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Author Topic: London house prices and commuting into London  (Read 4472 times)

Offline Payyourwaymate

I'm not sure if there is anyone sharing a similar concern as I do, as I understand the main demographic of this site are men not in their 20s or early 30s; however, I just wanted to know if anyone is having or seeing the same issues which I am seeing.

I have been priced out of buying a house in my local area/getting a mortgage due to the exponential growth in houses prices in london and in particular, my local area. See, I happen to live in a trendy area where the house prices over the last 10 years have gone through a bit of growth and now if I want to get a living place there I would effectively have to be rich or earn 100K a year at least, which neither I am, at the present time. The funniest thing about this all is that with the money I have now, if I had it over 10 years ago, I would have been able to afford to get a place in the area I live in, infact the places similar to where I live beforehand were going for about £250-300K for a 3bed, now...it's closer to 700K  :dash:. I was back in uni then and had no money to do anything before anyone says why did I not buy then. It's a right pain to move to the outskirts of london and get a place just to commute back into london to work, it just does not make sense to me at all, I have no interest in living in those areas.

Now I'm left with the options of finding a way of increasing my income exponentially to be able to get a place in my area or move out of the area to the outskirts, which I would rather not (moving out to the outskirts that is, I've already been racking my brain on how to increase my income). To be honest, I think I'm going to use the money and become a BTL landlord of places in the north of the UK instead at this rate or join a social housing waitlist and wait for 7 years or more to get a place.

Are there any others around my age range facing the same issue of being priced out of their local areas?

Are there people that have previously been priced out of their areas and had to move out of their preferred area, in order to get a property they could say belongs to them? What was it like?

For those that commute into London to work but do not live in central london, how do you manage your time and not get tired?

I wonder what will happen as the rise of house prices continue to increase in south east and London. It's almost like a lose-lose situation if you don't have rich parents, get a place on the outskirts in some dead area and commute into london for £££££, or rent privately and pay a BTL landords mortgage whilst contributing to their returns.

How do people deal with living on the outskirts of the city and commuting into work? I've seen them on the train and work with them and it seems like a right bother...they look miserable and are always tired. There's a chance I may join the ranks if I cannot increase my income exponentially. I need to prepare myself mentally from now for the potential scenario arising  :lol:.


Offline Adoniron

I know a guy who works in Central London and lives in a village near Grantham. He has to drive to the station, spend an hour and a quarter on the train and then gets a Boris bike from Kings Cross to his office near Tower Bridge. He spends almost 4 hours travelling every day and spends thousands on rail fares but lives in a house he couldn't hope to afford in London or the South East.
I should say this was what he used to do before covid - I don't know whats happened since then, he's probably been working from home.

Offline DrGFreeman

this is not a problem unique to london
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could you move somewhere for affordable ?

who knows what the normal working pattern will be in the future
when we start this new normal most offices will have been working from home for 18 months. it will be hard to argue that all staff have to be in the office every day
I think an office job that requires commuting into the centre of cities every day is a thing of the past
I guess my point is that these changing commuting patterns may effect house prices with people living further away from work, so city centre prices may go down

Offline Jonestown

You could try looking at the various shared ownership schemes the councils run, you buy a share in the property that you can increase as and when you can afford it. Some councils want you to pay rent on the other portion of the value, which can be a bit heavy, others don't require that. its a way to get a toe hold on the property market.

Offline MilleMiglia

Here's one take on the situation, from a few years back; undoubtedly, it's even worse now:

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« Last Edit: February 14, 2021, 06:15:02 pm by MilleMiglia »

Offline Malvolio

I assume you're renting at the moment - why don't you just continue to do that?

Online willie loman

you could get involved in buy to let , while joining the waiting list for a council house or a housing association? met a women the other day who let out 2 flats on airbnb and used the income to rent in an area she found attractive.

Offline Payyourwaymate

I know a guy who works in Central London and lives in a village near Grantham. He has to drive to the station, spend an hour and a quarter on the train and then gets a Boris bike from Kings Cross to his office near Tower Bridge. He spends almost 4 hours travelling every day and spends thousands on rail fares but lives in a house he couldn't hope to afford in London or the South East.
I should say this was what he used to do before covid - I don't know whats happened since then, he's probably been working from home.

