London house prices?

[GetCarter]

emicen said:

Will be interesting to see how the continued oil price depression and commodity crunch does to Middle Eastern / Russian / Chinese money.

delta0 said:

I think the opposite. I thought that before I lived there. Now I see everywhere else falls well short of what London offers.

What London offers in terms of...?

London offers so much. Crime, congestion and pollution being the first things that spring to mind. It's why I got out. Really fed up with cars and houses being broken into, no chance to drive on empty roads or breath fresh air. Fair play to anyone that wants / needs London to get ahead in biz - it is for most occupations 'the place to be' - I needed it to establish my career... but my God you get sick of the smell and the anger and the noise and the anti social behaviour and the lack of mountains! ... I think you get the picture.

[Thankyou4calling]

jason61c said:

Ignoring work, I'm not sure why anyone would want to live in London, if offers nothing you can't get anywhere else, however its just full of negatives.

Yep. Those 8 million people only choose to live there for work.

Can't think of any other reason really.

[P1ato]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I'd want to re-configure and refurbish that.

As I said, I (selfishly) hope prices will drop but I don't expect them to for detached family houses, as supply is so limited. Perhaps the large volume of new apartments in Putney, West Kensington, Battersea etc. will have some impact on the broader market There are reports of buyers pulling out. I would also say that current asking prices are noticeably higher than prices achieved for larger family houses in SW13, and the volume of sales has dropped dramatically in 2015. That tells me we're at the top of the growth cycle and I wouldn't expect significant increases in 2016. But what do I know...the EUR 2bn property fund I manage only returned 25% this year.

[emicen]

delta0 said:

emicen said:

What London offers in terms of...?

Everything. It offers everything in one location. I've lived all over the UK and London is by far the most interesting place I have lived. I find other places comparitively boring as a result.

Ah yes, the standard "everything" answer. Its a genuine question, what is this "everything" that London has in one location that other places do not have?

[k-ink]

delta0 said:

emicen said:

What London offers in terms of...?

Everything. It offers everything in one location. I've lived all over the UK and London is by far the most interesting place I have lived. I find other places comparitively boring as a result.

There is a lot going on. However sometimes it is lovely to have wide open spaces, greenery, fresh air, flowing country roads, walks by the canal, stunning views. So as much fun as London is, in your twenties, when you have a family I prefer to be well away. These days I only go into central London if I have a meeting, or am meeting up for drinks, or doing the tourist thing in the summer.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

jason61c said:

I'm not sure why anyone would want to live in London, if offers nothing you can't get anywhere else,

Most people who dislike London will disagree with that.

[Justayellowbadge]

emicen said:

Ah yes, the standard "everything" answer. Its a genuine question, what is this "everything" that London has in one location that other places do not have?

A choice of 55 Michelin starred restaurants. A choice of theatres, opera houses and ballets. Twickenham, Wembley, Wimbledon, Lords, The Oval, Olympic park, the seats of government and royalty, npg, Tate, V&A, Natural history and Science museums, galleries, retail, sanitation and aqueducts.

[emicen]

Justayellowbadge said:

emicen said:

Ah yes, the standard "everything" answer. Its a genuine question, what is this "everything" that London has in one location that other places do not have?

A choice of 55 Michelin starred restaurants. A choice of theatres, opera houses and ballets. Twickenham, Wembley, Wimbledon, Lords, The Oval, Olympic park, the seats of government and royalty, npg, Tate, V&A, Natural history and Science museums, galleries, retail, sanitation and aqueducts.

Lets see, comparing with my home town:
Michelin starred restaurants - Got
Theatres, opera and ballet - Got [although the east is better for the ballet]
Sports grounds - Got
Seats of Government and Royalty - Not got, although as most Scots point out to Edinburgers regarding their wonderous castle, what real use are either of those in daily life?
Museums - Got
Galleries - Got
Retail - Got
Not sure whether the last 2 are some attempt at humour thats gone over my head.

