"Homeowners have been popping the champagne corks this week after The Argus revealed house prices will continue rising."

No they haven't. Everyone was on here telling you how you were wrong. What's more, what makes you think people will celebrate their house value going up? As a homeowner I just see the next rung on the ladder stretching further away from me. A near stagnant housing market (not rising but also values not falling below my mortgage level) would suit me fine.

Ah, the reason the Argus has silly headlines like "homeowners popping champagne corks" is because it sells lots of newspapers. We are a nation obsessed with house prices, people love seeing how much their beloved property has gone up in value, despite in the vast majority of cases it being of very little use to them.

With population growth forecast at another 10 million in the next few years I am afraid the market will inevitably keep rising due to the demand and lack of supply, particularly as most of these people will want to live in the overcrowded south east.

Is Mary Mears including the King Alfred in her figures for "affordable" homes in prospect?

good to see the housepricecrash doomsayers are spamming the comments section of the papers. don't you guys ever give up? just be pleased the economy is still doing well and most people have jobs and stop watching on the sidelines or you'll miss the boat.

Those popping noises aren't champagne corks it is the sound of a bubble bursting. So whilst Hometrack, Rightmove, RBS, HBOS, RCIS state prices are falling the good old Argus claims they are rising!!!!!

Is this article recycled from 4 years ago because it isnt relevant to todays market.

We both persuaded a couple of female friends to come in with us and buy a property together.we did this long before prices hit these levels and our friends are thanking us now.

How do you cope with the comstant PMT, must be a nightmare??

james wrote:
good to see the housepricecrash doomsayers are spamming the comments section of the papers. don\\\'t you guys ever give up? just be pleased the economy is still doing well and most people have jobs and stop watching on the sidelines or you\\\'ll miss the boat.

This boat your talking about....it isn't called The Titanic is it?

I don't know what this website housecrash is about but I do know by the sound of it it sounds like they know what they are talking about.
Anyway whats the difference between Estate Agents and Mortgage brokers coming on here and spreading their opinions and these housecrash guys coming on here and putting their point forwards.
I think you'll find it is called a "debate". Differing opinions are neccessary. What I would like to see is an Estate Agent come on here and explain why every economic expert predicts a downturn but for some reason you dont think it is happening.

By the way....news just in on BBC:

The British Bankers' Association (BBA) said that new mortgage approvals for house purchase stood at 52,685, down by 27% on September last year.
OH dear and just above that another news story.....
In one block of flats called Aspect 14, on the edge of Leeds city centre, one owner has lost as much as £85,000 on a flat in 18 months.

Others have seen the value of their flats fall from £189,000 to £131,000 in two-and-a-half years.

The majority of the last 10 sales in the block have seen significant losses.

At City Island, another Leeds development, flats have sold for up to £50,000 less than they were bought for.

PMT wrote:
How do you cope with the comstant PMT, must be a nightmare??

When women live together their monthly cycles synchronise apparently. So it wouldn't be constant.

I hope some thought will be given to local kids, especially single males, who seem to left at the bottom of any q.

My kids should have left home long ago yet 2 adult sons have moved back because they cannot afford to live away.

Ken wrote:
I hope some thought will be given to local kids, especially single males, who seem to left at the bottom of any q. My kids should have left home long ago yet 2 adult sons have moved back because they cannot afford to live away.

Ponces!

Central Government are now saying that councils can build houses again. I notice that neither of the councillors in today's feature mentioned renting. Most young couples I know don't earn £18,000. "Affordable" housing is a myth. Build council houses for rent!

Journalist's at The Argus would benefit from reading their own archives covering the years 1989, 1990 & 1991.

having a home is a basic need..much as food and warmth and clothing. So WHY is housing left out of the calculations for inflation? this reason alone is why wages have been unable to keep pace with property prices and therefore causing people to borrow a larger multiple of their income to fund even smallish mortgages. home ownership for many is a stressful experience and for a hell of a lot of others, far beyond any hope.

having a home is a basic need..much as food and warmth and clothing. So WHY is housing left out of the calculations for inflation? this reason alone is why wages have been unable to keep pace with property prices and therefore causing people to borrow a larger multiple of their income to fund even smallish mortgages. home ownership for many is a stressful experience and for a hell of a lot of others, far beyond any hope.