See, that's what I don't want to do. That person is giving up all their free time in commuting and spending so much on transport, if he's working from home and can stay doing that then that is great for him and I can see how that would work. The thing is will companies allow working from home permanently, I don't know.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2021, 07:28:10 pm by Payyourwaymate »

Offline Payyourwaymate

this is not a problem unique to london
External Link/Members Only
could you move somewhere for affordable ?

who knows what the normal working pattern will be in the future
when we start this new normal most offices will have been working from home for 18 months. it will be hard to argue that all staff have to be in the office every day
I think an office job that requires commuting into the centre of cities every day is a thing of the past
I guess my point is that these changing commuting patterns may effect house prices with people living further away from work, so city centre prices may go down

Yes, for places outside london and other cities like birminham and manchester etc, I had deposit money years ago for those sort of prices around those sides and I could have left ;but I actually like my area, it has everything close by and it is easy to get to anywhere in london. I think you may be right in city area prices going down, I did read an article the other day about that aswell, but a house dropping a couple % which is still closer to 1 million is still far too expensive for me.

With staff being in the office, I am not too sure what the ripple effect of work from home will be to be honest. I've worked from home and found myself doing more work than if I was actually at work. Not too sure if I am a fan of it. I feel like working from home blurs the lines of the house being a place of rest and relaxation to always working at all times, i'm not sure. I've spoken to some people that found themselves overworking from home, it's all odd times at the moment.

Offline Payyourwaymate

You could try looking at the various shared ownership schemes the councils run, you buy a share in the property that you can increase as and when you can afford it. Some councils want you to pay rent on the other portion of the value, which can be a bit heavy, others don't require that. its a way to get a toe hold on the property market.

I've looked into that before and did not like the idea of it. Especially with leasehold flat new builds which you never really own the property. You only own the right to live there for the time of the leasehold, the freeholder can still make you forfeit your place if you breach terms if I remember correctly.

Offline Payyourwaymate

you could get involved in buy to let , while joining the waiting list for a council house or a housing association? met a women the other day who let out 2 flats on airbnb and used the income to rent in an area she found attractive.

What would the woman do if her flats had void periods, how would she cover the rent the place she lives in? Did she tell you? That's seems risky. The waiting list idea makes sense. Thanks.

Online willie loman

What would the woman do if her flats had void periods, how would she cover the rent the place she lives in? Did she tell you? That's seems risky. The waiting list idea makes sense. Thanks.

i imagine she had a reserve, she was a good age, over 70, but borrowing money and getting tenants to pay your mortgage is an option, while you get on with living where you want. continue renting and put your surplus into the stock market.

Offline Payyourwaymate

i imagine she had a reserve, she was a good age, over 70, but borrowing money and getting tenants to pay your mortgage is an option, while you get on with living where you want. continue renting and put your surplus into the stock market.

Ah I see. Unfortunately, I'm 28 and I don't have all those working years to have such a large reserve of funds. Thanks though for the response.

Offline Adoniron

this is not a problem unique to london
External Link/Members Only
could you move somewhere for affordable ?

who knows what the normal working pattern will be in the future
when we start this new normal most offices will have been working from home for 18 months. it will be hard to argue that all staff have to be in the office every day
I think an office job that requires commuting into the centre of cities every day is a thing of the past
I guess my point is that these changing commuting patterns may effect house prices with people living further away from work, so city centre prices may go down

House prices in the suburbs and market towns are already increasing as it becomes clear that many people will be working from home at least some of the time. I dont know about the trend for city living, leaving aside the apartment blocks covered in lethal cladding which are unsaleable now.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2021, 07:47:01 pm by Adoniron »

Offline Markus


Depends where in London you buy. The benefit of even a shit area in London is that land is cheap and will therefore become gentrified meaning prices will go up which means your property in turn will go up. I can think of Willesden as a prime example. It is still pretty run down but those huge blocks of flats being built are priced in the middle ground which means that prices of houses in Willesden have increased as well.  Northolt is not bad and better value for money and on the Central Line.

I could never do the long commutes. Absolute waste of time & money as your life becomes taken up long commutes and less productivity overall.  Certain parts of Kent are affordable and you the commute has become shorter.

