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Why Are Uk Houses So Expensive?

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Jack8991 | 14:59 Sat 18th Dec 2021 | Home & Garden
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So I’m a teacher earning around £30,000 a year, 23 years old living at home with parents. My grandma was saying that when she dies (which hopefully isn’t for a very long time), I could buy her house, which is a semi detached estimated between £190-200K. I’ve been told by a family friend who is in banking that on my salary I’d be leant roughly £90-100K for property, so I always tell my gran there’s no way I could afford it as I’d have to put a deposit down of about £90-100K just to be loaned the rest. Even a lot of terraced houses are out of my price range. I just find it frustrating that I’ve worked hard since being at school to go on to get a degree and a career to not even be able to afford my own home. I know there’s renting but I don’t want to be paying out for a house I’ll never own until I die. Thanks

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One thing we had to do even in the 1980s and 1990s was to move out of town to areas that were being developed. On two salaries, ( both higher than average) we bought our first small house on 100% mortgage paying 17% interest knowing we had to buy and sell about every two to three years to get to a point where we could afford something we wanted in a better area nearer to work etc. At times we hardly saw one another as we were either doing over time or travelling my commute was nearly three hours each way for a while. It's what you do,and I thinking what people who want to own their own homes have always done with no help available from family. Another friend Sandusky his parents could afford to buy him and his wife a tiny one bed flat.
don't forget a good salary back then was about £5,000 a year and a small semi was about £40,000 and you could only get 3½ x joint salary as a mortgage. I think you might need to rethink you plans or find a partner with a really good job but you can get where you want to be, you may have to make compromises will you work towards it. btw. House prices are also high because of fascist of land to build them, if we adopted the dutch urban model of taller houses with a smaller footprint and little or no garden we would pay a lot less. We won't because we are conditioned to expect our houses to be a certain way.
Haha...when I was young, the slightly rough areas felt like an adventure. Lots of rented flats in some pretty interesting places.
You could come down to Plymouth and find a flat in an ok area for around 100,000...but certainly no houses. You could easily spend a lot more on a new build, even in up and coming areas. That's just the way it is.
Sandusky??? Was lucky
Fascist... The. cost. Sorry arthritic fingers versus autocorrect auto correct won.
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Neveracrossword- yeah but that’s still £60k more than what they would lend me as a teacher. Wher I live they’re all on £200K. For £90-100K they are all in really scruffy areas with druggies living in them and thugs hanging around on the streets on bikes in their trackies
I didn't mean to offend you. But the reality is (as I said in my first answer) either lower your expectations (you don't want to) move area (you don't want to) or team up with someone else (you don't say if you want to or not). Everyone else who has ever bought their own place ever is in the same situation as you.
A quick online check showed that you could possibly borrow between £90,000 - £135,000. That could mean you needed a deposit of only £30,000 to buy an average-sized semi in Wigan. If you want something better, or in a better area, then obviously it is up to you to tackle your finances with that in mind.
As I put above, move further out,if you don't want to move 'downmarket' and move often it's how the housing market has always worked for the majority.
I was in my early twenties when we bought our semi detached house

17k notes it cost us

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Bednobs- I would love to find a girl who I can do that with but I’ve never had a girlfriend and even though I’ve been on every dating site known to man, nothing lol
Flats from £80k...are they all in rough areas?

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/flats/wigan/
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Pasta freak- the ones that are in my price range between 90/low 100k yes they are. That nicer one for £150k is decent but it’s too expensive. Also, I’d definitely rather live in a house than a flat, I like being able to go out and mow the lawn and tinker about in a shed. Cant do that in a flat
Jack - I bought my first at age 38 years - after mum's death was living with brother in the most dilapidated house of all times. I was willing to get an extension ie bathroom, heating etc and he wouldn't hear tell of it so I got out after 5 years - our rent was 50p ie ten shillings a week and I moved to a brand new house £26,000 which was (I think) about £150 a month so I was bricking it. So went half Co-ownership and my owning the other half. I didn't realise at the time I could have afforded it all mortgage.

Terrible but after some years I decided to buy the other half out from Co-ownership and you had to buy it at the rate of that year's price - gone up to £40,000. However house is now valued at around £150,000-£200,000 - do not go co-ownership.

Whilst in your parents - just save up every penny.

It is not all easy to pay a mortgage and at that age you will be working to be paying it. Know a lot of young couples now with families - paying massive mortgages - literally working to pay their mortgages. Big bloody houses - fgs - go for something small mortgage.
Jack, I hate to say it, but you're just not going to get what you want now. So lower your standards either by location,or by type of property. Have you actually looked at anything in these supposedly sub standard areas? You might be surprised.
I am also wondering - are you too young (in your mentality) to be living on your own - you do ask a lot of questions re everything.

Just be contented with ma and pa and saving for that rainy day!
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Jenny- see it’s sarcy comments like yours that cause arguments. I’ve got a degree and I’m a teacher so I’ve proven that I’m not stupid, however, I’m not an expert on why property is so expensive and that is why I’m asking
I didn't mean to be sarky Jack - but you don't like to hear the truth - which is stay on for another few years. You will never get a place like your mum's - mind you neither did I - thank God - but moved up.
We can all be very well educated but lack in common sense.
You could buy a house now in an area you don't like and rent it out so it pays itself. Carry on living with your parents whilst saving for a few years then when you do inherit the money, sell that house and buy one in an area you do like.

That's what I did in '91 but without inheritance money. My nan is thankfully still with us at 90yrs old :o)
Jack..save as much as possible whilst with your parents and either team up with a partner or look into shared ownership..not ideal but better than nothing. As others have said its a supply and demand situation and not likely to change unless we have a population cull.
Many of us remember 15% interest rates..have you done a repayment calc if they were to go back up to that?

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