Penny wrote:
Central Government are now saying that councils can build houses again. I notice that neither of the councillors in today\'s feature mentioned renting. Most young couples I know don\'t earn £18,000. \"Affordable\" housing is a myth. Build council houses for rent!

Fully agree Penny, I am a strong advocate of a construction programme to restore the council housing stock..therefore enabling young LOCAL families to have a home. I stress the word local, because i believe the old residency rule should be restored so that outsiders dont jump the housing queue simply because they fancy living in Brighton.

No need for the cancel to tackle the house prices?

The banks are now in the process of doing it themselves by restricting mortgage lending!

You can only sell your property for the amount a buyer can get a mortgage for, so at some point in the future negative equity will will stalk the property market with a vengeance!

As for the healthy UK economy? It has only carried on the way it has because the UK Debt has been allowed to grow to £1.4 trillion. An amount which exceeds it's earnings!

YES IT'S A £1.4 TRILLION DEBTBURG!

Won't be long before the good ship Gordon Brown, Queen of the economic seas strikes it a glancing blow and Gluggs all the way to the bottom!

ray ellerton wrote:
having a home is a basic need..much as food and warmth and clothing. So WHY is housing left out of the calculations for inflation? this reason alone is why wages have been unable to keep pace with property prices and therefore causing people to borrow a larger multiple of their income to fund even smallish mortgages. home ownership for many is a stressful experience and for a hell of a lot of others, far beyond any hope.

OK let's put houseprices in the bank of england's inflation report. Suddenly inflation is at 10%. Rates shoot up casuing 100,000's to lose their property as repayments are far in excess of their takehome pay. A master stroke Ray you are a genius.

Is that pronounced 'caaaaancil' Ben Wheeler?

Absolute dead cert there will be a crash in Brighton. Last time there was a crash in the 90s Brighton suffered badly as in times of trouble (city redundancies, credit crunches, etc) second home owners sell their holiday homes and retreat to their primary residences causing a surge of properties on the market. Add to this a buy to let exodus (Brighton is an extremely popular place to 'invest' by BTL's) and the mother of all crashes will happen here. Worse in Brighton than most other places. Prices are already reducing. Take a look through the argus property mag and latest homes. The pages are packed full of properties marked 'price reduced', 'new price' or in the case of foxtons 'sale now on!' If you need further evidence take a look at propertysnake.co.uk and put in a Brighton postcode!
I am a prospective first time buyer and have done my research. Do not listen to Estate Agents and other parties with a vested interest in rising property prices. Read the financial pages, study how economies, stock markets, asset prices etc behave. I guarantee you will not come to the same conclusion as these muppets 'Technical Forecasts' 'property experts' (dont make me laugh!) no doubt with a vested interest quoted (irresponsibly by the argus) in this report!
First time buyers DO NOT buy now. Rent is better as far cheaper than an interest only mortgage! (let alone a pepayment one!!!) Save and save and be careful with your money. In three to five years when the bottom of the market has been overshot, grab your bargain of the century!

Tim wrote:
Absolute dead cert there will be a crash in Brighton. Last time there was a crash in the 90s Brighton suffered badly as in times of trouble (city redundancies, credit crunches, etc) second home owners sell their holiday homes and retreat to their primary residences causing a surge of properties on the market. Add to this a buy to let exodus (Brighton is an extremely popular place to 'invest' by BTL's) and the mother of all crashes will happen here. Worse in Brighton than most other places. Prices are already reducing. Take a look through the argus property mag and latest homes. The pages are packed full of properties marked 'price reduced', 'new price' or in the case of foxtons 'sale now on!' If you need further evidence take a look at propertysnake.co.uk and put in a Brighton postcode! I am a prospective first time buyer and have done my research. Do not listen to Estate Agents and other parties with a vested interest in rising property prices. Read the financial pages, study how economies, stock markets, asset prices etc behave. I guarantee you will not come to the same conclusion as these muppets 'Technical Forecasts' 'property experts' (dont make me laugh!) no doubt with a vested interest quoted (irresponsibly by the argus) in this report! First time buyers DO NOT buy now. Rent is better as far cheaper than an interest only mortgage! (let alone a pepayment one!!!) Save and save and be careful with your money. In three to five years when the bottom of the market has been overshot, grab your bargain of the century!

Nice to see you just copied and pasted your exact comment from yesterday when (if you recall) I offered a substantial bet against your carefully researched predictions.

