The edge of the crash?

[sappatz]

crash

only a fool would buy a house now

[SallyAnne]

only a fool would buy a house now

People have been saying that for the last 5 years!

[Gonzo]

Sounds like a big risk to me. The "safe" thing is to follow the conventional path of "getting on the property ladder" regardless of how much you have to overstretch yourself to acheive it. It's the traditional investment for those who like to play it safe and don't have the balls to take risks.

I am quite interested to see how that is going to pan out in a low inflation environment. People have always streched their finances to the max to get a decent property and 15 years ago they could rely on inflation to quickly raise their income relative to the price their paid for their property, so their mortgage did not appear such a burden for very long.

If inflation and wages rises stay low for another decade then people that stretch themselves financially now will still feel stretched in ten years time. Maybe then they might not think that the sacrifice was worth it.