Why do people get so upset over house prices?

It must be nice to have mommy and daddy buy your place for you. As for the rest of us who have earn our own way, prices do matter.

Here in UK most parts of the country are experiencing house price reductions. Don't know why anyone should see this as a problem!

It is never a good idea to see your house as a means of proving an income in later life.

The best way to invest for the future is in a good pension fund and pile in as much money as possible.

In addition, regular monthly savings in a mutual fund so that eventually the sum saved equals two or three years worth of salary. In this way a person is financially secure for quite a long period of time should they lose their job,for whatever reason.

I puchased my present house about 12 years ago for £116,000 [a hell of a lot of money]. No mortgage to pay and the house is now valued at £480,000. I do not see my house as a source of income, it's just somewhere to live and where my partner and me can create our own little piece of Heaven on Earth.

If the price of my house crashed to £200,000 - so what? I don't really give a damn. I'm now a senior [a pensioner] - do we get two votes? No! Shame.

Either Bush or Palestine have been there for years and they can only affect my life somehow indirectly. A man's house it's his castle and whether trying to get on the property ladder (my case, and with two kids its not being easy at all), or the fear of loosing your home because you might not be able to keep up with the mortgage, this is a dear subject to us all. For millions of people it is the only thing they own so it becomes their most precious asset in life.Was it house prices in America wich started the all credit crunch crisis?!

Because they are so high they are forcing many people on lower incomes out of the market.

Couple that with a shortage of council housing (and a far too large percentage of people in housing they don't deserve - i.e. kids have left home yet still have a 3 bed house paid for by housing benefit!)

Also absolutely criminal private rental prices because of the buy-to-let landlord types out to make as much money as possible.

What do you get?

A lot of very unhappy people forced to pay ridiculous prices to live in poor quality overcrowded homes even though they work hard and pay their taxes!

People who cannot afford to buy a home and secure their future (and that of their family)

example:

The flat I rent (which is too small for our family) is currently being sold for £215k - this is beyond what our partner and I could get a mortgage for so what realistically are out options? We are both university educated and have good (but low paid) local government jobs.

n.b. Key worker schemes apply to me but are not anywhere near what they are cracked up to be - or I would be living in one by now!

Because housing prices are one of the major factors that drive the economy. No one wants to buy a home that in less than a year is worth less than the mortgage they took on it.

That's why a lot of people are abandoning these homes which hurts the lenders and eventually hurts everyone, whether your buying a house or not.

Because it effects them directly. When it comes to issues like; Bush, Israel/Palestine, China/Tibet and Iraq, it's a case of out of sight out of mind. X

And just for the record, I rent I can't afford to buy, but I don't think it's that important.

Why would you have a landlord if you sold a house? By insinuating *you* sold the house, that makes it sound like *you* owned the house..but my guess is, you were a renter who took good care of the place .. If you are the owner, a landlord wouldn't be in this equation, and neither would his opinion. So, did you own this house you sold?

because if you owned your own home, you would be upset if the value of it went down 10-20% in one year. If you are looking for a home equity loan and your house went down in value, you would have less equity.

Some homes are overpriced too.

Many americans don't have savings and have invested in their home. After 25-30 years they are finding that the market is bad and it's not worth selling and finding something new. For them its a big loss.

The short answer is because owners property can lose value. Okay, in time it will usually regain its' value, but the owner can not effectively sell their property for a long time without losing money.

Also, potential first time buyers are distressed if prices rise because it means it is harder for them to get on the property ladder hence they need to throw money away on rent for longer.

We all care that much more when it's our money!

Nick

:)

Friends I know who have mortgages are finding it more difficult to pay the instalments. If prices go up, it'll be more difficult for them to pay. If they go down, those that sell make a loss.

Am I glad I'm a tenant!

Because no body can get on the property ladder these days and its a worry for all those who dont own a home and quite frankly they dont look like they are going to drop in the near future so its a very topical issue.