UK Housing Crash - Good thing or bad and will it happen - Discuss

[Deimos]

[quote user="Russethouse"]

One thing that may steady the market is a change in tax relief on investments which may mean that those who have invested in buy to let property may rush to cash in ........my sister explained it to me, she is the expert....something to do with taper relief I think.

[/quote]

I don't know about that having an effect on house

prices but I can see a lot of people who can sell assets with taper

relief selling them before the new scheme comes in. That is if it

comes in. I'm no economist nor business man but the proposed changes

to CGT seem to be very broad brush and hitting a lot of people not

intended. as a method of getting Private Equity to pay some tax, it

is hitting a lot of people who are genuinely investing in a sensible

manner in UK business. Seems a really daft way they are proposing to

do things and I would expect that it will have quite a negative

impact on business.

That said, people selling to avoid losing taper

relief will have to find something else to put their money into.

Ian

[Framboise]

Exactly Russethouse.    This same Supply & Demand has enabled my husband, son and me to buy our lovely home in France for which we have to thank my mother-in-law for hanging onto her victorian semi when it really was too much for her to cope with. Stubborn old thing that she was, she refused unequivocably to leave it under any circumstances, however when the time came its being in an area of high demand we had buyers squabbling over it, selling it  in less than a week!

Other side of the coin -  if the Crash does happen we have friends who have just bought a 5-bedroom house for just under £1 million. In order to not lose this place to someone else they had to pounce immediately, thus they still have their other home on the market alongside the prospect of the new house not being worth what they have paid for it.  Not a position I would feel too comfortable in at present.

Frankly in the area I am in here in UK I don't recall the house prices EVER falling, not in the 29 years since I bought my first place anyway.  (Those houses were 20k then - now upwards of 180k and growing).  Its been a steady upward climb that shows no sign of stopping unfortunately which does not bode well for youngsters wishing to buy their own homes, and thats why we are happy to leave here knowing our eldest will take care of this place for us so he will not face the crisis that many other young people find themselves in.

I hope the market does not implode,  for the implications for millions of people do not bear even thinking about. 

[Chancer]

No-one has yet mentioned the modern day phenomenon of parents financial contributions towards their offsprings first house purchases, or first post divorce/splitting up purchases or first post nervous breakdown/business loss purchases etc etc etc.

Surely this has been driving the house price inflation? most young people now cannot afford to buy based on their earnings yet still do with help from parents, at what stage do these people become adults and start supporting their parents in their retirement?

My parental support minimal though it was stopped when I was 15, by the age of 25 I was able (and happy) to help my father financially during his retirement, within my means of course as he had with me.

I know several people older than me (in their 50's) who still "tap up" their retired parents even when their own children have left home.

[Russethouse]

Its six of one etc, the changes in inheritance tax may mean more children being helped in their first purchase, perhaps this would offset the other changes already mentioned.

What is happening here (Thames Valley) is that often a couple of family homes with large gardens are being demolished to make way for starter homes, the people who buy these houses make a life in the area and want to stay here in a bigger house, this keeps the price of older semis up.

Recently a house a few doors away was marketed for what I thought was a very imaginative price - to my amazement there was a bidding was with the successful bidder paying an extra £25,000.......