 30 years, hard working people should be able to buy a house OUTRIGHT WITHOUT your pathetic "shared ownership" rubbish. I think you should be THOROUGHLY ASHAMED of New Labour's record on housing -- NEVER EVER before have houses been so unnaffordable -- and the so called "housing market" is just a Pyramid Selling Scam run by the Vested Interests - and you know that - and you do NOTHING to stop it. How you can sleep in peace at night whilst hundreds of thousands live miserable lives being ripped off by the RIGGED "Housing Market" is beyond me.

DO SOMETHING NOW.

"Can I ask you one simple question? WHY is it that under New Labour, houses have become more unaffordable thatn ever? IT IS A DISGRACE -- I HOPE YOU ARE SO OVERWHELMED WITH SHAME THAT YOU DON'T SLEEP AT NIGHT.

From the Northern Echo today.

READ THIS - AND FEEL THE SHAME YOU SHOULD FEEL: - http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the_no.../FEATURES0.html

Edited February 15, 2006 by eric pebble

[Scipio_Africanus]

Calm down!

The market will eventually sort the matter out.

And all this blame of government for high house prices - low interest rates are a global phenomenon, and the British are particularly fond of the idea of making money for minimal work. And with some exceptions, the property boom is also global.

In the 1980s it was doing something up and selling it on for a massive profit. Now it's BTL.

Unfortunately some people buy when prices are sky-high, and they run into financial difficulties. But I don't that's Labour's fault. They could have rented!

And I don't think the government should do anything to make property more affordable - again, the market will sort the matter out.

The only thing that should be considered is CGT on profits from the sale of your home, even it's your only residence. I suspect this would help stabilise the housing market in a lasting sense.

Also, the government should have made it clear that they would let the market sort things out.

One point about the view that Labour are terrifed of property price falls. Why did they do their U-turn on property SIPPs?

Edited February 15, 2006 by Scipio_Africanus

[dnd]

UK is full of superficial snobs living off credit to buy objects to impress others and boost their low self esteem through acceptance - and that includes housing...

What a country

[Marina]

The average wage i read last time outside london was £23k.

You shouldn't believe everything you read. Try looking in the windows of your local recruitment consultancies. Here in 'affluent Berkshire' the most common salary range - by far - is between £12k and 16k. You get the odd one in the 20s.

Try looking at the adverts in your local rag. Round here you would definitely be better paid, on average, if you work in the publick sector.

[Mags]

UK is full of superficial snobs living off credit to buy objects to impress others and boost their low self esteem through acceptance - and that includes housing...

What a country

I think every country is affected by this to some extent. Just different objects of desire perhaps. The grass is rarely, if ever, greener...

[Te Mata]

UK is full of superficial snobs living off credit to buy objects to impress others and boost their low self esteem through acceptance - and that includes housing...

What a country

Status:

Buying things you don't need

With money you don't have

To impress people you don't like.

I have a book By Alain de Botton called "Status Anxiety"

A very good read... recommended.

[dom]

http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the_no.../FEATURES0.html

THE NORTHERN ECHO

15th February 2006

How house prices are wrecking family life

HOUSE prices are on the increase again. For some strange reason, this makes the experts cheer. Why? Maybe the experts don't have small children.

Many mothers no longer take their full entitlement of maternity leave, said a recent report, because they simply can't afford it. Instead, they put their children in nursery and rush back to work as soon as they can.

These are not women consumed with a selfish yearning for designer shoes or Caribbean holidays. Mainly they're just ordinary mothers trying to keep a roof over their heads.

Government and employers all pay lip service to flexibility, to the work/life balance. But it doesn't seem to translate into very much. Fine for people like Tony Blair and Gordon Brown who live over the shop, but not much fun for the rest of us.

The average three-bed semi in this country now costs £170,000. The average wage is £26,000. You do the sums.

Gordon "Miracle Economy" Brown has much to answer for. :angry:

Steve Wright show yesterday, that sycophantic gimp of his was reading out some VI report about HP predicted to rise this year by 5%, like it's a good thing!

Did anyone else hear it?

[GCS15]

Status:

Buying things you don't need

With money you don't have

To impress people you don't like.