Still plenty sitting there if you are up for it.

Nothing new to add today then?

Oh, and if you were researching so very carefullly, how come you failed to notice there is no Foxton's in Brighton? It's Fox and Sons who have the sale on!

To Jim:

What was true yesterday is true today. I shall shortly be posting my bit on the credit crunch too!! Yes, meant fox and sons. Typo.
Not interested in your measily £10k bet. Too busy making a pile out of rising commodity prices. But you probably dont know what they are as you are one of the sheeple who only look at property.
Get over it - Prices are now falling.

The credit crunch will have a massive effect on the housing market. A fact completely ignored by these jokers forecasts of a massive rise in house prices.
Their theories rely on banks continuing to provide cheap risky credit to those who can't really afford it or who would traditionally not have access to such loans. It also relies on banks lending up to 6 or 7 times income. It also relies on banks giving 125% loans to value for FTB and taking big gambles with sub-prime Buy to Let.
40% of mortgage products have now been withdrawn, banks are demanding better risk for their money, they are demanding bigger deposits, substantially increasing rates for all but the safest of owner occupiers. Easy money is no more.
You see, ITK, it all depends on Supply & Demand but VIA the banks say so. Everyone would like a nice gaff to live in but if the banks wont provide the easy and irresponsible credit as it has in the past there is far less demand. Big reduction in flat AND house prices will follow this broadcast!!
So who then exactly is now going to lend to keep these massively inflated house prices going then propertyforecasts.co
.uk?

Ben,
If your making so much money out of commodities, affordability shouldn't be a problem for you. Wishing for a crash and taking advantage of high unemployment, int rates, and desperate sellers (as well as "playing" commodities market) shows youasjust as avaritious and greedy as any BTLer or developer. Only you sound more arrogant.

Nick wrote:

ray ellerton wrote:
having a home is a basic need..much as food and warmth and clothing. So WHY is housing left out of the calculations for inflation? this reason alone is why wages have been unable to keep pace with property prices and therefore causing people to borrow a larger multiple of their income to fund even smallish mortgages. home ownership for many is a stressful experience and for a hell of a lot of others, far beyond any hope.

OK let's put houseprices in the bank of england's inflation report. Suddenly inflation is at 10%. Rates shoot up casuing 100,000's to lose their property as repayments are far in excess of their takehome pay. A master stroke Ray you are a genius.

housing should NEVER have been taken out of the inflation calculations in the first place, then the situation as it is today would have not been as bad....that was the point i was making! It has been a case of the government at the time fiddling the figures to show themselves in a better light.

what a terrible article. I have a house in Brighton and a flat in London, and even though fortunate, think the thought of popping champers is vile to toast an inflated housing market.

And in Poets Corner and elsewhere in HOve prices are definitely falling.

Stu

Read back my posts and must I admit they do sound a bit arrogant..
Look, all I want is for stable and affordable house prices. I am not however going to make the biggest purchase of my life at the top of the market.
Buying and selling commodities, shares, bonds, investing in business, placing put options etc is quite different.
I just want a decent place to live for a reasonable price. This WILL happen in good time. I am not interested in using property as an investment vehicle and helping to deprive first time buyers of a place to call their own. Nor once I am a home owner would I want my property to rise too much in price as I would not be able to climb the property ladder to get a bigger place.
Once they have fallen to affordable levels I would like the government to include house prices in the inflation figures. This would prevent this type of bubble from ever happening again.
Tim (not Ben!)

Tim you are the sort of person who will never have the balls to buy a property and will be renting for the rest of your life!! If you had bought last year you would have already made some money!! Enjoy paying off your landlords mortgage or do you still live with your mum?!!!

Tim your some sort of wet one aren't you?

I took the plunge last year and bought my first property. Only a studio flat but that was all I could afford. In hindsight, I wish I had had 'the balls' to have done it years ago. All those years of renting....I know I could rent something better for less than my monthly mortgage repayments but it's about more than money. You see, many times over the years, you have to pack up your stuff and move because the owner wants to sell up or whatever. You have many freedoms denied to you when you rent. Smoking, pets, decoration,furnishin
gs, the list goes on. Now I have a home...MY home and it beats the hell out of renting anyday. Just do it as soon as you can but don't overstretch yourself...that's all.