Offline Gordon Bennett

What is shackling you to London? It's obviously totally unviable and totally unaffordable for you. Move to somewhere else in UK - there are plenty of places that have a vibrant urban feel, just on a smaller scale. The beauty of many cities is that their suburbs aren't actually that far from the centre so you can have nice house/garden  with off-road parking and only be a few miles or half-hour from the city centre. Also, stuff like the coast or proper countryside is often nearby too.
I'm London born and bred but best thing I ever did is get out of the place. Even mates who somehow managed to get on property ladder in London and are now in gaffs worth a £million+ are deeply unhappy and short if cash. Meanwhile, I'm mortgage free and able to set my kids up in their own places.... none of this was remotely achievable for me in London.
There is no point earning £100K in London and living like a pauper when you can earn a third of that somewhere else and live like a king.

Offline pewpewpew

Do new build blocks not have to offer a certain amount of affordable housing in order to get planning permission?

I live just outside of London and the house prices have gone up over the years as more people move out and travel in. But still a lot cheaper then London proper. I drive in to London every day for work but not central. Parking space at the office. My other half was taking a 1 hour train to central London and she got used to it pretty quick, but it was literally 1 train then a short walk. Friend of mine used to take a train and 2 underground sand hates it

Anyway, as the previous reply says, you are free to move wherever you can afford. I loved out of London because I was sick of wannabe gangsters causing trouble in my town and it was a brilliant move

Offline Scotpunter

I can't advise you on where to live. I get the impression that house prices are going to take a major hit right across the market. London being one of the worst hit, They are going to have the people you describe moving out of cramped housing with no garden due to fears of another lockdown. Then you will have a lot of companies realising how much they can save by having employees work from home.

The one bit of advise I hope you take, is do not buy to let. There are a lot of buy to let landlords out there shitting themselves at present. Imagine having a tenant on furlough that may or may not have continued paying the rent. The job they had will be gone once the furlough is stopped. A great many of these landlords are paying mortgages on these properties. No rent payment, no mortgage payment then house is repossessed.
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Offline BobAJobMan

I would rent somewhere cheap and cheerful for the next 5-10 years (balancing time, distance and commuting costs), and then as Gordon says, think about moving away from London entirely. It's a great place to be when you're young, but as you get older space, a garden, community, fresh air etc. all begin to count more. When you visit London after a period away you realise how dirty and literally smelly some parts of it are.
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Online willie loman

I can't advise you on where to live. I get the impression that house prices are going to take a major hit right across the market. London being one of the worst hit, They are going to have the people you describe moving out of cramped housing with no garden due to fears of another lockdown. Then you will have a lot of companies realising how much they can save by having employees work from home.

The one bit of advise I hope you take, is do not buy to let. There are a lot of buy to let landlords out there shitting themselves at present. Imagine having a tenant on furlough that may or may not have continued paying the rent. The job they had will be gone once the furlough is stopped. A great many of these landlords are paying mortgages on these properties. No rent payment, no mortgage payment then house is repossessed.
you can go into partnership with the council and they will provide tenants, or if its suitable property can be used for holiday lets, or short lets

Offline Joe Exotic

Those born/bred inner city, or just LDN in general, must stretch their legs.

The ‘outskirts’ probably offer a much better quality of life than, say, totting bec, Tottenham, streatham etc.

Commutes are less relevant since covid, surely some flexibility on days on-site Vs. Remotely. Those ‘outskirt’ locations may even have jobs local for you.

Difficult to advise, but it’s true Ldn house prices have inflated far past average earnings. There will be some correction coming, but it’ll be barely noticeable tbh. Especially while foreign property invest continues to grow.

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Offline Markus


Interesting thread because I imagine I will move out of London in the next few years.   I would still like somewhere where it isn’t a sleepy town and has a bit of life to it. I was thinking of Cambridge or Bristol but other than that I am stumped for ideas as I haven’t been able to visit new places due to the pandemic.  Given that a lot of people have moved out of London, can people suggest good areas?

Offline NightKid

Interesting thread because I imagine I will move out of London in the next few years.   I would still like somewhere where it isn’t a sleepy town and has a bit of life to it. I was thinking of Cambridge or Bristol but other than that I am stumped for ideas as I haven’t been able to visit new places due to the pandemic.  Given that a lot of people have moved out of London, can people suggest good areas?

Do you still wish to be connected to London in a way then? As you seem to be looking westward - other major towns like Gloucester, Swindon, Reading would be your potential options. Alternatively, if you fancy going closer to the coast then I've heard Southampton is more posh than Portsmouth lol

Personally, being an SA punter these days, my only other criteria besides affordability would be which among those areas is likely to have the best value girls  :D

Offline Markus


My former mechanic retired and moved to Swindon. It’s great VFM apparently but no mobile signal strength (or so he used to tell me  :D).  I’m not a fan of Reading but Gloucester is on my to-see list.  Portsmouth is not for me unfortunately.   Oxford was decent before the house prices went astronomically high due to its proximity to London.  I would like some proximity to London.

