What GBP 350K gets you in the UK?

[tailfins]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/houseprices/9974126/What-can-you-buy-for-350000-in-the-UK-property-market.html?frame=2528015

[Drummond]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/houseprices/9974126/What-can-you-buy-for-350000-in-the-UK-property-market.html?frame=2528015

This is all very well .. however, what's available in the UK, and the price tag that goes with it, varies enormously from location to location.

The property featured (i.e picture #1 of 9) is situated in Northumberland, one of a number of areas where you can expect to buy a reasonable property to live in for a fairly 'modest' price (and Northumberland's one of the most northerly areas in England, not to mention an old coal-mining area, so is not naturally affluent, & won't cater to an especially upmarket clientele !!).

Since Zoopla.co.uk was the online Estate Agent used for the Telegraph's illustration ... I've also used their website for my OWN illustration of what's representative of the other end of the property spectrum. Note this, leading to a one bedroom flat (you'd call them 'apartments' ?) in the East End of London:-

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/30731594?search_identifier=158e1a085ac097cd8ff8a6f 584db351c

Their page also offers these statistics for the area ...Property value data/graphs for E8

<thead>
Property type
Avg. current value
Avg. £ per sq ft.
Avg. # beds
Avg. £ paid (last 12m)

</thead><tbody>
Detached
£723,077
£468
3.7
£420,000


Semi-detached
£711,093
£508
3.5
£1,006,714


Terraced
£567,920
£511
3.2
£676,121


Flats
£342,551
£506
1.9
£351,986

</tbody>
London is especially pricey - and Northumberland's anything but. It just depends on where you live as to what you can buy for your money. Some areas offer reasonable prices - but others are expensive, offering far less for the same asking-price. In the UK property market, you just have to grab what bargains you can, where you can.

[tailfins]

This is all very well .. however, what's available in the UK, and the price tag that goes with it, varies enormously from location to location.

The property featured (i.e picture #1 of 9) is situated in Northumberland, one of a number of areas where you can expect to buy a reasonable property to live in for a fairly 'modest' price (and Northumberland's one of the most northerly areas in England, not to mention an old coal-mining area, so is not naturally affluent, & won't cater to an especially upmarket clientele !!).

Since Zoopla.co.uk was the online Estate Agent used for the Telegraph's illustration ... I've also used their website for my OWN illustration of what's representative of the other end of the property spectrum. Note this, leading to a one bedroom flat (you'd call them 'apartments' ?) in the East End of London:-

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/30731594?search_identifier=158e1a085ac097cd8ff8a6f 584db351c

Their page also offers these statistics for the area ...Property value data/graphs for E8



<tbody>
Property type
Avg. current value
Avg. £ per sq ft.
Avg. # beds
Avg. £ paid (last 12m)


Detached
£723,077
£468
3.7
£420,000


Semi-detached
£711,093
£508
3.5
£1,006,714


Terraced
£567,920
£511
3.2
£676,121


Flats
£342,551
£506
1.9
£351,986

</tbody>
London is especially pricey - and Northumberland's anything but. It just depends on where you live as to what you can buy for your money. Some areas offer reasonable prices - but others are expensive, offering far less for the same asking-price. In the UK property market, you just have to grab what bargains you can, where you can.

My interest in this topic is the best wage/housing combination. The UK is downright scary! How does anyone live there?

http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/london-software-engineer-salary-SRCH_IL.0,6_IM1035_KO7,24.htm

Software Engineer Salaries in London, UK Area Updated Sep 15, 2013 – Salaries posted anonymously by employees and employers
<form id="LocationFilterForm" action="/GD/Salaries/company-salaries.htm" method="GET"> Change location </form>

<tbody>

Median
Low to High [?]


<tt class="notranslate">London, UK Area</tt>

<tt class="notranslate">£37,000</tt>
£27k
£60k






National

<tt class="notranslate">£35,000</tt>
£25k
£55k





</tbody>

<tbody>














</tbody>


http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/denver-software-engineer-salary-SRCH_IL.0,6_IM234_KO7,24.htm


Software Engineer Salaries in Denver, CO Area Salaries posted anonymously by employees and employers
<form id="LocationFilterForm" action="/GD/Salaries/company-salaries.htm" method="GET"> Change location </form>

<tbody>

Median
Low to High [?]


