EddScott

FTSE passes 5K

Not moving but can't help thinking the boats been missed for some good buying.

Hoping the double dip theory comes good.

Big Pete

Some of the lads're builders and are VERY busy right now. All on houses being bought by people who are up sizing (if there's such a term!) so that they can then get the place done up, sell at a later date inorder to release money for their old age coz pensions are so unreliable these days

vindaloo

According to the old maxim... Wait until St Leger day...

I too am worried but even if things are a tad high at the moment. At least it's partly because of data and news rather than just sentiment.

EddScott

A month on and no signs of a correction?

Sit tight and come out before Christmas - its probably going to be quite horrific on the high streets this year and perhaps terrible figures in the new year (maybe coupled with the rumour of the eastern european sub-prime time bomb) will finally bring the markets down with a bump or a crash or maybe no more than a slight tickle?

Trout

iTrader: (1)

I will come off the fence and say that Christmas this year will be much better than last year.

I am really looking forward to business next year!

hodgy0_2

I had Foxtons Notting Hill Gate on the phone this morning asking what I was doing re selling our house in Ladbrook Grove -- he said the market has gone "beserk" his words and he reckoned that I would get a 100k more for it now than the offer I got last year (with his Foxtons hat on, without his foxtons hat on 50k more -- but its only going one way)

My Mother in Law is selling her flat in Kensington Park Road thru Foxtons as well -- so we shall see

get in

TelBoy

It's an interesting one, this one. Record low interest rates giving many people a higher disposable income than ever before, offset by unemployment set to rise to unprecedented levels. A two-tier system based on only one variable - whether you have a job or not.

hodgy0_2

I commented on this sometime ago on this forum -- we are inevitably heading for a two tier society along the lines of the American Model – which itself seems to be modelled on the 3rd world – winner takes all

Once you get passed our "TV view" of the US some of the social stats are truly shocking

Trout

iTrader: (1)

We had our house valued in May of last year. Market just over the peak, but values pretty strong still - this was with the prospect of selling it so this was a sales valuation.

We also had it valued last week for banking reasons so probably more conservative than the above valuation.

In the interim the price has only reduced by 17% - pretty good - although we live in one of the very few areas property gurus reckoned would fare better.

In the previous four years the value rose 85%.

EddScott

Not really into the housing market myself. We might have to remortgage to buy a business so that will be interesting approaching the bank!

Prices in West Wales have been stagnant throughout. We've not seen the 10 or 20 thousands wiped of our houses. The biggest problem here is that many people rented investment properties to the companies converting one of the refineries to LNG. Now the LNG is online, the rental properties are everywhere and stood empty for months.

From a market POV I think if anything is going to happen it will be Q1 2010 if not before. On that basis I'm backing off 50% to cash and waiting it out. If I'm wrong, I've lost but I protected half and if I'm right I can place the 50% back in to make good gains and recover some of the 50 that stayed in the game.

Luan Pra bang

I do wander if this jump in house prices really means anything when compared to the corresponding drop in value of the pound against the euro. If house prices were valued in euros it would be interesting to see the change then. Prices could be going up 25% per month but if the pound was inflating at 50% per month its not really an increase.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

The boat has definately sailed for grabbing a house a rock bottom prices. We have been hovvering around the bottom for nearly 1 year now and its slowly starting to rise. In 2 years time things will be back on track again and hopefully we won't see a crash like this again

Deep Singh

God only knows what is going to happen, and more importantly whether I'm going to have to eat my hat live on Scoobynet! (LOL)

For
The stk market has risen quite a lot.

Confidence seems to be coming back.

Germany, France and ? Japan have come out of the technical recession.

Record low interest rates have prevented massive repo's

India, China, Brazil, though being hit hard have still achieved growth all the way through via domestic consumption.

Against

Unemployment continues to rise.

There will be tax increases next year.

Interest rates 'may' have to rise next year, if inflation starts.

Sterling has lost so much value, and may lose more.

The public finances may actually be even worse than we think, we'll only know after the next election when my mate's Dave and George get their hands on the books.