Amazingly enough, all these things exist outside London, with far fewer people to compete with for their use.

[ukwill]

emicen said:

delta0 said:

emicen said:

What London offers in terms of...?

Everything. It offers everything in one location. I've lived all over the UK and London is by far the most interesting place I have lived. I find other places comparitively boring as a result.

Ah yes, the standard "everything" answer. Its a genuine question, what is this "everything" that London has in one location that other places do not have?

Everything that a capital city has that a provincial city doesn't.

[Justayellowbadge]

emicen said:

Lets see, comparing with my home town:
Michelin starred restaurants - Got
Theatres, opera and ballet - Got [although the east is better for the ballet]
Sports grounds - Got
Seats of Government and Royalty - Not got, although as most Scots point out to Edinburgers regarding their wonderous castle, what real use are either of those in daily life?
Museums - Got
Galleries - Got
Retail - Got
Not sure whether the last 2 are some attempt at humour thats gone over my head.

Amazingly enough, all these things exist outside London, with far fewer people to compete with for their use.

You utterly miss the point.

Lots of places do indeed have starred restaurants. Only in London can you eat in a different one every week.

Lots of tons have theatres. Nowhere else in the UK has the variety available in the West End, let alone the rest of London.

Sports grounds? Yes. But those I mentioned are all globally known, world event venues. Nowhere else in the UK comes remotely close in that regard.

Covent Garden, English National Ballet, Royal Ballet Company, English National Opera, Royal Opera, - Do you see where I'm going with this?

Museums, galleries, retail - all the same situation - every town has them, but only a few, such as London, New York, Paris, Milan, Tokyo etc, have the quantity and quality.

It is absurd to suggest otherwise.

Fine to say you don't like London, but to try to compare a world city to other towns and cities is ridiculous.

[P1ato]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Only worth £3.5m to me, but I'm not the market - are you the vendor?

[V8RX7]

Justayellowbadge said:

emicen said:

Ah yes, the standard "everything" answer. Its a genuine question, what is this "everything" that London has in one location that other places do not have?

A choice of 55 Michelin starred restaurants. A choice of theatres, opera houses and ballets. Twickenham, Wembley, Wimbledon, Lords, The Oval, Olympic park, the seats of government and royalty, npg, Tate, V&A, Natural history and Science museums, galleries, retail, sanitation and aqueducts.

As always it depends what you want.

I want:

Peace and quiet / privacy
To be able to do what I want, when I want - IE work on my cars, play loud music
Space for my dogs, kids and toys - cars, bikes, jet skis
Open country roads for driving fun
But close enough to a town for shopping, hospitals etc

I have never been in a Michelin restaurant as I'm not into food, nor a theatre, opera or ballet.

I don't like watching sport either - I like doing it.

My sister lived in London, when I visited her I couldn't understand why - but she had to be in London as she was a solicitor and the best jobs were there - she later moved to Oz.

Hence I agree that the only reason to be in London must be for work as it has nothing there that I desire, Londoners are welcome to it and I'll stay in my 3000 ftsq house in the countryside, garaging for 12 cars, 5 acres etc for the same price as a 3 bed semi in a secondary part of London.

[Harry Flashman]

Justayellowbadge said:

emicen said:

Ah yes, the standard "everything" answer. Its a genuine question, what is this "everything" that London has in one location that other places do not have?

A choice of 55 Michelin starred restaurants. A choice of theatres, opera houses and ballets. Twickenham, Wembley, Wimbledon, Lords, The Oval, Olympic park, the seats of government and royalty, npg, Tate, V&A, Natural history and Science museums, galleries, retail, sanitation and aqueducts.

and the chance to be targeted by nutters with a dirty bomb.

[ClaphamGT3]

emicen said:

Justayellowbadge said:

emicen said:

Ah yes, the standard "everything" answer. Its a genuine question, what is this "everything" that London has in one location that other places do not have?