<tt class="notranslate">Denver, CO Area</tt>

<tt class="notranslate">$73,827</tt>
$62k
$92k






National

<tt class="notranslate">$73,100</tt>
$61k
$100k





</tbody>


http://www.deptofnumbers.com/asking-prices/colorado/denver/

Recent Asking Price and Inventory History for Denver
<thead>
Date
Single Family & Condo
Inventory
25th Percentile
Asking Price
Median
Asking Price
75th Percentile
Asking Price

</thead> <tbody>
10/07/2013
12,513
$235,900
$350,000
$549,900


09/30/2013
12,590
$236,950
$350,000
$550,000

</tbody>

[Drummond]

My interest in this topic is the best wage/housing combination. The UK is downright scary! How does anyone live there?

My answer ... sometimes, frequently in fact, with great difficulty.

Sometimes, it's easy enough. Certain areas in the UK have reasonably-priced housing. Some, however, most notably London, have seen prices rise so high that they're out of reach of most first-time buyers.

In London, a great deal of accommodation is laid on by the local councils, and people pay rent to those councils at cut-price rates. Then, there's the private rental market, and Estate Agents both sell houses, AND act as brokers for Landlords.

Many youngsters are staying in their parents' houses for far longer these days, because they can't save enough to manage the initial deposit required to enter into a mortgage.

This largely came about as a result of the 2008 Global economy, and what happened then. Before, banks and Building Societies were offering 100% loans, meaning that some people didn't really have to worry about initial deposits at all ... it was absorbed within the mortgage. Nowadays, lending is considerably tighter, but with no downturn in property prices happening to keep the market anything as like viable as before. Result .. an upturn in Landlord purchases so they can in turn rent out to tenants and create a comfortable income for themselves.

Our Government has only now stepped in to try and ease the problem ... literally, days ago ....

http://www.express.co.uk/news/property/435438/Help-To-Buy-lending-scheme-launch-sparks-homes-frenzy


BRITAIN’S housing market was swept up in a “frenzy” yesterday as the Help To Buy scheme was launched.

Borrowers leapt on the new Government initiative which will allow them to buy homes with 95 per mortgages and slash average deposit amounts.

As details emerged of the deals available from lenders, David Cameron said the project would unlock the housing market and help young people without rich parents get their own home.

HSBC became the first major bank outside state-backed Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds to announce it was joining the £12billion scheme.

Britain’s biggest mortgage lender Halifax also ann*ounced details of the home loans it would be offering.

Homes valued at up to £600,000 will be eligible with some estimates suggesting 180,000 loans could be taken out – despite fears that the scheme could spark a housing price bubble.

Taxpayers will guarantee up to 15 per cent of a property’s value, in return for a fee charged to lenders, allowing homebuyers to purchase with deposits as low as five per cent.

As the scheme was launched, Mr Cameron visited a three-bedroom show home in Weston Favell, Northampton and met first-time buyers Kayleigh Groom, 28, and her partner Chris Day, 29, from Kettering.

The couple, who have been renting for five years, told him that Help To Buy would enable them to get on the property ladder.

Mr Cameron said: “What we’re doing is making sure that the typical family can buy the typical home.

“The couple I’ve just been with. They’ve both got good jobs. They’ve both got good prospects. They can afford mortgage payments but because they haven’t got a rich mum and dad they can’t get a mortgage. That isn’t fair. That isn’t right.

“So the Help To Buy scheme will help them to get a mortgage and make them homeowners.”

RBS and its NatWest subsidiary said they expect to sign up 25,500 first and next-time buyers over the three-year scheme. The two lenders are extending opening hours at 740 branches to cope with the demand.

Paul Smith, of haart estate agent, predicted Help To Buy will boost property deals by 10-15 per cent in the next 12 months and cut first-time buyers’ average deposit from £33,948 to £7,218.

[jafar00]

Hello Britain. I feel your pain as a resident of one of the most expensive cities in the world. Sydney sux.