Reply to: Housing bubble?

[Martin@AS Financial]

Many properties are on the market for just few days and are sold above the asking price.

FT ran an article this weekend saying "the domestic buyers" may be priced out. It doesn't look like the 2013 was the big bonus year for most bankers.

So who is behind the insatiable demand for houses in London this time?

Will the bubble burst?

It's a really good question Mickey.

I am based in Holborn and this year has been as busy if not busier than 2006-2007. The way I see it is that there is simply not enough property at the moment and this is leading to most homes being snapped up at asking price and above . Often this is through gazumpings, sealed bids etc. This is great if you are a vendor selling but not so good if you are looking to purchase.

Depending on who you ask, some will say foreign investment has led to the recent boom but this has always been an important part of the London property market. I believe that because banks have been able to tap into the funding for lending scheme, this has meant historically low mortgage rates have been offered which has motivated a lot of people to purchase. Furthermore, because lenders now have an appetite for BTL mortgages, vendors no longer have to sell but can instead release equity from their current home for a deposit and then rent it out. Again - this is leading to a shortage of stock.

Finally, the London property market has been helped by the lenders greater willingness to lend at the higher LTV's. A few years ago, banks put the shutters down for new business and were only interested if you had 25% deposit. This essentially put a block on the market as the majority of FTB's could not get £75,000 together to purchase at an average London property value of £300,000. You could cynically argue that this is because in a lot of cases it is not really the banks money being lent out which is why they are now offering 90% mortgages. The upside is that FTB's are back as they now have a fighting chance of squirrelling away a deposit and are not so reliant on the bank of mum and dad.

[DimPrawn]

Nah, it's all the people who just shifted their shoebox in town onto a wealthy foreigner for far more than it's worth moving out to the burbs.

Where's Kirsty and Phil (the bankrupt property expert) when we need them to shout at home buyers in a shrill voice "Quiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick, this won't be on the market for long, not a 1 bedroom basement flat at under a £1m. Not in this market."



Fill yer boots people!

[doodab]

It's all these statitician types earning £2K a day from home in between posting on CUK that's buying them all up.

Nah, it's all the people who just shifted their shoebox in town onto a wealthy foreigner for far more than it's worth moving out to the burbs.

[DimPrawn]

It's all these statitician types earning £2K a day from home in between posting on CUK that's buying them all up.

[mickey]

In London only. Subsets of the wider market can always work completely differently to the norm.

I recon it's all to do with the warm and sunny summer 2013

It's actually mid-range properties that are being snapped up quickly, so I think we should drop all this billionaires talk.

[DimPrawn]

I've got me prime Swindon council estate 'innit?

[d000hg]

You're just bitter you're not in that group DP.

[DimPrawn]

I love it when geeks try to be clever about the economy.
You're poor and these investors are rich.
There's a reason for that, capisch?

WHS.

London property market is the global money laundering centre of the world. Where else can you easily swap dirty money for a prime peice of real estate, dodge the stamp duty easily, pay no CGT on the profits, have a govt that prints money to support the asset price, and be a non-dom and pay no taxes when you are here?

Sorry, but this is what our govt is all about. Pandering to their billionaire friends.

It's not open to plebs like us.

[BrilloPad]

I love it when geeks try to be clever about the economy.
You're poor and these investors are rich.
There's a reason for that, capisch?

I love it with the chief cretin tries to be clever.

Most of these investors got their money illegally.

So we should give up working hard and try gun running?

At least you did not pretend you were among the rich.

[d000hg]

Many properties are on the market for just few days and are sold above the asking price.

In London only. Subsets of the wider market can always work completely differently to the norm.

[sasguru]

Obviously a safe place to invest money. No chance of currency losses at all, is there?

I love it when geeks try to be clever about the economy.
You're poor and these investors are rich.
There's a reason for that, capisch?

[MadDawg]

Don't forget the puncture repair kit. (A scaled up version of EO's tent)

[MrMark]

They say the world's reserve currency is the dollar. But its actually the London housing market.

Obviously a safe place to invest money. No chance of currency losses at all, is there?

[CoolCat]

Apparently people are buying lots of BitCoins to protect against the ongoing devaluation of the main currencys of the developed world.

[filthy1980]

They say the world's reserve currency is the dollar. But its actually the London housing market.

gold, silver and the above