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ridiculous house prices

Huntsman

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I fully understand that many people make a lot of money. But I really don't understand how that many people make that much money.
 

academe

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Originally Posted by Huntsman
I fully understand that many people make a lot of money. But I really don't understand how that many people make that much money.
I would argue that the some of the examples that the OP selected are on the extreme end of the scale, possibly to maximize rhetorical impact. I think a more representative range of prices can be found at this website (amongst others): http://www.rightmove.co.uk/buying.rsp Most of my family and friends who have bought property in London have done so with the help of their parents. Amongst middle- and upper-income Britons, there seems to be more of culture of parents assisting children in making first home purchases. Part of the rationale for this is, on a practical level, it helps avoid the fairly hefty inheritance taxes in the UK. Usually, the first home bought will be a small apartment, that the owner will then later use to trade-up for a cheaper home in the suburbs when they get married/settle down and have kids. Wealthier Britons will also often buy apartments in London as long-term investments that they may or may not sell as they get older. Keep in mind that only the most affluent really live in the centre of London; most people working there commute. The suburban prices don't seem that high to me; they seem comparable to the SF Bay Area.
 

zupermaus

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Random London prices bunch of grapes, $12 entry to a nightclub on Saturday (and 500,000 happily pay), $40 ($20-30 any other night) cocktail, $24 bottle of beer in a bar $6 single entrance ticket to 15 (out of 650) Buckingham Palace rooms: $32 cheap single hotel bed in centre $110 London Stansted - Krakow by cheap airline return $5 air fare + $60 in taxes shuttle train from centre to Stansted airport return $55.00, $160-$210 by taxi one way artist's paintbrush $50-$80 depending on size single rose $10, bunch of roses $500 gallon of petrol $10 8 hrs parking $36 edge of the centre daily charge to drive into central London $17, $50 for SUV, $400 for high polluting goods vehicle parking space in Hertfordshire 'ideal for London commuters', $52,000
_44659213_carparkingspace226.jpg
underground parking space in Knightsbridge $200,000 parking space by Harrods dept store, Knightsbridge, $510,000 private garage in Chelsea $610,000
Building costs are also the most expensive in the world: new 'super' hospital (read: normal hospital), $4.5 billion 9 storey office block in Fitzrovia, $1 billion (more than WTC)
867_3_100020Make20Abbey20aerial.jpg
new Thames sewer tunnel, $4.2 billion upgrading the London-Glasgow line to high speed (345 miles), $30 billion RIP OFF! According to the National stats office the average salary in London is $86,000 a year ($210,000 in the richer areas). If however you read between the lines as there are literally millions of millionaires, the real wage for the average Londoner is about $50,000.
 

academe

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OP- I have a few comments and questions that I would appreciate if you would respond to. First, I do think that your prices for some goods & services are taken from the extreme-end of the scale and serve to emphasize your point, rather than being a realistic portrayal of actual costs. For example, my experience buying groceries in the UK is that it can be quite affordable if you shop at places like Tesco. You're talking the equivalent of US Safeway prices (e.g., 89p or US$1.78 for a box cereal, etc.). The US$12 bunch of grapes may be had from an expensive "gourmet" supermarket or grocer, but certainly wouldn't cost that much at Tesco. Second, the apparent cost is heightened by the very weak dollar. What I'm getting at (having lived on both sides of the Atlantic) is that £1 is treated more or less like US$1 in the UK, and the salaries and costs are scaled accordingly. If you're earning in £'s, the costs do not seem as exorbitant (although it is still very expensive living in London). Third, it really depends on your frame of reference. OP - where do you live? I grew-up in Singapore, where property prices are more in-line with those in London. Also have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, where - again - prices are similar (although a little lower) than London. For example, you could buy a 2-3 bedroom place in transitional area/bordering the ghetto in SF Bay Area for around US$600K-700K. In a more upscale neighbourhood like the Marina or Pacific Heights, you're looking at an average sale price of around US$2 million. In chic neighbourhoods in downtown Singapore, you're looking at 1-bedroom apartments that go for around S$1 million or ~US$700K. Bigger apartments (e.g., 3-bedrooms; approximately 300 sq feet) go for an average of US$4-6 million. Hong Kong, Tokyo and NYC are in a similar range. Finally, other than emphasizing that it's expensive to live in major metro areas, what was the point of starting this thread?
Originally Posted by zupermaus
Random London prices bunch of grapes, $12 entry to a nightclub on Saturday (and 500,000 happily pay), $40 ($20-30 any other night) cocktail, $24 bottle of beer in a bar $6 single entrance ticket to 15 (out of 650) Buckingham Palace rooms: $32 cheap single hotel bed in centre $110 London Stansted - Krakow by cheap airline return $5 air fare + $60 in taxes shuttle train from centre to Stansted airport return $55.00, $160-$210 by taxi one way artist's paintbrush $50-$80 depending on size single rose $10, bunch of roses $500 gallon of petrol $10 8 hrs parking $36 edge of the centre daily charge to drive into central London $17, $50 for SUV, $400 for high polluting goods vehicle parking space in Hertfordshire 'ideal for London commuters', $52,000
_44659213_carparkingspace226.jpg
underground parking space in Knightsbridge $200,000 parking space by Harrods dept store, Knightsbridge, $510,000 private garage in Chelsea $610,000
Building costs are also the most expensive in the world: new 'super' hospital (read: normal hospital), $4.5 billion 9 storey office block in Fitzrovia, $1 billion (more than WTC)
867_3_100020Make20Abbey20aerial.jpg
new Thames sewer tunnel, $4.2 billion upgrading the London-Glasgow line to high speed (345 miles), $30 billion RIP OFF! According to the National stats office the average salary in London is $86,000 a year ($210,000 in the richer areas). If however you read between the lines as there are literally millions of millionaires, the real wage for the average Londoner is about $50,000.
 