Sorry, Tim (not Ben). And I do sympathise with anyone trying to buy first time, or move up (I can't afford to buy my present house, let alone a bigger one for my expanding family) I've worked in property for 18yrs now and would love gradual price inflation in line with earnings - anything but boom or bust which does no-one any real favours. But its never happened and as a teenager I lived through the 80's bubble burst which left many hardworking families homeless and desperate. A slow down has to occur, no doubt, but if we could build more homes (not luxury flats) for sale and rent we could achieve a more stable market for everyone. This country has only about 12% covered in anything manmade, we do have space!

Tim wrote:
Absolute dead cert there will be a crash in Brighton. Last time there was a crash in the 90s Brighton suffered badly as in times of trouble (city redundancies, credit crunches, etc) second home owners sell their holiday homes and retreat to their primary residences causing a surge of properties on the market. Add to this a buy to let exodus (Brighton is an extremely popular place to \'invest\' by BTL\'s) and the mother of all crashes will happen here. Worse in Brighton than most other places. Prices are already reducing. Take a look through the argus property mag and latest homes. The pages are packed full of properties marked \'price reduced\', \'new price\' or in the case of foxtons \'sale now on!\' If you need further evidence take a look at propertysnake.co.uk and put in a Brighton postcode! I am a prospective first time buyer and have done my research. Do not listen to Estate Agents and other parties with a vested interest in rising property prices. Read the financial pages, study how economies, stock markets, asset prices etc behave. I guarantee you will not come to the same conclusion as these muppets \'Technical Forecasts\' \'property experts\' (dont make me laugh!) no doubt with a vested interest quoted (irresponsibly by the argus) in this report! First time buyers DO NOT buy now. Rent is better as far cheaper than an interest only mortgage! (let alone a pepayment one!!!) Save and save and be careful with your money. In three to five years when the bottom of the market has been overshot, grab your bargain of the century!

Renting is dead money. You will always make money on property in the long term if you buy at the right price. the thing to do is not overstretch yourself. if you have to , don't buy or get a better job which pays more. houses are still quite affordable for many working couples. thos e who cant buy a three bed house as their first purchase should learn to be a bit less picky. properties are still selling like hot cakes. people should buy now or risk being rent-forever losers.

'Homeowners have been popping the champagne corks this week after The Argus revealed house prices will continue rising.' I vote for the Argus to take over running the economy from Crash Gordon. All those other **** just forecast, whilst the Argus tells us defintely what is going to happen. Another bottle of champers for me, put it on my MEW!

Tim wrote:
To Jim: What was true yesterday is true today. I shall shortly be posting my bit on the credit crunch too!! Yes, meant fox and sons. Typo. Not interested in your measily £10k bet. Too busy making a pile out of rising commodity prices. But you probably dont know what they are as you are one of the sheeple who only look at property. Get over it - Prices are now falling.

"Measily £10K?" If it is so MEASLY then perhaps you would care to up it, but then I don't bet with people who can't afford to pay their debts. If you were actually making so much money in commodities then you wouldn't be in the position that you are now, unable to buy.

I admit, I keep a very close eye on property prices as I have a portfolio of over 300 and I don't believe a crash of your predicted proportions will happen in our lifetimes. The market is slowing and stabilising and will drop in areas like ours by a small amount next year. These drops will only reflect the over inflated prices, being seen for what they are. The property market will continue to be strong and will rise steadily after this small 'drop'. There won't be epic 10-15% rises annually, but it will rise again. I can't tell you this for certain and no one can. Its my opinion, that's all.

However, I am a gambling man so if you want to shoot me down in flames, please feel free to accept my wager at any stakes.

Brighton has a hugely inflated housing market and prices are falling because people are starting to realise and move away...demand is going down because people are seeing sense. Why live in Poets Corner / Portland Road in Hove when it's far nicer (and takes just as long to get to central Brighton) to live in Lewes? And you get a lot more for your money too. I moved to Lewes 7 years ago - my property has gone up more than Brighton house prices and Lewes isn't suffering the same decline as Brighton. Kerching.

I'm hoping things will be better this year for first time buyers. I have been saving for the past 3 years for a deposit but now I have a decent deposit the banks can't even give me a mortgage as they have loaned out too much!!! Now what do I do??? Take a look at http://housecrash.in
fo for up to date information on these issues.