A choice of 55 Michelin starred restaurants. A choice of theatres, opera houses and ballets. Twickenham, Wembley, Wimbledon, Lords, The Oval, Olympic park, the seats of government and royalty, npg, Tate, V&A, Natural history and Science museums, galleries, retail, sanitation and aqueducts.

Lets see, comparing with my home town:
Michelin starred restaurants - Got
Theatres, opera and ballet - Got [although the east is better for the ballet]
Sports grounds - Got
Seats of Government and Royalty - Not got, although as most Scots point out to Edinburgers regarding their wonderous castle, what real use are either of those in daily life?
Museums - Got
Galleries - Got
Retail - Got
Not sure whether the last 2 are some attempt at humour thats gone over my head.

Amazingly enough, all these things exist outside London, with far fewer people to compete with for their use.

I'm sorry, but to compare the social and cultural offer in Glasgow to London is simply laughable. In fairness Glasgow doesn't do badly for a provincial city but to say it offers everything that London does is a little bit like saying an MX-5 is comparable to an SL63AMG because they're both rear wheel drive two seater convertibles

[hairyben]

delta0 said:

emicen said:

What London offers in terms of...?

Everything. It offers everything in one location. I've lived all over the UK and London is by far the most interesting place I have lived. I find other places comparitively boring as a result.

That's key, I don't think there's another city globally that offers the diversity of world class culture, although others may surpass in certain areas.

[okgo]

Would any of you buy in one of these sure fire areas purely just to get ahead and then move back to an area where you actually wanted to live..?

I could be tempted I think...

[ClaphamGT3]

P1ato said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I'd want to re-configure and refurbish that.

As I said, I (selfishly) hope prices will drop but I don't expect them to for detached family houses, as supply is so limited. Perhaps the large volume of new apartments in Putney, West Kensington, Battersea etc. will have some impact on the broader market There are reports of buyers pulling out. I would also say that current asking prices are noticeably higher than prices achieved for larger family houses in SW13, and the volume of sales has dropped dramatically in 2015. That tells me we're at the top of the growth cycle and I wouldn't expect significant increases in 2016. But what do I know...the EUR 2bn property fund I manage only returned 25% this year.

But that isn't super prime (or anywhere near it) and nor is it investor territory; it's a decent family home for a middle aged London professional who's doing reasonably well for themselves - people like you, Tonker and me. The problem is, there's a lot more of us than available homes that we want to live in. In this sector of the market, I can't see too many circumstances on the horizon that are going to cause downward pressure in values. A rise in interest rates might slow the rate of growth for a while as might the oil price, the slow-down in the Chinese economy and Middle Eastern uncertainty if they start impacting on the performance of the financial sector and the big professions. Overall, however, the imbalance of demand and supply in the £2-5m family home sector is likely to remove any chance of negative growth in the foreseeable future

[MajorProblem]

So you work yourself to an early grave to live in a stty terraced house or semi detached in a crime riddled area so you can go to a different Michelin starred restaurant for tea every Friday or go see the billionth production of phantom of the opera?

What a life.

No problem with living in London but actually how much do you need to have it good? And what do you need to work in order to achieve it?

No good doing 100hrs plus a week, where are you going to fit your life in?

[scenario8]

If I found myself sitting on four or five million pounds worth of equity in Barnes I'd do exactly as you suggest, tonker. That's to say a lovely pad in Town and the real house in Dorset. I'm sure I'd find a way to fund a lovely life even if my earnings halved.

With that much wealth no way would I slog away working in Town! I honestly don't really understand why so many (and there are so many) of the wealthy property owning fortunates continue living and working in London when they're sitting on so much cash.

[scenario8]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

That's exactly where we are (and millions like us). Near the bottom of your spreads, too. PH does have a gloriously warped perspective whenever wealth, earnings, finance and success is discussed. I must concede, however, that one way or another there are loads upon loads of very wealthy people out there!