Trying to buy a house in this area is near impossible

[DaveR]

BTW, I thought it was interesting that nobody has connected this thread with the one immediately below it (at the moment) re ED police station. If we accept that, in the short-medium term, demand for housing in London is not going to fall away, we should all be clamouring for every crappy unused publicly owned building in Inner London to be sold to developers asap. A big injection of new supply might bring a bit of stability, at least, to the housing market.

[StraferJack]

no it won't(or not by itself anyway) - it will be snapped up by investors and the bubble will continue to inflate, excluding the majority

[Jeremy]

As I said earlier, yes we need supply, but the right type of properties at the right price. We don't need over-priced/boutique/luxury flats with all mod cons for 500K each (which is what we'd get at that site). We need modest properties which are within reach of first time buyers... 200K-300K. The problem is, that's not what developers want to build.

[????]

That's not the problem Jeremy, they don't want to build them because they wouldn't make a profit on building flats on that budget in that footprint with current land prices.....

[Jeremy]

Well yeah obviously... so how about city hall building homes directly? Perhaps with a five year restriction on resale and renting.

[DaveR]

"no it won't(or not by itself anyway) - it will be snapped up by investors and the bubble will continue to inflate, excluding the majority"

that assumes that demand at a particular price point is infinite, which I doubt. At the moment a 'scarcity premium' is built in to the pricing in any halfway desirable inner london neighbourhood, based on the expectation that there is no source of substantial new supply. If you get a material volume of new sites into the market comparatively quickly (or even if people believe that you will) that will change. Investment pricing is largely driven by market sentiment, as any fule kno.

[Earl Aelfheah]

...or how about an indefinite restriction on reselling new council housing... or barring that, how about we just stop selling the few existing council houses at well below half the market value.

Jeremy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Well yeah obviously... so how about city hall

> building homes directly? Perhaps with a five year

> restriction on resale and renting.

[El Pibe]

"that assumes that demand at a particular price point is infinite, which I doubt"

maybe not infinite, but if it is indeed being driven by the Chinese noveau riche, then it could certainly be described as insatiable.

See what half a million buys you in Hong Kong if you want to see how bad things can get.

The civitas advice is beginning to look more sensible.

[LondonMix]

That?s a bit simplistic. The Chinese investors rent out their flats for profit. An increase in the number of rental flats will result (like for like) in a decrease in rental prices. A drop in rental yields will result in a rebalancing between homes for sale and homes owned for investment.

The truth is there is a shortage of rentals as well as a shortage of homes for purchase so as long as homes aren?t being left empty, any new development will help address the housing shortage in London.

[red devil]

LondonMix Wrote:

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> The Chinese investors rent out their flats for profit.

Plenty are left empty. Culturally, Chinese investors are in it for the short term, relying on capital growth, and don't want the hassle of tenants.

This story in The Guardian highlights the problem of London's empty homes ...http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/03/richard-rogers-empty-homes-tax

[LondonMix]

Most Chinese investors rent out their flats-- they are in it for the long hall but they absolutely rent them out. The number of people that actually buy London real estate as a luxury crash pad is so small as to be largely irrelevant to the broader housing situation. I agree there should be a tax on empty homes, particularly those owned by foreigners but I don't think it will solve the housing crisis in London.

[Mick Mac]

Jeremy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> As I said earlier, yes we need supply, but the

> right type of properties at the right price. We

> don't need over-priced/boutique/luxury flats with

> all mod cons for 500K each (which is what we'd get

> at that site). We need modest properties which are

> within reach of first time buyers... 200K-300K.

> The problem is, that's not what developers want to

> build.

They are being built. Good quality new build flats in the 200-300k range are available in more affordable areas. Incl near Canary Wharf area etc.

Of course developers building in "better" areas are going to cost their sales by max price in that area, but why do people expect to be able to buy into a "better" area cheaply - that doesn't happen.

Solution is to build more stock in the less expensive areas as that's where the space/opportunity is - but coupled with that people also need to take a reality check on where to buy their first home and be willing to take a step back (or a step east).

[Otta]

And idiots need to stop paying the prices they are paying for the houses in areas like East Dulwich.

[*Bob*]

It's difficult to convince newcomers not be be idiots with their money - when everyone that came before them has made a killing.

[LondonMix]

It?s ridiculous to call the newcomer idiots because the prices have increased. They want to live in London and ED has the amenities that make it the best choice given their budget within London. Telling people that they should simply refuse to pay for a house they can afford because you think it is too much is daft.

You could easily say the same thing about all us old timers who value staying in ED (for the amenities and convenience) rather than selling our homes, cashing in and moving someplace cheaper.

[Otta]

Your opinion.

In my book, whether you can afford it or not, you'd be an idiot to pay the current prices being asked for victorian terraces. I just don't get why ED is THAT attractive to people. There's no way in Hell I'd pay those prices even if I had it in cash.

[Loz]

Agree with Otta - when we first looked to move intra-ED back in 2006 I could not believe that for a half a million we couldn't find somewhere you could swing the proverbial cat in (well, without giving it a very nasty head injury). ED is a lovely place, but a lot of the housing stock is rather smallish.

[LondonMix]

If it's poor value relative to what you could sell it for then people would be selling up in droves. It's not my opinion it's the opinion of everyone who is buying and everyone who is not selling.

[Otta]

.

[Otta]

My parents who are not well off, could sell up and live comfortably elsewhere with the proceeds.

Not everyone moves around purely based on profit. Lots of people moved to ED when it was reasonably reasonable. Good luck to them I say.

The market is what it is, I'm not saying people should flog their houses for less than they're worth, and clearly people are willing to pay those prices to live in ED.

I just happen to think they're idiots for doing so.

[EDLove]

Me and my boyfriend (both in our twenties) bought our first home in ED less than 2 years ago. Yes, we had to push our deposit to the max to afford it but, having spent months looking in a variety of other places across London (including Peckham and Forest Hill), we felt (and still feel) that it was worth it.

Whilst we could have bought a bigger place in other areas, these areas were predominantly shabby, had less to offer in terms of shops/cafes and felt less safe. Ok, we might have missed out on increasing value in some 'up and coming' areas but I really couldn't stand the thought of having to live there whilst they became less sh*t. And, in any event, the value in ED has continued to rise. When you compare ED with other 'desirable' areas of London, like Clapham etc, I think there is a lot more value for money here.

IMHO, I certainly don't think someone who chooses to pay that bit extra to live in ED is 'stupid'. Far from it.

[Otta]

I never said stupid, I said idiots.

But we have different priorities I guess.

[Otta]

That came out harsher than it was meant!

What did you buy 2 years ago?

I'm quite surprised a couple in their twenties would really fancy ED to be honest. But then I'm not in my twenties anymore, so I don't know what a person in their twenties would want.

[Jeremy]

I bought in ED when I was 25. Yeah there are more lively places in London, but they were/are all more expensive.

[Otta]

No offence though old boy, but when you were 25 prices weren't quite so mental and ED itself wasn't the bubble it is today.