Offline Mr Sinister


There is no point earning £100K in London and living like a pauper when you can earn a third of that somewhere else and live like a king.

If you earn 100k in London there's no way you're anywhere close to living like a pauper unless you live an expensive lifestyle. 100k with realistic expectations you should be able to buy a property in London with ease as long as you have a sizable deposit this is the issue now deposits are becoming to high unless you do shared ownership or help to buy. There are those who combinely earn under 200k and struggle to buy a property that's because they may have unrealistic expectations like want a big 3-bed property in a nice area, where's you could get a large house in Croydon, Orpington or Essex for a reasonable price.

Offline Payyourwaymate

What is shackling you to London? It's obviously totally unviable and totally unaffordable for you. Move to somewhere else in UK - there are plenty of places that have a vibrant urban feel, just on a smaller scale. The beauty of many cities is that their suburbs aren't actually that far from the centre so you can have nice house/garden  with off-road parking and only be a few miles or half-hour from the city centre. Also, stuff like the coast or proper countryside is often nearby too.
I'm London born and bred but best thing I ever did is get out of the place. Even mates who somehow managed to get on property ladder in London and are now in gaffs worth a £million+ are deeply unhappy and short if cash. Meanwhile, I'm mortgage free and able to set my kids up in their own places.... none of this was remotely achievable for me in London.
There is no point earning £100K in London and living like a pauper when you can earn a third of that somewhere else and live like a king.

My immediate relatives I have in this country live in london. I don't have external family in this country like cousins uncles aunts etc. Living alone is pointless to me if I'm not close to family. I don't want to see myself moving out of london, just to say I have a house but I'm not happy because I'm not close to family and everything else is a hassle. I like areas outside of london on a temp basis, so I would not mind to visit for the green scenery and fresh air but living there long term I can't see myself doing. Thank you for the input, they are very valid points. I will take it into consideration for the future.

Offline Payyourwaymate

I can't advise you on where to live. I get the impression that house prices are going to take a major hit right across the market. London being one of the worst hit, They are going to have the people you describe moving out of cramped housing with no garden due to fears of another lockdown. Then you will have a lot of companies realising how much they can save by having employees work from home.

The one bit of advise I hope you take, is do not buy to let. There are a lot of buy to let landlords out there shitting themselves at present. Imagine having a tenant on furlough that may or may not have continued paying the rent. The job they had will be gone once the furlough is stopped. A great many of these landlords are paying mortgages on these properties. No rent payment, no mortgage payment then house is repossessed.

Thanks. There were investment funds relating to property that dividends got suspended for months due to the pandemic, I was affected by that last year, it has slowly started to resume recently though. You are right about what could happen when furlough ends, it could be very well walking off a cliff for many. I had a discussion about that aswell, one of my immediate relatives works in property and what I have been told regarding tenants of commercial property and residential has been an absolute madness during the pandemic. However, the property firm in question owns swaths of london in prime areas so they are still ok as they are basically too rich even with the amount of non-payments they have had. If I do get involved in BTL instead of moving out of london, it will be well after the pandemic ends and some normality returns.

Offline Payyourwaymate

Those born/bred inner city, or just LDN in general, must stretch their legs.

The ‘outskirts’ probably offer a much better quality of life than, say, totting bec, Tottenham, streatham etc.

Commutes are less relevant since covid, surely some flexibility on days on-site Vs. Remotely. Those ‘outskirt’ locations may even have jobs local for you.

Difficult to advise, but it’s true Ldn house prices have inflated far past average earnings. There will be some correction coming, but it’ll be barely noticeable tbh. Especially while foreign property invest continues to grow.

i've been outside of london various times, the public transport outside sucks. Amenities are not easily accesible compared to London. I suppose the more relaxed environment and way of life is a plus. Local jobs do not have the london pay though, otherwise many people that live outside of london will not come into london or other major cities for work. All the high paying big companies are based in london and other major towns. With working remotely that may change to be fair, I think I'll have to see what happens over the next couple of years. I used to think there would be a correction but I do not know anymore. Over the last 30 years property has consistently gone up, with the exception of 06-10 times before, but it's now higher than ever.

I think an odd situation would be to sit and wait for a "correction" and then a couple of years later prices are even higher  :dash:.

Offline Payyourwaymate

I would rent somewhere cheap and cheerful for the next 5-10 years (balancing time, distance and commuting costs), and then as Gordon says, think about moving away from London entirely. It's a great place to be when you're young, but as you get older space, a garden, community, fresh air etc. all begin to count more. When you visit London after a period away you realise how dirty and literally smelly some parts of it are.

London provides this aswell with the exception of community but that also depends on the area you are in. The problem is that you have to be earning a shit load of money to have access to it.

Offline Markus


You seem to have your reasons to live in London. Probably best to just come to the realisation that you’re better off renting a place until your financial situation improves.  If you’re young and you don’t mind house sharing it’s not likely to set you back.   Buying any place regardless of price requires a lot of sacrifice so at 28, you have time on your hands to put some money behind you. There will be some drop off in price once the stamp duty waiver comes to end after the end of next month.


Offline Cactus

No idea what you do, or if this applies, but with the pandemic more people are working from home, so instead of being in work 5 days a week, it’s now 1 or 2. Given that, people are now moving out of city centres and further from work as a longer commute is more palatable for the 1 day a week they’re going in. A friend of mine in HR thinks WFH is here to stay as companies have seen how it can work for them.

With property, like you say, unless you come from money, you’re not going to move into your ideal home straight away. But if you buy somewhere, anywhere and stay in it for a while, you’ll build equity in that home, a bit by the natural increase in property prices and the fact you’re paying off your own mortgage as opposed to someone else’s, which you do by renting. Live there for x years, sell it, take the equity and buy something more suited to your tastes/needs at that time. Hopefully in those x years your salary will rise and thus can borrow more. Rinse an repeat, increasing equity & income, until you get where you want to be.

Offline Scotpunter

you can go into partnership with the council and they will provide tenants, or if its suitable property can be used for holiday lets, or short lets

A friend of mine did that for a while in London. The aggro he ended up with with the council housing 'foreign' tenants put him off for life.
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Online willie loman

A friend of mine did that for a while in London. The aggro he ended up with with the council housing 'foreign' tenants put him off for life.

no doubt , but anyone dealing with tenants will have bad experiences, imo, the council will often pay slightly more than the market rate, i believe, certainly those landlords who are businessmen, go down that road.

Offline lillythesavage

No idea what you do, or if this applies, but with the pandemic more people are working from home, so instead of being in work 5 days a week, it’s now 1 or 2. Given that, people are now moving out of city centres and further from work as a longer commute is more palatable for the 1 day a week they’re going in. A friend of mine in HR thinks WFH is here to stay as companies have seen how it can work for them.

With property, like you say, unless you come from money, you’re not going to move into your ideal home straight away. But if you buy somewhere, anywhere and stay in it for a while, you’ll build equity in that home, a bit by the natural increase in property prices and the fact you’re paying off your own mortgage as opposed to someone else’s, which you do by renting. Live there for x years, sell it, take the equity and buy something more suited to your tastes/needs at that time. Hopefully in those x years your salary will rise and thus can borrow more. Rinse an repeat, increasing equity & income, until you get where you want to be.


It would seem working from home is here to stay for many, I know a Scottish couple, both working in London who were told early on that they would be always working from home in the future, sold the London house, moved home to a bigger house for less than half the money.

The 3 or 4 times a month they are required to attend the office after this pandemic ends are not so difficult by budget airline.

London is going to be a very different city when we come out of the other end.

Offline tintin100

London prices in zones 4-6 has gone through the roof in this pandemic. I just got gazumped by a cash buyer by £50k. I am not happy, apparently made his money in Dubai. I remember my first flat only cost £20k in 1982 and now stamp duty is almost 3 times that. It is totally screwed and there should be a correction but I have been saying that for the last 20 years.

Offline lillythesavage

London prices in zones 4-6 has gone through the roof in this pandemic. I just got gazumped by a cash buyer by £50k. I am not happy, apparently made his money in Dubai. I remember my first flat only cost £20k in 1982 and now stamp duty is almost 3 times that. It is totally screwed and there should be a correction but I have been saying that for the last 20 years.


I see people posting and thinking London Prices are going to suffer more than anywhere, not judging from my trips into town, the skyline changes weekly with another tower crane going up or the scaffolding coming down on yet another new block.
London will change but somehow not the ever increasing property values even with new developments being announced and built. If the money thought they could not sell them building would have halted mid build as it did in the last crash to some extent.

Certainly no signs of panic by developers.

Offline Jonestown


I see people posting and thinking London Prices are going to suffer more than anywhere, not judging from my trips into town, the skyline changes weekly with another tower crane going up or the scaffolding coming down on yet another new block.
London will change but somehow not the ever increasing property values even with new developments being announced and built. If the money thought they could not sell them building would have halted mid build as it did in the last crash to some extent.

Certainly no signs of panic by developers.

I would say that building activity in London has increased in the last year or so, I'd get the impression its being prepared for something, maybe the arrival of 1.5 million or so from Hong Kong.

Typically London property prices have rarely gone down, they may stagnate during slumps and properties are just not sold, or they never go on the market, but I don't think they has really been any period when they have trended down since the start of the property explosion in the early to mid 70's.

Offline Eggbert

Flexibility of location is key when you're starting out. There are plenty of places on the TFL network (keeping travel costs down) from which you can get into central London within an hour. Spent 3 years living somewhere I would rather have not. In those 3 years I saved more money, got a promotion, and made a profit on the sale of my flat. Now bought myself a much nicer flat in a much nicer area. For those not coming from wealth it's stepping stones to something long term. The earlier you are in your journey the more you'll need to compromise.

Offline Cactus

Flexibility of location is key when you're starting out. There are plenty of places on the TFL network (keeping travel costs down) from which you can get into central London within an hour. Spent 3 years living somewhere I would rather have not. In those 3 years I saved more money, got a promotion, and made a profit on the sale of my flat. Now bought myself a much nicer flat in a much nicer area. For those not coming from wealth it's stepping stones to something long term. The earlier you are in your journey the more you'll need to compromise.

Agreed, but I’d also add that the quicker you can start the journey, the better. As soon as you can buy something, the sooner you start building equity to pump into the next one.

Offline Jimmyredcab


I see people posting and thinking London Prices are going to suffer more than anywhere, not judging from my trips into town, the skyline changes weekly with another tower crane going up or the scaffolding coming down on yet another new block.
London will change but somehow not the ever increasing property values even with new developments being announced and built. If the money thought they could not sell them building would have halted mid build as it did in the last crash to some extent.

Certainly no signs of panic by developers.

Many foreign buyers see London property as a safe haven for their ill gotten gains, many of these new developments are all sold but at night few have lights on.  :unknown:

Offline David1970

Many foreign buyers see London property as a safe haven for their ill gotten gains, many of these new developments are all sold but at night few have lights on.  :unknown:

They are called dark towers Jimmy, dark at night, no one living there

SCMP in Hong Kong quite often had supplements for new developments in London, will only get worst with 300,000 potential UK passport holders heading this way. 
« Last Edit: February 16, 2021, 03:03:39 pm by David1970 »

Offline Eggbert

Agreed, but I’d also add that the quicker you can start the journey, the better. As soon as you can buy something, the sooner you start building equity to pump into the next one.

100% true. I have first hand experience of the fact that there is no benefit to the "wait and see" approach and in fact it has ended up doing me quite a bit of damage. By my mid 20s I probably had enough saved up to buy a 1 bed flat in Zone 4. Now in my mid 30s, my net worth would probably have been 2-3 times more than it is. The chance of property prices diving in London and the surrounding areas is minimal. I always advise younger people to find a way onto the market and then build from there.

Online willie loman

100% true. I have first hand experience of the fact that there is no benefit to the "wait and see" approach and in fact it has ended up doing me quite a bit of damage. By my mid 20s I probably had enough saved up to buy a 1 bed flat in Zone 4. Now in my mid 30s, my net worth would probably have been 2-3 times more than it is. The chance of property prices diving in London and the surrounding areas is minimal. I always advise younger people to find a way onto the market and then build from there.

good advice, buy , then after a bit move, if you are single you should be able to move up the ladder, it makes you attractive to women as well.

Offline MilleMiglia

London prices in zones 4-6 has gone through the roof in this pandemic. I just got gazumped by a cash buyer by £50k. I am not happy, apparently made his money in Dubai. I remember my first flat only cost £20k in 1982 and now stamp duty is almost 3 times that. It is totally screwed and there should be a correction but I have been saying that for the last 20 years.

You and me, both. I called overpriced in my home area back in 2000 and, being old enough to remember the boom and bust of the late 80's-early 90's, expected a correction sooner, rather than later. How wrong I was.......

