Why you can’t afford a house – financialisation, deregulation and easy-mortgages!?

shanibeer (68) · 6 years ago

Couple of points:

mortgages are extending into retirement: in one scheme I've looked at, you can take out a mortgage at 90 years of age for 35 years! Reasons for this include the 600,000 people who will have negative equity when their mortgage period ends in 2020; but also, money tied up in an asset (or savings) is not joining the consumer money-go-round economy.
I don't know why I'm paying money on a mortgage to own an asset I neither need nor want at the end of it. I would prefer to rent, but renting is so insecure: two months notice and you're homeless.
if I have got to pay a mortgage, I'd prefer to pay a smaller mortgage on a smaller property, but very few suitable properties are available (hundreds of loft apartments with no garden or even a balcony, although there is often a swimming pool in the basement) and none in the areas where I have my social networks and connections.
just noticing the parallels between financial institutions and blockchains creating money and the comparative acceptability to people of each option.
sadly, I think that a large proportion of ex-social housing has ended in the hands of buy to let investors.
on the other hand, there are some interesting initiatives around social investment in housing - we have a special housing themed meeting on Thursday with the GLA's housing department and two social investment organisations.
of course, the anarchist communists have strong views on land theft 😎.
Good post, thank you.

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revisesociology (73) · 6 years ago

To keep it focussed on housing. it's an interesting point that the system forces us to pay for an asset rather than a need!

I agree, I don't need my house to be 'worth' £200K, I'd rather it was valued at £50K and paid off 5 years ago so I could work a day or two less!

I need to find out more about that 90 + mortgage.

We defo need more social housing. I think something like £23 billion is paid annually out of benefits to private landlords.

Have to have a think about blockchains as money printers.

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shanibeer (68) · 6 years ago

Are you planning on mortgage at 90+?

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abitcoinskeptic (73) · 6 years ago

It is people investing in realestate, pure and simple.
I don't care where they live or wjat nationality they may be, it affects those who want to live in homes.
Solutions:

no nothing
tax second homes more with massive penalties for people who lie
more pubic housing, rent control, and more tax on private rentals

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revisesociology (73) · 6 years ago

I agree that there has to be a political/ social solution to this. Simply allowing the rentier class to be free to use housing as a speculation is a great social harm!

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indigoocean (67) · 6 years ago

Another factor is foreign investors (in any major global city). They don't just buy houses and apartments and rent them out to locals, which would at least keep them on the housing market and take some pressure off the home sales prices. They buy them and keep them empty, waiting ONLY for profit from resale. That not only pushes up prices directly, but also means there is a greater housing shortage than just land area constrains.

I think there's a proposal in London to start taxing empty units. Not sure of the particulars. Wouldn't want to be taxing someone who's just having trouble finding renters, but how you determine that genuinely vs making outrageous demands to dissuade applicants, I don't know.

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shanibeer (68) · 6 years ago

I commented about this in response to a previous post: as well as taking properties out of the housing market, it's removing spend on retail, restaurants and services in the local economy. In the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, England's richest borough, over a third of the properties are unoccupied with corresponding damage to local jobs and businesses.

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indigoocean (67) · 6 years ago

I hadn't thought about that. Great point!

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abitcoinskeptic (73) · 6 years ago

Often a lot more non foreign investors do it. Persoannly I don't care about their nationality.

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shanibeer (68) · 6 years ago

I agree, but there are different tax regulations for UK and foreign nationals. Both need to be tackled.

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revisesociology (73) · 6 years ago

Very fair point, I'm not sure how significant such speculators are compared to ordinary house buyers, but it certainly does push prices up!

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shanibeer (68) · 6 years ago

Council tax has been increased on empty properties since 2013. However, a £4,250 Council Tax bill on a £2.1m average price property isn't having much impact. Foreign nationals are also happy to pay £218,000pa in tax rather than declare which mega-properties they own.

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Number of empty homes in England - May 2018

shanibeer (68) · 6 years ago

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revisesociology (73) · 6 years ago

I think this is part of the future - more empty homes, more people homeless. Neoliberalism - polarises!

I remember doing a hand-out for a sociology lesson many years ago, and at that time the number of empty homes perfectly matched the number of homeless. I know the later can vary depending on definition, but at least one of those matched almost exactly!

