Why did they move THERE?
Discussion
Driving around I'm often fascinated at the property choices of people.
A prime example of this is the North Circular. The amount of grime and noise must be unimaginable yet thousands of homes line it and each person living there made the choice to be there either willingly or not.
I'm similarly mystified by some new build estates I pass by. Many a time they're within a few feet of a motorway or supermarket distribution centre, yet they also often cost considerably more than somewhere Victorian and larger which will still be upright in a couple of decades.
Are these people just not bothered or is there something more mysterious at play?
A prime example of this is the North Circular. The amount of grime and noise must be unimaginable yet thousands of homes line it and each person living there made the choice to be there either willingly or not.
I'm similarly mystified by some new build estates I pass by. Many a time they're within a few feet of a motorway or supermarket distribution centre, yet they also often cost considerably more than somewhere Victorian and larger which will still be upright in a couple of decades.
Are these people just not bothered or is there something more mysterious at play?
I'm interested in this too.
I quite often pass houses and think who in their right mind would live there? As you say its not as simple as they are dirt cheap.
I suspect it boils down to not being bothered and lacking imagination on how your arrangements could be significantly better for not much more money.
I quite often pass houses and think who in their right mind would live there? As you say its not as simple as they are dirt cheap.
I suspect it boils down to not being bothered and lacking imagination on how your arrangements could be significantly better for not much more money.
Good question.
I guess the answer is that we all prioritise different things.
Recently I bought a new place following my divorce, I went for a nice 2 bed Edwardian Terrace; plenty of original features, spacious enough for me but most crucially it is well located in a quiet garden street yet remains a short walk to all the local amenities and has the right address come resale time.
I did consider at a slightly lower price, a vastly larger and altogether more impressive property 1 mile away... on a very busy main road, edge of much less pleasant area with neighbouring properties being HMO's etc...
For many, the size of the property would have outweighed the other factors, I'd guess the same goes for those in the locations you describe. At the same time I know people who are terrified about living in anything but a new home, put off by heating bills, repair costs and the idea that someone has likely died in their home!
I guess the answer is that we all prioritise different things.
Recently I bought a new place following my divorce, I went for a nice 2 bed Edwardian Terrace; plenty of original features, spacious enough for me but most crucially it is well located in a quiet garden street yet remains a short walk to all the local amenities and has the right address come resale time.
I did consider at a slightly lower price, a vastly larger and altogether more impressive property 1 mile away... on a very busy main road, edge of much less pleasant area with neighbouring properties being HMO's etc...
For many, the size of the property would have outweighed the other factors, I'd guess the same goes for those in the locations you describe. At the same time I know people who are terrified about living in anything but a new home, put off by heating bills, repair costs and the idea that someone has likely died in their home!
Some people don’t want or like older properties, the maintenance, upkeep, high ceilings etc...
I know I don’t and a new build suits us to the ground.
What we’ve recently paid for our new home (still being built) I know we could have bought a larger terrace in one of the more traditional upmarket areas of Newcastle but I don’t want a terrace; on street parking; smaller gardens; being overlooked; etc...
Horses for courses
I know I don’t and a new build suits us to the ground.
What we’ve recently paid for our new home (still being built) I know we could have bought a larger terrace in one of the more traditional upmarket areas of Newcastle but I don’t want a terrace; on street parking; smaller gardens; being overlooked; etc...
Horses for courses
Ari said:
Cost. I often see big houses by busy main roads and wonder why someone who can afford such a house chooses that one, but if it's £200K less than one set further back and that in turn means that the occupant can afford it, I guess that's the answer.
Everything has a value.
Maybe it depends on one's area. Where I'm at there isn't a detectable price differential between stuff on busy roads and places hidden away in the lanes. Many a time I've clicked on somewhere that looked promising only to start screaming when the location was revealed and price was no indicator. Everything has a value.
alorotom said:
Some people don’t want or like older properties, the maintenance, upkeep, high ceilings etc...
I know I don’t and a new build suits us to the ground.
What we’ve recently paid for our new home (still being built) I know we could have bought a larger terrace in one of the more traditional upmarket areas of Newcastle but I don’t want a terrace; on street parking; smaller gardens; being overlooked; etc...
Horses for courses
There's plenty in very nice locations and I can see the appeal, it's the ones where developers seem to wilfully build in the most unappealing locations imaginable that blow my mind. It's almost as if they're daring people to buy them. I know I don’t and a new build suits us to the ground.
What we’ve recently paid for our new home (still being built) I know we could have bought a larger terrace in one of the more traditional upmarket areas of Newcastle but I don’t want a terrace; on street parking; smaller gardens; being overlooked; etc...
