Weak Pound
 

Due to the weak pound now is an excellent time for expats to buy property in the UK. Good news for those of you who are looking to do this.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/p...-UK-homes.html

Re: Weak Pound
 

I was surprised at how high property prices are over there though. They seem to have risen significantly since we left in 2005.

Re: Weak Pound
 

When I bought this house in 2007, the pound was at $2 = £1, and prices were at their peak :banghead:

I'm just glad I decided to go for a low deposit mortgage rather than put all of my savings into it and get a lower mortgage - but even so, I ended up converting $50k = £25k, whereas historically for most of the previous 10 years it would have been $50k = £31k.

Now exchange rates are back to a decent level I hope to exchange the rest of my US house sale proceeds before they bounce back up again!

But yes, as Sally said, house prices are still high compared to less than 10 years ago.

Re: Weak Pound
 

It's at $1.51 for a pound today according to Xe. I may have to send a few $$ to my UK account.

Re: Weak Pound
 

£1.00 = $1.58 according to Wells Fargo a few minutes ago. :)

Re: Weak Pound
 

$1.51 according to MSN money. It makes my British pension go down! :frown:

Re: Weak Pound
 

Yes, I always get confused with the exchange rates and have to remember that to buy UK funds it's best to look when the US dollar is lower and sell UK funds when it's higher. So with regards to pensions etc etc, it must be frustrating when the $ is low.

Re: Weak Pound
 

It's a double-edged sword! I elected to get my pension quarterly, with next payment April 24th. (Would like pound to go up)! But we are going to England for a vacation in June, and I would like the pound to be weak). Ha ha! Have to take the good with the bad eh? :sneaky:

Re: Weak Pound
 

House prices are still absurdly high in the UK in comparison to the US or Europe.

Re: Weak Pound
 

Some are...some aren't. It all depends on the area.

As far as the US is compared...how can you possibly compare a filmsy US built house to a UK house?

Re: Weak Pound
 

Absurdly cheap compared to here

Re: Weak Pound
 

I looked at house prices in certain areas in Manchester and was surprised how resonable it was. Of course it depends on the area ( because I've seen expensive houses in Manchester as well) but I was heartened to see that I might be able to buy after a few years working and saving if I lived in Manchester

Re: Weak Pound
 

I think it will be this way for a long time to come. A weak pound means high inflation and therefore the ability to print more money. We have to, we don't make anything to sell anymore. I believe the service sector accounts for about three-quarters of the economy.

Re: Weak Pound
 

Huge disparities in prices between the SE of England and other parts of the Kingdom. I libe in a place where you can get a habiatable apartment for £40,000. Add another zero to that for a similar place in the Great Wen of London ! (I stole that expression from Cobbett)

Re: Weak Pound
 

And that's why most people here use xe, xoom, or some other web FX business! :rolleyes: