Just wondering what folks think has happened to house prices in the last 18months or so....how much do you think they come down?   It had to happen as they were becoming unreachable esp for first time buyers...the banks just kept lending more,increasing the earning multiples so folk could buy..This of course was in the banks best interests,the more they can lend the more interest they collect! If the buyer defaults they get their money back first and so rarely lost out. All costs of course came out of the house buyers 'pot' first. self certification mortgages have all but dissapeared and wil soon be banned by law. That is a great loss to many people who can afford to buy but are on uncertain incomes or have err ...other revenue streams shall we say.I feel that if you have a large chunk to use as deposit then a self cert mort is at your risk and so the decision to borrow any amount is up to you,after all, you will loose if u default. So come on answer my question, how much have prices dropped over past 18mths or so?                                                                                                                                                                             

I sold my house a couple of years ago literally days before house prices started dropping, so I guess I was lucky there. If I was to sell at today's prices I would lose  a quarter of what it sold for back then.

I always say that an item - no matter what it is - is only worth whatever you're willing to pay for it!
                                                                                                                                                                             

As long as u sell in order to buy a more expensive house, u r quids in if prices fall..   eg   Yr house is worth £100,000, and u want a £200,000 house. Diff to find = £100,000. But prices drop by 20%. So yr house is now worth only £80,000, but the new house is £160,000. Diff to find = £80,000. ie. u r £20,000 better off.   Of course, the reverse is true should prices rise.                                                                                                                                                                             

so purple betty saying around 25% drop.... XKL talks about relative differences.......issue there is smaller houses seem to be holding value better than 4/5 bed ones...                                                                                                                                                                             

Yes, I was generalising. Lots of factors to take into account.                                                                                                                                                                             

anyone else have a view?                                                                                                                                                                             

Unfortunately Rosso I think one of the factors that affects the market is couples splitting up and dividing the equity in their big house.  In effect two cheaper houses are needed where before they were in one bigger house. They have the ability to trade in this market cos they do have some equity. So this helps keeps up the demand for smaller, cheaper houses and keeps the prices relatively higher.
We've also got an ageing population so we will see more of older people trading down from their large family houses that aren't needed any longer and buying smaller properties for 2 or one person.                                                                                                                                                                              

yee minnie that makes lotta sense.....demand definately far higher for two beds with ggs and decent gardens. hmmm And I guess those with bigger families are often the ones on benefits who get a hsg asc house..the cost of a bigger family doesnt fall on their shoulders! (ooer I risking fallout wiv that broad statment)! so demand for bigger private properties further depressed unless u wanna rent it out..which isnt a problem as there demand!                                                                                                                                                                             

Np problem in getting it  rented  out I agree, but there can be problems with who rents the property, no matter who they are.  I know of  a family who move into a place, don't pay bills, rent , take out loans and don't repay them etc, then move on. They manage to do this because  his name is on the bills/loans etc, but the houses are  rented in her name.
This leaves the landlords and the next tenants to deals with all the hassle including bailiffs turning up demanding to see ID from the innocent tenants  who have walked into it all.

........ and that's just one headache in a bag of migraines known as renting!!!
                                                                                                                                                                             

lol this made me think of the logistics of the close Ian & I live in , 

Across from us is a row of terraced 3 bedroomed houses with garages, all apart from 1 has had the garage converted to another room to accommodate the families that live on that side , 

However on our side is 4 bed detached houses, & non of us have families living at home now 

House prices are on the increase, well here they are, but people dont want to buy cos of the risk of interest rates shooting up & then them ending up in a position where they cannot pay as happened in the 80's so its easier to rent. 