I have a book By Alain de Botton called "Status Anxiety"

A very good read... recommended.

The video series is far superior.

If you want a read try Affluenza. It was written in 2001 just before the dot con collapse. Still I love that quote buying things you don't need to impress people you don't like. F@#k them. Impress yourself. It's easier

[MediaTrash]

You shouldn't believe everything you read. Try looking in the windows of your local recruitment consultancies. Here in 'affluent Berkshire' the most common salary range - by far - is between £12k and 16k. You get the odd one in the 20s.

Try looking at the adverts in your local rag. Round here you would definitely be better paid, on average, if you work in the publick sector.

you're confusing mode (and possibly median) averages with the mean average that's generally used. To exaggerate to prove a point: there's a lot more people recorded earning £60K than there is -£8K

[Levy process]

You shouldn't believe everything you read. Try looking in the windows of your local recruitment consultancies. Here in 'affluent Berkshire' the most common salary range - by far - is between £12k and 16k. You get the odd one in the 20s.

Try looking at the adverts in your local rag. Round here you would definitely be better paid, on average, if you work in the publick sector.

I believe you, and agree. But I have long suspected that the better paid jobs in a lot of areas simply never get into the window of recruitment consultancies or the papers, but instead are filled without the need for that. Once the good recruitment consultancies have a set of people looking for work, they can simply get them in for interviews, without anybody else ever seeing the details of the job. Maybe the ones that make it into paper adverts in windows etc. are the "ones that are left over", because nobody particularly wants them.

[Without_a_Paddle]

I have sent MR BLair and Mr Brown and Ms Cooper ["Housing Minister"] the article above and the following:

ALL OF YOU - Go to - http://www.parliament.uk/directories/hciolists/alms.cfm - and send as many emails to as many MPs as possible expressing your disgust at the state of affairs.

Dear Mr Blair/Brown/Cooper;

House prices are a disgrace and are fixed by the vested interests: New Labour came to power promising a fairer Britain. You promise all the time to improve our lives -- and to build afforfdable housing. You are NOT doing this. You should be ASHAMED of yourself. And also -- why shouldn't "affordable housing" mean that, just like in the past 30 years, hard working people should be able to buy a house OUTRIGHT WITHOUT your pathetic "shared ownership" rubbish. I think you should be THOROUGHLY ASHAMED of New Labour's record on housing -- NEVER EVER before have houses been so unnaffordable -- and the so called "housing market" is just a Pyramid Selling Scam run by the Vested Interests - and you know that - and you do NOTHING to stop it. How you can sleep in peace at night whilst hundreds of thousands live miserable lives being ripped off by the RIGGED "Housing Market" is beyond me.

DO SOMETHING NOW.

"Can I ask you one simple question? WHY is it that under New Labour, houses have become more unaffordable thatn ever? IT IS A DISGRACE -- I HOPE YOU ARE SO OVERWHELMED WITH SHAME THAT YOU DON'T SLEEP AT NIGHT.

Get someone to edit this for you if you want your letter to make it past the waste bin in the MP's mail office.

Otherwise it will only get read by a secretary (if you are lucky)

[Yonmon]

You shouldn't believe everything you read. Try looking in the windows of your local recruitment consultancies. Here in 'affluent Berkshire' the most common salary range - by far - is between £12k and 16k. You get the odd one in the 20s.

Try looking at the adverts in your local rag. Round here you would definitely be better paid, on average, if you work in the publick sector.

The type of job that is advertised in shop windows and/or local rags is usually the lower end of the market. Higher paid jobs are usually marketed in other ways (trade journals, head hunting etc).

Your analysis is therefore misleading.

[bearfacedcheek]

you're confusing mode (and possibly median) averages with the mean average that's generally used. To exaggerate to prove a point: there's a lot more people recorded earning £60K than there is -£8K

This mean/mode problem is a right pain. Almost everyone baulks at average salary figures quoted, as the vast majority of people earn under the average. In a fictitious village in Cheshire, 3,000 working people might all earn, say, 16k. But there are three Man Utd players there as well earning 2 million a year each. This pushes the average to 18k, so everyone gets jealous that everyone else seems to be earning more than them – even though only three actually are.

