PricedOut > Campaign > FAQ > FAQ

Q. House prices aren't too high...
A. House prices have more than trebled in the last 10 years. Salaries have only risen 54%. We think they are too high. See this article "Just How Unaffordable Are House Prices" for more details.

Q. Low interest rates have made houses more affordable...
A. No low interest rates have, possibly temporarily, made mortgage repayments more affordable. House prices are at their most unaffordable levels ever. If interest rates go back to historical norms anyone who has bought recently could find their repayments become significantly higher.

Q. My home has gone up in value, rising prices are benefiting me...
A. It's all too easy to focus on any "profit" you may make selling your home and forget that higher prices have affected your next home too. Remember rising prices stretch the gaps between the rungs of the housing ladder requiring you to pay more for your next home than you would have otherwise had to. Possibly forcing you to accept a smaller step up the ladder than you would have been able to afford if prices hadn't risen so far.

Q. It's always been hard getting on the property ladder...
A. Yes but not this hard. Prices are at their highest ratio to incomes ever the average house costs nearly six times the average salary. Why don't you take the Priced Out home owner test and see if you would have been Priced Out if you were buying your first home at today's prices. Secondly who says we're young, many of us priced out are in their late 30's!

Q. How can you possibly be priced out, there's always somewhere you can afford you are just too picky...
A. Do you seriously think the number of first time buyers has dropped to a 25 year low because we are all too picky? Sooner or later what people can afford becomes so detached from their requirements and expectations they give up, this is what is happening.

Q. Rising house prices help you move up the ladder...
A. Wrong, they make it harder to move up the ladder. Your home may have gained in value but your next home will more than likely have gained even more.

Q. If prices fall won't it be your fault!
A. If prices fall it will be the result of the massive house price boom we have just experienced.

Q. Do you think there will be a House Price Correction?
A. Most economists agree some form of house price correction is likely. All they disagree on is when, for how long and by how much. However this site isn't about the likelihood of a correction there are plenty of other sites on the internet dedicated to this topic, see here.

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