does anyone else agree that house prices are getting ridiculous?
913096
2 hours before you got a reply - what does that tell you
43434
No, it levels out.  Drastic increases only happen every 10 - 20 years.  Some local things may effect a large change but the economy won't.  The present rise in Real Estate has a lot to do with the interest rates being so low for so long, and with the help of some politician land owners hiking prices it causes a snowball effect.  You'll see a gradual increase but look at the supply and demand, and the over pricing that's going on right now.  It's baseless and will take a few years to catch up.
1130263
Same thing.  I live in northern New Jersey and according to a friend who works out of a local real estate office the unsold inventory of homes in the area is climbing.  \n\nI think part of it may have to do with increased credit card debt payments and higher gas prices draining away cash.  With all this extra debt the income is just not there to support high home sale prices.  In other words. home sale prices are being reduced to put gas in the tank and pay credit card bills.
887671
Seriously, I'd look at other cities outside of London if this is a house to rent. For example, Liverpool is being awarded the Capital of Culture next year and the house prices have risen very sharply. Manchester is also extremely up and coming and property prices have shot up there also. Look into other areas, see how much investment is going on there and you could find your investment increasing far more rapidly than in London.
785499
In the UK it has been discussed that this may indeed happen. However, I expect prices to drop, perhaps dramatically in some areas, while other areas will experience slight depreciation. \n\nIn the USA I expect to see prices drop further in many markets. Currently, there is a lot of talk that prices have "evened" out. However, IMO this is a physolocial band aid with the hope to "hold" things together so many over invested people will not go bankrupt.\n\nForeclosures continue to increase. People bought due to the fear of loosing their dream of home ownership. Many of these good folks over financed themselves and the evil interest rate is knocking at their doors.\n\nOther people bought simply out of the desire to make their "millions" in real estate and got out. Many did make millions - yeah for them. Others have got caught holding the bag. It was due to happen sometime. \n\nSome markets, like the Pacific Northwest will most likely not experience as drastic price drop as other areas, due to the continued flow of people flocking to live here. For my sake, I hope prices do drop dramatically - so I can more house!
1143272
Because prices are expensive in Britain ( nearly twice the US)\nalso houses are much more expensive in the UK, therefore people have to save up to pay mortgages
696624
You have out of sight housing prices over there too? The market here(US) is finally cooling off. Now maybe regular people just might be able to think about buying a house again.
1129628
OMG !!! Lucky you. It' 3.14 here and that's lower than it was a week ago. It's gotten up to 3.89 out here. It's all gouging. If it's over 1.50 it's too much.
1020904
That is a possibility.  One thing that I can be pretty certain of, is that the increase will narrow the gap between rents and housing prices.  How this plays out will probably depend on the market.  In severely overheated markets like South Florida Condos, I think a bubble burst is pretty likely.  In areas that have seen below average appreciation, the change will be less dramatic.  \n\nThe toughest prediction to make is what will happen in desirable markets that have seen big increases.  Incomes will probably support some degree of increasing rents.  Will housing prices drop or flat-line is the question in these markets.
454005
This market has seen an influx in investor properties over the last few years.  The increased demand for housing has allowed that investor market to flourish, allowing them to "flip" their properties for a tidy profit.  The demand has been so crazy that nearly every house placed on the market would received multiple offers, usually resulting in a sale price over asking.\n\nUnfortunately for them, recent trends where increasing interest rates, greedy homeowners trying to cash in have pushed the prices sky high.  Buyers have been more reluctant to plunk down $600,000 for a 1700 Square Foot house inside the Beltway, and some houses have started to sit for longer than was the norm.\n\nThis has caused the media pundits to claim that the bubble is bursting, where the actual truth is that the market is becoming more even, where Buyers now have more choice and can ask for normal items in a contract offer, such as a Home Inspection.\n\nWhat has been going on for the last 4-5 years is not normal, but people don't always remember the normal times, they remember the recent times.  What has changed is that any old run down house will sit on the market, as it should.\n\nThis change in the market is better for all.
805539
IMO you need to continue to research your real estate market carefully and for some months longer.  There are strong signs of weakening of RE markets throughout the country, and prices are already dropping in some locations.  In other locations, marketers are postponing the inevitable by offering incentives (discounted fees and interest, upgrades and other freebies) instead of actually lowering the sales price of a home, but these gimmicks are the same thing as lowering the price--it just doesn't look like it on the sales contract.  Traditionally, condos lose the most value in a price slump, so there is a good chance you could be upside-down in your mortgage in a year or two if you buy now.  \n\nDo not expect any real estate agent, or anybody who works in banking or real estate, to tell you that the market is weakening--it is against their financial interests to do so.  The more money they can get you to pay for a home, the more money they make in commissions, fees and interest payments.  You need to do your homework on your own, using resources that have no financial ties to the real-estate world.  Try the economics blog I've linked below, and go from there.  \n\nYou can also look at zillow.com and get a sense of home values.  But again, since zillow.com gets advertising revenue from real estate agents, the info there can't be trusted 100%.  But it does show that even my home has lost value (about 15%) this year.
620170
June 2006 money magazine says real estate prices in a few markets is going down but not in most areas. Many will still increase at the average. Prices must level off due to incomes not increasing that much and interest rates going up. Check out the mag article. I just subscribe to the magazine. Good luck. Its best to buy and hold for the long term. There are less deals available so find a few and keep them.
1111495
i think the problem is primarily the money is being spent in all the wrong places. it should be evened out. happiness is no longer the goal, money is the goal.
935005
What goes up, must come down. In the USA, many people were buying homes, and now they can not get rid of them. My own brother has 4 homes in Florida for sale(Florida took the biggest hit) Nothing sold for a whole year. He is miserable. However, it did look good in the beginning when he was buying it 2 years ago...I would wait for the market to stabilize if I could
208201
Places like Moorestown, Cherry Hill, Mt Laurel are nice put are getting very expensive.  Also the property taxes are getting ridiculously high.  I would suggest going a little further south like something in Glassboro.  They are building new houses down there too. Maybe you can get some pre-construction deals if your not in a hurry.\n\nGood Luck!
221256
At this point, buying a house in Orange County may not be the best purchase you could make.  Housing prices are at an all time high right now but they look to be heading back down.  That could put you upside down on your loan (i.e. you would owe more on the loan than the house is worth).  The prices are so high here that some of the people I work with are selling their houses for a large sum and moving into rentals until the prices move down.  Then they will buy another house and have made a profit on their old one.
901604
There are a lot of games that are being played to short the market and to try to create a shortage in the market. Till the house market really dumps they will hold these houses as not to flood the market and to keep prices up. more money for them from there loan and it cost them nothing to hold, they do not have a mortgage to pay like you do each month.\n\nCheck out this web site.\nhttp://www.breakingbubble.com/index.htm