Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
I think many people would agree on the point about the cost of housing. It has become utterly ridiculous. Not sure you can blame estate agents though, I think the people with the actual money to spend are the ones who have been happy to push prices ever higher. As a nation we have become used to the idea that we can expect to make endless profit by working our way up the property ladder. Some have observed that house prices are the one part of the economy where everyone seems to think that rampant inflation is a good thing.
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I am not sure how to phrase this, but I've always thought that artificially high house prices are a bit of a lie. They make you think you are wealthier than you are.
The problem is that while it may be true that (for example) you bought your house for £60,000 and it's worth £260,000 now, so on paper you are £200,000 better off, if you actually move, you'll probably find that other houses have increased by a similar amount (unless you move to a cheaper area), so you've actually made little or no profit, or even a loss after you take into account solicitor's fees.
The only time you might actually be generally better off if is if you actually buy another house. That way, you actually can capitalise on rising house prices because you don't have to buy another to replace it if you should sell it.
How many people can afford to do that though? Not that many thanks the high house prices.