But the same effect is also evident with house prices – a few 10 bedroomed places skew the average figures upwards. The net result is that the ratio of average salary to average house price is probably about correct.

Eh, I think.

[Smell the Fear]

Calm down!

The market will eventually sort the matter out.

And all this blame of government for high house prices - low interest rates are a global phenomenon, and the British are particularly fond of the idea of making money for minimal work. And with some exceptions, the property boom is also global.

An exception: Germany.

Why?

Homebuyers are required to produce large deposits, and the amount they can borrow is restricted.

Governments are to blame. The banking industry requires regulation (I dare anyone to deny this - every country regulates its banks). The problem is that in most of the developed world this regulation has been too loose.

Tightening does NOT mean increased red tape. Its a simple matter of adjusting the rules already in place.

[Michael]

I have sent MR BLair and Mr Brown and Ms Cooper ["Housing Minister"] the article above and the following:

ALL OF YOU - Go to - http://www.parliament.uk/directories/hciolists/alms.cfm - and send as many emails to as many MPs as possible expressing your disgust at the state of affairs.

Dear Mr Blair/Brown/Cooper;

House prices are a disgrace and are fixed by the vested interests: New Labour came to power promising a fairer Britain. You promise all the time to improve our lives -- and to build afforfdable housing. You are NOT doing this. You should be ASHAMED of yourself. And also -- why shouldn't "affordable housing" mean that, just like in the past 30 years, hard working people should be able to buy a house OUTRIGHT WITHOUT your pathetic "shared ownership" rubbish. I think you should be THOROUGHLY ASHAMED of New Labour's record on housing -- NEVER EVER before have houses been so unnaffordable -- and the so called "housing market" is just a Pyramid Selling Scam run by the Vested Interests - and you know that - and you do NOTHING to stop it. How you can sleep in peace at night whilst hundreds of thousands live miserable lives being ripped off by the RIGGED "Housing Market" is beyond me.

DO SOMETHING NOW.

Every homeowner in my family owns one modest house so cannot profit from the boom.....They have made merely paper profits.........Every member of my family without a home (almost all aged under 30) cannot afford to buy anything........

We as an extended family are therefore net losers in this ridiculous charade but so are 90% of families.

This is why high house prices are a bad thing and itis quite frankly absurd that the

press cheer every rise in prices.

[FedupTeddiBear]

There do seem to be several confusing figures. The mean values seem to be used quite freely (probably because they are higher!) but the median values were incredibly difficult to find on an internet search, even though these are more representative.

I cannot remember where I eventually found these stats but the last time I looked (about 6 months ago) this is what I found. Hopefully I am remembering correctly and not mixing them up!

For the UK as a whole: The MEAN HOUSEHOLD income for the country was £38K. The MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD income was about £23K.

The MEAN ANNUAL WAGE was £28K and the MEDIAN ANNUAL WAGE was £19K.

[BuyingBear]

DO SOMETHING NOW.

"Can I ask you one simple question? WHY is it that under New Labour, houses have become more unaffordable thatn ever? IT IS A DISGRACE -- I HOPE YOU ARE SO OVERWHELMED WITH SHAME THAT YOU DON'T SLEEP AT NIGHT.

From the Northern Echo today.

READ THIS - AND FEEL THE SHAME YOU SHOULD FEEL: - http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the_no.../FEATURES0.html

Heh, you could get a job as humorist, that letter is so hopelessly naive I presume it's satire.

These are the same people who send men to war, do you think they feel shamed by unaffordable housing? What do you want them to do exactly, they don't set house prices, the few things they can do is reform the planning laws, as they're controlled by nimbies.

[frugalista]

UK is full of superficial snobs living off credit to buy objects to impress others and boost their low self esteem through acceptance - and that includes housing...

What a country

My motto is: "Being snobby? -- expensive hobby!"

frugalista

Heh, you could get a job as humorist, that letter is so hopelessly naive I presume it's satire.

These are the same people who send men to war, do you think they feel shamed by unaffordable housing? What do you want them to do exactly, they don't set house prices, the few things they can do is reform the planning laws, as they're controlled by nimbies.

The number one policy change in my book would be to regulate mortgage lending.

Number two would be regulate the rental sector.

I think planning reform would probably be my number 3.

frugalista