Offline tintin100

I would say that building activity in London has increased in the last year or so, I'd get the impression its being prepared for something, maybe the arrival of 1.5 million or so from Hong Kong.

Typically London property prices have rarely gone down, they may stagnate during slumps and properties are just not sold, or they never go on the market, but I don't think they has really been any period when they have trended down since the start of the property explosion in the early to mid 70's.
That's scaremongering, no way is there 1.5 million coming over. The handover was in 1997, the smart people had already got their other citizenship way before then. The British government only want the rich not the poor to settle here. As per usual the media has no idea about the situation over there.

Offline Jonestown

That's scaremongering, no way is there 1.5 million coming over. The handover was in 1997, the smart people had already got their other citizenship way before then. The British government only want the rich not the poor to settle here. As per usual the media has no idea about the situation over there.

I don't know if that figure is scaremongering or not, the number of people currently living in Hong Kong who would be eligible for the new visa is supposedly 5.4 million, how many would want to apply, how many would actually intend to come, and how many the Chinese would let out is anyone's guess.

My point was that London is being got ready for something, if you were to take a stroll around the Battersea Power Station development and on to the American Embassy at Nine Elms these is a mass of development that has been in the doldrums for a couple of years that they are now going at hammer and tongs, and that's just an example of large scale development work going on - they are not doing it for fun, they have to be expecting to sell it to someone.

Offline tintin100

I don't know if that figure is scaremongering or not, the number of people currently living in Hong Kong who would be eligible for the new visa is supposedly 5.4 million, how many would want to apply, how many would actually intend to come, and how many the Chinese would let out is anyone's guess.

My point was that London is being got ready for something, if you were to take a stroll around the Battersea Power Station development and on to the American Embassy at Nine Elms these is a mass of development that has been in the doldrums for a couple of years that they are now going at hammer and tongs, and that's just an example of large scale development work going on - they are not doing it for fun, they have to be expecting to sell it to someone.
As I have said before, most already have dual citizenship even before the handover in 1997, they mostly picked USA, Canada and Australia. They use to call them astronauts as they are forever flying between the two places. UK is playing politics with China, they could have offered  the people UK citizen but didn't until now. As I said UK media is diabolical in the reporting, whereas people from Macua got full citizenship with no strings from Portugal before their handover.
   

Offline David1970

As I have said before, most already have dual citizenship even before the handover in 1997, they mostly picked USA, Canada and Australia. They use to call them astronauts as they are forever flying between the two places. UK is playing politics with China, they could have offered  the people UK citizen but didn't until now. As I said UK media is diabolical in the reporting, whereas people from Macua got full citizenship with no strings from Portugal before their handover.
 

Spot on most choose Canada, Australia and USA, they prefer them to UK.

Currently there are 350,000 BNO passport holders
About three million Hong Kong residents are eligible for BNO passports - and that doesn't appear to include dependants born after 1997.

Offline lillythesavage

Many foreign buyers see London property as a safe haven for their ill gotten gains, many of these new developments are all sold but at night few have lights on.  :unknown:


You could well be right, but as long as they are selling them they will keep building them and prices will not drop, London rode out the last crash and will ride out the pandemic too.
Canary wharf type blocks are spreading East at a rate of knots, there is a new pub on the river I met a friend at after first lockdown, table service as they all were, 7 pints each came to over 90 quid ffs, in Silvertown.
Food looked very average, usual pub fayre, 14 quid for a burger with a toothbrush cup of chips, 2 fish fingers in a burger bun, no chips 8 quid. absolute madness. Oh and the food is plus 10% for service, and checking the receipt next day so was our beer. The West end is often cheaper.

They wonder why people drink at home or in the park.

Offline lillythesavage

You and me, both. I called overpriced in my home area back in 2000 and, being old enough to remember the boom and bust of the late 80's-early 90's, expected a correction sooner, rather than later. How wrong I was.......


Years ago a work mate bought his Mothers 3 bed maisonette near Mudchute on the Iod, He paid 4k for it, about 2 months money in our job then.

 I moved out shortly after but met him out in Essex one day some years later, Still on the Island ? I asked. No, he says, sold that, bought a 3 bed in Wanstead and retired on the balance. He was just over 50 but retired 4 years.

There was me saying why do you stay in this shit hole.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2021, 10:31:25 pm by lillythesavage »