House prices have dropped by over 50%!!!

[MarillionFan]

It's price in euros that's dropped numpty!!!

So where do you recommend I buy a holiday villa then?

[AtW]

So where do you recommend I buy a holiday villa then?

Ask DimPrawn, he is an expert in villas - he had one in Cyprus, very cheap apparently - one of those "good deals" you can find in disputed territories with Turkey

[monobrow]

It's price in euros that's dropped numpty!!!

actually, I think you'll find it's because the pound has weakened and the euro (to name but one) has significantly strengthed that has caused housing in spain to be unaffordable for brits and hence the knock on effect. I read a stat somewhere that 70% of all property transactions in spain were done by brits, so yes you could argue the pound "dropping" was a factor in this.

couple that with historically high interest rates in spain, the global recession (blah blah blah) & here we go, perfect storm.

Fear & Greed, gotta love em.

[AtW]

that has caused housing in spain to be unaffordable for brits

So let me just get the chain of events right here:

1) brits can't afford to buy houses
2) house prices collapse

Is that right?

[monobrow]

So let me just get the chain of events right here:

1) brits can't afford to buy houses
2) house prices collapse

Is that right?

nah, you've missed a few key points

1) Brits can't afford to buy anything
2) Somebody much cleverer than me works out how to package debt in such a way to make money out of selling it on. In a game of pass the parcel that never stops with no downside (until September 2008 that is)
3) Debt is so cheap, everyone borrows!, my hamster gets 25k credit card from MBNA!
4) Mortgage companies pass on the love, house prices skyrocket
5) Your local postie earning 25k a year has 500k of mortgages including 5 buy to lets
6) Ohh, is a bubble forming in the UK?
7) I know, lets buy a property in spain!
8) Cyprus, Croatia, Iraq! (look at what 150k gets you in Mosul !, WHAT A BARGAIN!)
9) Bubble bursts? boo hoo, those naughty bankers cheated me out of my life savings and now i'm in negative equity. lets stop their bonus'. lets riot etc
10) I know, lets do the same thing again!

something like that, got bored towards the end but you get my drift i'm sure

[AtW]

Iraq! (look at what 150k gets you in Mosul !, WHAT A BARGAIN!)

An explosive housing market there for sure...

[Freamon]

An explosive housing market there for sure...

Investment into Iraq seems to be the next accident waiting to happen. Apparently a lot of soldiers/contractors in Iraq are loading up on the Dinar, expecting the govt to revalue it upwards. There are even investment forums on the web dedicated to speculating in Iraqi Dinar and other Iraqi investments, some of them are pretty high traffic now.

[centurian]

I'm not sure this really changes anything. Locals have always been able to object to planning applications. Which means that building new houses is mostly impossible anyway. The only ones allowed are the big developers with a decent supply of brown envelopes to the local authority. Same as before really.

And that's what properly developers are already saying. That even as things stand - everyone always says "no" anyway. Any more "power to the people" and "mostly impossible" will become "almost completely impossible"

The rule changes mean that the brown envelopes can become nice clear ones instead as the Localism Bill actively encourages property developers to openly bribe parishes with cash for "community projects" as a payoff for the development.

The problem for the property developers is that it is then put to a local referendum as to whether the development can proceed. Now the original plans called for 90% approval - which will be nigh on impossible no matter how much of a bribe is offered - might just as well ban all housing development outright. But even a 50% will be tough - there will be a hard core of "no" activists, whereas the rest may be quite indifferent.

On the whole, I think we're going to see significantly few houses being built - cue another bubble.

[AtW]

Apparently a lot of soldiers/contractors in Iraq are loading up on the Dinar

Fools.

If I was a soldier in Iraq I'd be loading up on extra ammo.

[AtW]

the Localism Bill actively encourages property developers to openly bribe parishes with cash for "community projects" as a payoff for the development.

Well, better the community will get a "bribe" rather than some councillors.