Don't be blinded by the lights
Jan 26th 2008, 7:41 pm
#16
Soupy twist
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Re: Don't be blinded by the lights
This, of course, being the meltdown that "wasn't going to happen".
That's not the only downward pressure on prices. Distress sales are increasing rapidly, which forces prices down further. We know people who are genuinely desperate to sell as fast as they possibly can - not because they need the money for their next place, but because if they don't sell *now*, they probably won't make enough to clear their mortgage, equity release loan, credit cards, personal loans, etc.
Cheap money always ends up expensive.
Sellers of houses will need to lower their sale price expectations to meet available finance levels
Cheap money always ends up expensive.
Jan 27th 2008, 4:41 am
#18
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Re: Don't be blinded by the lights
The UK is a big place, compared to Dubai. I wouldn't be surprised if property prices do fall in the UK this year/next year depending on how hard it is for people to get mortgages but I don't think you can make a blanket statement like "prices are expected to fall 12%". Some places will probably loose more and some might not go down at all. Some, as the lady with the strange hair pointed out, might even keep going up.
Jan 27th 2008, 9:01 am
#20
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Re: Don't be blinded by the lights
Property prices "still rising in the UK"??
Er.... no......
Don't think so - the market has started a meltdown, the credit and sub-prime crises from USA are spilling over elsewhere - and banks just have no money now, as they have had to write down billions from defaults and their own investment portfolios crashing.
Example - a person not a million miles from me was offered a GBP 180k mortgage in July, but the purchase fell through. Now he has found a similar place - but his bank will only offer him GBP 145k - despite his income and circumstances etc being unchanged. They are out of cash.
Sellers of houses will need to lower their sale price expectations to meet available finance levels.
Prediction - 2008 average UK house price will fall 12 pct.
Er.... no......
Don't think so - the market has started a meltdown, the credit and sub-prime crises from USA are spilling over elsewhere - and banks just have no money now, as they have had to write down billions from defaults and their own investment portfolios crashing.
Example - a person not a million miles from me was offered a GBP 180k mortgage in July, but the purchase fell through. Now he has found a similar place - but his bank will only offer him GBP 145k - despite his income and circumstances etc being unchanged. They are out of cash.
Sellers of houses will need to lower their sale price expectations to meet available finance levels.
Prediction - 2008 average UK house price will fall 12 pct.
I would agree that according to recent reports banks and building societies are not lending as much or as easily as they were but that is generally the case on all borrowing not just mortgages
I hope you are right about the 12% then the first time borrowers may well be able to ay least afford a caravan or even stretch to a street house.
All I was saying was that it is not only Dubai that has spiralling costs it is the UK and many other countries as well.
Jan 27th 2008, 9:15 am
#21
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Re: Don't be blinded by the lights
I think expats tend to put their rose tinted glasses on when the get off the plane and start remembering "the good old days" back home, as if home is stuck in a time warp. They tend to forget that wherever home is has inflation as well.
In the UK just look at the way utility prices have rocketed up and the next trick is a 4% rise on council tax. Dubai does suffer from high inflation but "home" isn't exactly inflation free at the moment.
In the UK just look at the way utility prices have rocketed up and the next trick is a 4% rise on council tax. Dubai does suffer from high inflation but "home" isn't exactly inflation free at the moment.
Jan 28th 2008, 8:44 am
#23
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Re: Don't be blinded by the lights
Property prices "still rising in the UK"??
Er.... no......
Don't think so - the market has started a meltdown, the credit and sub-prime crises from USA are spilling over elsewhere - and banks just have no money now, as they have had to write down billions from defaults and their own investment portfolios crashing.
Example - a person not a million miles from me was offered a GBP 180k mortgage in July, but the purchase fell through. Now he has found a similar place - but his bank will only offer him GBP 145k - despite his income and circumstances etc being unchanged. They are out of cash.
Sellers of houses will need to lower their sale price expectations to meet available finance levels.
Prediction - 2008 average UK house price will fall 12 pct.
Er.... no......
Don't think so - the market has started a meltdown, the credit and sub-prime crises from USA are spilling over elsewhere - and banks just have no money now, as they have had to write down billions from defaults and their own investment portfolios crashing.
