tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2948538160252327076.post7835620612404474132..comments2023-11-02T15:48:50.381+00:00Comments on UK Bubble UK Economy: The housing market - where socialism meets capitalismAlice Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753570123987780947noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2948538160252327076.post-72265646042156660602008-03-17T17:02:00.000+00:002008-03-17T17:02:00.000+00:00I thought that it was possible to add secured debt...I thought that it was possible to add secured debt - like mortgages - to a debt management programme, but apparantly not. Read the article in my sig.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2948538160252327076.post-64341464030768491352008-03-06T12:51:00.000+00:002008-03-06T12:51:00.000+00:00Thanks for your informative article. I was reading...Thanks for your informative article. I was reading the other day that, to quote:<BR/><BR/>"According to the Office for National Statistics, the average income rose by 92% during the 10 years following 1995 – but the average house price rose by 204%."<BR/><BR/>People are mortgaged up to the hilt, struggling to make payments & should house prices fall, there's going to be trouble!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2948538160252327076.post-49121834165924855552008-03-06T11:12:00.000+00:002008-03-06T11:12:00.000+00:00Hi,The planning laws are not particularily sociali...Hi,<BR/><BR/>The planning laws are not particularily socialistic, they are authoritarian - a socialist* might approve of building decent quality family homes for the workers** with decent plots of land.<BR/><BR/>The planning laws have an awful lot of Nimbyism about them, and that's a very middle class thing. Personally, I think they should be much more relaxed outside of conservation areas. And we should allow councils to build houses where needed.<BR/><BR/>*This being the No True Socialist argument, of course. But it's wrong to conflate all government interferance with the left.<BR/><BR/>**Workers=people who don't work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2948538160252327076.post-37496596084798938072008-03-05T22:08:00.000+00:002008-03-05T22:08:00.000+00:00Well, we can only hope.The arguments are persuasiv...Well, we can only hope.<BR/><BR/>The arguments are persuasive but are not really anything all that new - I'm afraid the government will find some way to bail the BTLers out and the merry go round will stagger on for another few years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2948538160252327076.post-51442018312290286782008-03-05T18:28:00.000+00:002008-03-05T18:28:00.000+00:00Great article and good to see somebody address the...Great article and good to see somebody address the "supply shortage" meme with actual evidence. 1 house for every 2 people. Wow. I suspected the meme was off but not that far. Though of course a big question is where are the houses relative to the people.<BR/><BR/>I do question one paragraph though:<BR/>"The consequences of this socialistic control of supply and extravagant credit have been appalling. It has generated enormous wealth for older homeowners, while placing a generation of younger homeowners into a lifetime of crippling debt."<BR/><BR/>I still believe it is illusory "enormous wealth" for all but the tiny minority who sold and got out (rather than leveraged into even bigger houses). All this older generation think they have winning lottery tickets but they haven't checked the numbers. They CANNOT all get out.<BR/><BR/>Coupled with the pension timebomb and coming equity collapse, and possible serious inflation (which hurts people on fixed incomes) - well it looks like the problem of inter-generational theft is due for an ironic reversal.<BR/><BR/>Ask yourself these questions on who you would rather be:<BR/><BR/>1) Near the beginning of your earning career and just starting to accumulate asssets or approaching retirement and sitting on lots of non-income paying assets that you need to liquidate to generate income<BR/><BR/>2) Free to move wherever there's work, or locked to one home<BR/><BR/>3) On a low fixed cost base or a high one<BR/><BR/>Although the shat hasn't hit the fin yet, I think the younger generation (or at least the employed and debt-free ones) are about to realise that all those assets they thought were beyond them are about to be available for sale or lease at distressed costs.<BR/><BR/>All those oldies who figured they'd vote themselves entitlements and asset inflation are now figuring that those young people they need to pay the bills are about to refuse.<BR/><BR/>NickAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com