As for a landlord having the house bills in his name when a tenant moves in ... never heard of that happening before.                                                                                                                                                                               

No sorry - didn't explain that too well - when I said his name is on the bills, I meant the man of the family not the landlord, and the house being rented in her name - that's the mans partner. Because they're not married and so have different surnames it's hard for companies to catch up with them. In addition to that, he isn't on the electoral roll, and also disappeared for a few days when the census was carried out last year..... make of that what you will!                                                                                                                                                                              

I've just5 bought a 3 bed semi with garage for 101k got a cracking mortgage aswell if you get a fixed rate not really a problem                                                                                                                                                                              

  Sorry I can't answer your question Andy, not had anything to do with house buying recently.   When I was married we bought a 3 bed semi in a cul-de-sac, in 1991, for £47, 950, nine years later I sold it and made £50 profit. It had been on the market for over two years.   Our first home was a 2 bed terraced bought in 1984 for £14,000, sold in late 1988 (can't remember what price we sold it) but 10 months later the house prices shot up and it almost doubled in price.                                                                                                                                                                               

Shell ! house prices going up!! where!!   government will say house prices droppe around 10% on last yr overall.  wat a load of tosh!  more like 30% or even more... There a vast gulf in wat people think their house worth now and what is actually acheivable........it is worth what someone will actually sign up to pay..no more   I looked at bunglaow prices in the next rd to me, highest price acheived around three yrs ago..184k, last one sold 18mths ago for 125k...exactly same property type!  ouch, so today wil be about 100k I rekon, bad news if u paID 184K !                                                                                                                                                                               

Houses here are worth what was paid for them 5 years ago, which is more than they were worth 2 years ago lol and they are selling Well all apart from the older persons shared ownership properties in the area are

Being where we are, its slap bang between Sheffield and Manchester so easy for the city, and 5 min walk your into open countryside

Property prices are pretty stable where I live on the edge of the Lake District. That is, too bloody expensive.   Prices went down immediately after I bought but have slowly come back up again. The house next door but one to me is up for sale at exactly the same price as mine was advertised for when I bought it 6 years ago...mind you they haven't sold it yet                                                                                                                                                                             

Renting houses out - sore subject with me after last year's experience. Those drug peddling, bill payment avoiding, house trashing scum that I had the misfortune to rent my house to ... and all the angst that went with it for months and trying to get them out  thats destroyed my health ..... thats putting it mildly.  Stuck with a house that wont sell  so have to rent it out.... and no I'm not in a privileged position having a "spare" house. So beware, those of you who might rent out a house in order to keep an income coming in. Never take anyone on trust, make sure all relevant checks are done, and let a letting agent take the strain if poss cos the stuff purple Betty describes and my own experiences are not rare events!!!! (And people like that give decent people who need to privately rent a harder time in getting accepted as a result)

I split up from my partner in 2005, and even though the house was in my name, I paid the mortgage (they wouldnt give us one in joint names as they considered HER a bad credit risk, but got one in my name alone!) and all the bills, she changed the locks and put out all my stuff . . . . Im not bitter, just the way things go! After 12 months of solicitors and Legal Aid (again, not bitter!), She managed to scrape enough together (her new fellas money) to pay me out, at a very low valuation.   I cant help but smile now when I see how much it has actually dropped  since She became the owner. She now has a nice black & white cottage in the country, that is worth less than She owes . . . . . Karma!                                                                                                                                                                             

Its worked to yer advantage longer term then Slidy! I just wish I'd pushed my ex to sell up 18mths ago when I first tght about it...but I gave it all a bit longer..as you do. Now I unsure that selling is the right path to take altho its what she now wants to do.. Renting rooms out an sharing a large house is much more cost effective and altho the capital is tied up and may even drop a little more short term at least it earns an income each month. Looking longer term I doubt I could evr finance a 5bed house again and potentially it will go up in value again...even 20% of 300k is alot of dosh! That said...its good to make the financial break as well as the emotional one wiv a n ex.  decisions decisions...as its under offer.                                                                                                                                                                               

@ XKL   Where the heck can you buy a house for £80-100,000 then matey, certainly not round these parts erm the Southeast,   Actually i'm hoping the house market is having a bit of a resurgence as i'm in the process of trying to sell mine, and downsizing.