House prices 'fall to 2004 level'

[AtW]

I'm given to understand there's a new series of Relocation,relocation (I haven't seen it myself). Has the UK gone completely mad?

Shortly followed by: Repossession, Repossession, Repossession ...

[TykeMerc]

I agree that a 30% drop since early/mid 2008 is probably realistic for houses that were >£300k.

The "value" of properties had inflated way past what people could afford to pay without gigantic (in real terms) mortgages, a correction was inevitable. The total collapse of the mortgage market means that the correction may well end up at 50% rather than the 35% which I expected.

The city centre flats market was totally absurd, I looked round one in Leeds a few months ago with a friend who was looking for a new place and they wanted >£200k for a flat smaller than some hotel rooms I've stayed in, it certainly didn't represent value for money in any real sense, at £35k it would still have been a rip off.

[AtW]

I looked round one in Leeds a few months ago with a friend who was looking for a new place and they wanted >£200k for a flat smaller than some hotel rooms I've stayed in

What always amazed me is that in this country prices were quoted for houses without clearly stated actual sq ft (or meters) - don't know for other countries than former USSR but there price of place was calculated on the basis of price per sq meter and multiplied by number of sq meters available in property.

It's just one of those scammy things in this country designed to cover up the fact that London properties are not just more expensive but also smaller (on average).

[BrilloPad]

What always amazed me is that in this country prices were quoted for houses without clearly stated actual sq ft (or meters) - don't know for other countries than former USSR but there price of place was calculated on the basis of price per sq meter and multiplied by number of sq meters available in property.

It's just one of those scammy things in this country designed to cover up the fact that London properties are not just more expensive but also smaller (on average).

Only small if in a twatty area of London. There are some great places if you know where to look.

[AtW]

Only small if in a twatty area of London. There are some great places if you know where to look.

You are missing the point - all that "3 bedroom house" stuff is meant to be misleading as it lacks objective metrics that allow to make like-for-like comparison. You can't even do that easily if two houses sit next to each other in the same place - the pricing is (or was) essentially as much as they can get away with it disregarding objective factors.

Like for like (nice area) house in Brum is going to bigger than that in London for less money.

[BrilloPad]

You are missing the point - all that "3 bedroom house" stuff is meant to be misleading as it lacks objective metrics that allow to make like-for-like comparison. You can't even do that easily if two houses sit next to each other in the same place - the pricing is (or was) essentially as much as they can get away with it disregarding objective factors.

Like for like (nice area) house in Brum is going to bigger than that in London for less money.

Well of course. In Brum there are no jobs. Same is true for London this year but next year it will be business as usual.