RJman

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Originally Posted by imageWIS
Yes, Mittal.

He was a member for a while
crackup[1].gif


Jon.


frown.gif


Jon.: What the heck is "neuve riche"?

I don't understand how anyone making less than 200K a year can afford to live in (central) London -- and can there be that many people who make 200K or more there?

By the way, it's far more productive to put dkzzzzzzzz on Ignore than to argue with him. His reasoning is even worse than his English.
 

GQgeek

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Originally Posted by RJman
frown.gif


Jon.: What the heck is "neuve riche"?

I don't understand how anyone making less than 200K a year can afford to live in (central) London -- and can there be that many people who make 200K or more there?

By the way, it's far more productive to put dkzzzzzzzz on Ignore than to argue with him. His reasoning is even worse than his English.


I think he is mixing languages and spelling incorrectly in his native tongue at that. Nuevo=new=nouveau.
plain.gif


Anyway, the prices in this thread are up there. I'm going to inherit a bunch of properties in England (need to off my brother and sister before my father and his sister die), but unfortunately, I don't think any of them are in London
frown.gif
 

RJman

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Originally Posted by imageWIS
Canadaface, I answered RJ below. There are many far more enjoyable hobbies than not picking my spelling errors.
teacha.gif


Jon.


It's OK, you guys are both my bitches.
 

GQgeek

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Originally Posted by imageWIS
I thought you liked cats, not dogs.
confused.gif


Jon.


I think he likes anything that gives him affection cause god knows he hasn't gotten any since he's been in France.
laugh.gif
laugh.gif
 

academe

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Originally Posted by RJman
frown.gif
Jon.: What the heck is "neuve riche"? I don't understand how anyone making less than 200K a year can afford to live in (central) London -- and can there be that many people who make 200K or more there? By the way, it's far more productive to put dkzzzzzzzz on Ignore than to argue with him. His reasoning is even worse than his English.

From what I understand, I think the people that live in central London are successful lawyers, bankers or other financial services types. I think it's possible for dual income families or couples to make £100K+ a year in London, especially if they're in banking. Having your parents or family help you along with a little "starter" for a down payment helps. Everyone else that I know who lives in London lives outside of the city centre.For example, one of my relatives who works for KPMG lives in Bedfordshire and commutes in ~1 hour to work by train. They have quite an excellent rail system so the commuting isn't as bad as being stuck in traffic on the Bay Bridge... Keep in mind that one good thing about the UK, despite the higher taxes, is that you have to worry less about putting aside money for things like health care, retirement or education for your children. Social services are excellent by US standards. The public school system is significantly better than in the US, so you're not having to pay US$20-30K for private day care or private school per child. University is essentially free. Health care is free. What this means is that more of the money that you earn you can just take home and spend as you will.
 

academe

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Originally Posted by GQgeek
I'm going to inherit a bunch of properties in England (need to off my brother and sister before my father and his sister die), but unfortunately, I don't think any of them are in London
frown.gif

I think you'll still be comfortable with your inheritance, even if the properties aren't in London. In the south of England, I think 2-3 bedroom houses in a middle class area go for between £250-400K.
 

gamelan

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Originally Posted by SirSuturesALot
What kind of salary is needed to afford a $12 million home? It sounds like even those who would be considered fairly well off would take forever to pay off one of these houses. Is quality housing simply out of reach for all but the Fortune 100 CEOs?

i'm house hunting and can extrapolate from my salary vs the house i can afford. if you've got the 20% down of the 12 mil, you'd need to be making around 2.4 million to afford such a home assuming a traditional 30-year mortgage.

-Jeff
 

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