Horses for courses
The advent of electric cars, lorries and buses will make these places far more bearable, and desirable. Buying cheaper big family houses on main roads might well be a clever medium-long term investment at the moment. I live in a very quiet tree lined avenue and I'm considering buying a massive house on a fairly busy main road (nothing like the North Circular though, just a single lane A road in to a major town) instead, because it's massive and next door to the school my children will go to for the next 8 years, making our lives much less complicated. Maybe I'd be dropping a b
k, who knows.
k, who knows.bloomen said:
Maybe it depends on one's area. Where I'm at there isn't a detectable price differential between stuff on busy roads and places hidden away in the lanes. Many a time I've clicked on somewhere that looked promising only to start screaming when the location was revealed and price was no indicator.
There's stuff near me which is priced towards to the top of the market, and yet literally overlooks the M60. Granted they don't front on to a busy road, but the noise is really bad regardless. The M60 doesn't really have a quiet time either.If it's the best you can afford, then it makes some sense, the one that puzzles me is expensive houses in grotty places - the most extreme near us is 'Millionaires Row' by Shoreham Harbour.
Zoopla says average price £2.5m, residents have included Derek Jamieson, Paul McCartney, Fat Boy Slim etc. The front is private beach which is OK (but stones, not sand) but they back onto the fish and timber dock and when the wind blows from the west, the smell of the sewage works wafts past.
I'd live there if they were cheap flats and couldn't afford anywhere else, but if I had 2.5m to spend there are lots of nicer places!
Zoopla says average price £2.5m, residents have included Derek Jamieson, Paul McCartney, Fat Boy Slim etc. The front is private beach which is OK (but stones, not sand) but they back onto the fish and timber dock and when the wind blows from the west, the smell of the sewage works wafts past.
I'd live there if they were cheap flats and couldn't afford anywhere else, but if I had 2.5m to spend there are lots of nicer places!
In London, even some quite outer parts of it, the differences can be huge. Take your typical 85 square metre terraced house in somewhat tired condition that makes up most of the sprawl of Zone 3 and beyond. Main road vs. quiet turning can easily be £150k difference. Infilll '60s/'70s build £100k cheaper than the 1930s house next door, which itself is £200k cheaper than the Edwardian one across the road.
The gap is widened even further by the people who end up with the cheaper places not having the cash to spend on improvements and maintenance. The house on the dual carriageway ends up with a peach acrylic corner bath, carpets the dog could be sick on without you noticing, and Superfresco on every flat surface it was physically possible to reach. Whereas the chocolate box Victorian terrace has tiled hallways, salvaged cast iron fireplaces of the wrong decade for the house, taps with a German surname printed on them and the obligatory dark grey bifold doors at the back. At that point you can easily be looking at £450k vs. £850k for houses of more or less the same size, and the "why did they move THERE?" question becomes somewhat easier to answer.
The gap is widened even further by the people who end up with the cheaper places not having the cash to spend on improvements and maintenance. The house on the dual carriageway ends up with a peach acrylic corner bath, carpets the dog could be sick on without you noticing, and Superfresco on every flat surface it was physically possible to reach. Whereas the chocolate box Victorian terrace has tiled hallways, salvaged cast iron fireplaces of the wrong decade for the house, taps with a German surname printed on them and the obligatory dark grey bifold doors at the back. At that point you can easily be looking at £450k vs. £850k for houses of more or less the same size, and the "why did they move THERE?" question becomes somewhat easier to answer.
Roofless Toothless said:
Electric vehicles won't get rid of tyre noise though.
This is true but they are much quieter and the local air will be much cleaner. This will inevitably make the houses near those roads less unappealing. Not as desirable as a nice quiet street of course, but still a big improvement in quality of life if you choose to live there.alorotom said:
Some people don’t want or like older properties, the maintenance, upkeep, high ceilings etc...
I know I don’t and a new build suits us to the ground.
What we’ve recently paid for our new home (still being built) I know we could have bought a larger terrace in one of the more traditional upmarket areas of Newcastle but I don’t want a terrace; on street parking; smaller gardens; being overlooked; etc...
Horses for courses
This is it.I know I don’t and a new build suits us to the ground.
What we’ve recently paid for our new home (still being built) I know we could have bought a larger terrace in one of the more traditional upmarket areas of Newcastle but I don’t want a terrace; on street parking; smaller gardens; being overlooked; etc...
Horses for courses
Everyone likes different stuff and has different circumstances.
If you’ve got young children a new build estate might give a sense of community and loads of other kids to play with, a penthouse in London might not suit you as much,
If you’re in a couple in your 20s then you might prefer a penthouse near bars and not want families near by,
Someone might like living by a main road someone might have inherited the house someone might have grown up in that area or it might be near similar people to them ethnically or whatever or they just not care, there’s loads of reasons people like different stuff.
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