Example - a person not a million miles from me was offered a GBP 180k mortgage in July, but the purchase fell through. Now he has found a similar place - but his bank will only offer him GBP 145k - despite his income and circumstances etc being unchanged. They are out of cash.
Sellers of houses will need to lower their sale price expectations to meet available finance levels.
Prediction - 2008 average UK house price will fall 12 pct.
It's all about location...
As for the person you know who was offered the mortgage, is he or she in the UK or over here?
N.
Jan 28th 2008, 10:16 am
#24
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Joined: Jul 2007
Location: London and Dubai
Posts: 1,072
Re: Don't be blinded by the lights
Property prices "still rising in the UK"??
Er.... no......
Don't think so - the market has started a meltdown, the credit and sub-prime crises from USA are spilling over elsewhere - and banks just have no money now, as they have had to write down billions from defaults and their own investment portfolios crashing.
Example - a person not a million miles from me was offered a GBP 180k mortgage in July, but the purchase fell through. Now he has found a similar place - but his bank will only offer him GBP 145k - despite his income and circumstances etc being unchanged. They are out of cash.
Sellers of houses will need to lower their sale price expectations to meet available finance levels.
Prediction - 2008 average UK house price will fall 12 pct.
Er.... no......
Don't think so - the market has started a meltdown, the credit and sub-prime crises from USA are spilling over elsewhere - and banks just have no money now, as they have had to write down billions from defaults and their own investment portfolios crashing.
Example - a person not a million miles from me was offered a GBP 180k mortgage in July, but the purchase fell through. Now he has found a similar place - but his bank will only offer him GBP 145k - despite his income and circumstances etc being unchanged. They are out of cash.
Sellers of houses will need to lower their sale price expectations to meet available finance levels.
Prediction - 2008 average UK house price will fall 12 pct.
london prices are holding because of overseas buyers, and expats moving over here are more likely to work in london
Jan 28th 2008, 3:11 pm
#25
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Thread Starter
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Re: Don't be blinded by the lights
london prices are holding because of overseas buyers, and expats moving over here are more likely to work in london[/QUOTE]
and what do you base those facts on?
and what do you base those facts on?
Jan 28th 2008, 11:55 pm
#26
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Location: London and Dubai
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Re: Don't be blinded by the lights
and what do you base those facts on?[/QUOTE]
have a look at the job market... there are more jobs in london and the surrounding areas than almost anywhere.
in terms of people moving here for a high paying job etc... the chances are it'll be to one of the cities...
even oil companies who recruit expats, house them within zone 1-6...
i know there are plenty of other places in the uk where expats come into the country, but on the whole you'll find more expats living and working in this part of the country. The fact is london is still growing and fast... olympics are 4 years away and its still the safest bet for buying a house as investment in the uk.
Jan 29th 2008, 1:54 am
#27
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Re: Don't be blinded by the lights
have a look at the job market... there are more jobs in london and the surrounding areas than almost anywhere.
in terms of people moving here for a high paying job etc... the chances are it'll be to one of the cities...
even oil companies who recruit expats, house them within zone 1-6...
i know there are plenty of other places in the uk where expats come into the country, but on the whole you'll find more expats living and working in this part of the country. The fact is london is still growing and fast... olympics are 4 years away and its still the safest bet for buying a house as investment in the uk.
A friend at BarCap is not as optimistic as you - she said the fallout so far from the sub-prime fiasco is the tip of the iceberg.
Add to this too many people mortgaging themselves to the hilt and taking on buy-to-rent properties, and I'm not sure the outlook is so rosy in the UK.
I know in IT, companies in the Middle East are actively recruiting at the moment. Within IT most other regions around the world have headcount freezes on. Think I'll take my chances here for a bit longer.
P.S. Doesn't London have a problem with the power supply (i.e. not enough) for preparing for the Olympics?
Jan 29th 2008, 4:14 am
#28
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Re: Don't be blinded by the lights
Too many people in the UK have been using their houses like cashpoints- remortgaging and taking money out as the place went up in value. Thus they are now living in houses that have gone up 100% in the last 10 years but still don't have any equity in them. For them negative equity is only a small dip in the market away.