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shanibeer (68) · 6 years ago

I agree. Depressing.

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raj808 (71) · 6 years ago

Ha ha, well all I can say is that the likelihood of me ever affording a house is pretty much zero. Unless I win the lottery or get lucky with a best selling novel.

I'll probably be renting until I die. But I am lucky to be with a social landlord. Maybe my steem and BTC/LTC holdings will save the day and I can buy a little place in Thailand or Indonesia where the diving is good 😉

Ahhh daydreams

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revisesociology (73) · 6 years ago

Glad you're with a good social landlord at least!

I would like a little place abroad.... Malaysia's also worth considering, don't know about the diving there though.

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raj808 (71) · 6 years ago (edited)

Cheers man. Yep, being with a soc landlord in this new place is a weight off my mind as I try to clear debts etc.

Malaysia's also worth considering, don't know about the diving there though.

Yep, there are some amazing dive spots in Malaysia also.

Check out this place Sipadan Island Malaysia:

Really any of those south east Asian countries and the Philippines as well are amazing dive destinations as well as being super cheap to live. I think Thailand is the only one that is reasonably easy to get residency in though unless you're bringing a business or guaranteed job skill.

Ha ha, I'm proper living in daydream world where BTC hits $100000 and I can just buy a little beach front place, write an article/day on steem and live from crypto profits eating coconuts and scuba diving every day 😆

Maybe when I'm 60 at this rate lol

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revisesociology (73) · 6 years ago

That really is the dream!

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markkujantunen (74) · 6 years ago

But everyone has to live somewhere, which means that even if fewer people want to be homeowners in the future someone will still need to own their homes. Rents are outrageously high in big cities in the UK, too.

revisesociology (73) · 6 years ago

Reduced demand should lead to lower prices of course, whether that results in lower rents i don't know!

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markkujantunen (74) · 6 years ago

If fewer people want to buy, then more people will want to rent. The rentals will have to be bought by someone.

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soyrosa (74) · 6 years ago

Yeah... Rub it in. I've been looking for a house for ages now. It's just not affordable. Extensive calculations say that it IS still waaaaay more economical long-term to buy vs rent though. Ugh. I really don't like the idea of buying, but in the end of the month I would have more cash available for other stuff :-)

revisesociology (73) · 6 years ago

You should buy if you can afford it. I was lucky to get in on a government assisted part-buy scheme, then lucky enough to get out last year before they hiked the service charge to £4500 ($6000) a year, or so I've heard!

I like being a house owner, I don't like paying off a large mortgage that is only so large because of financial engineering.

It's all such a systemic trap.

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soyrosa (74) · 6 years ago

Yes, it will probably happen. But I feel like I'm buying 'top of the market' now - but can I wait and hope for lower prices 'soon'? It's a huge gamble.

Yes, it's a systemic trap - I'm now looking into options where I buy a house and rent half of it to a student for example :-) That would be the dream. #passiveincome

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revisesociology (73) · 6 years ago

It's a difficult call whether to wait or buy! No point rushing into anything unless you find somewhere you really want.

Part-renting defo sounds like a good plan!

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ocdb (56) · 6 years ago

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partiko (66) · 6 years ago

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magnata (66) · 6 years ago

Can I use from a laptop Partiko, as I currently do not have an Android

partiko (66) · 6 years ago

Hello! Thank you for your message! Partiko is mainly for mobile devices, that being said, we do have a website partiko.app and we are adding features to it! Let us know if you have any other questions! We are always happy to help!

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revisesociology (73) · 6 years ago

I think it's just mobile - for both android and iphone

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steem-ua (64) · 6 years ago

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newageinv (70) · 6 years ago

If I only had read something like this 15 years ago but instead halfway through a 30 year mortgage which when added up shows I have ready paid the price two time over; I realize how right this is. The herd mentality in addition to consumerism has blinded most to continue to inflate the real bubble which is credit. As markets can continue to be irrational, especially when everyone is benefiting, there is no telling when it will all end!

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revisesociology (73) · 6 years ago

It's a really good example of a market system benefitting the few and harming the many!

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steem-plus (73) · 6 years ago

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steemitboard (66) · 6 years ago

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