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Originally Posted by edwardmk
House prices appreciating is more to do with currency depreciation and financial manipulation than actual capital appreciation.
Each time interest rates dropped, that guaranteed that house prices would go up. I read that there could be as many as 1 million interest only mortgages out there. It's amazing how high a bid you can put in if you have access to a large loan at a very low rate. The only way though for most of those folk to pay off their mortgages will be to downsize and hope the sale price has enough 'capital appreciation' to afford a house somewhere in the UK. If you were lucky/clever enough to buy in London thirty years ago you can move pretty much anywhere and have change left over. Not so much if you bought in many other areas.
With our current two party 'democracy', candidates for government get elected by outbidding the other candidates with the most appealing promises. Over promising leads to overspending which leads inevitably to overborrowing. Usually a conservative government tries to balance the books by applying fiscal prudence. They get accused of 'austerity', become unpopular and get booted out. Labour usually loosens fiscal policy, confuses investment with divestment, sells our gold for $300/ounce and leaves a note saying there is no money. Incredibly, despite there being no money and no magic money tree (Teresa May to the nurses ), Boris has thrown all caution to the wind and found £500 billion somewhere. Even more incredibly, after announcing £94 billion in improvements to the rail network, it's labelled ' not enough'.
We are heading inevitably for inflation well above the Bank of England target rate of 2%. Labour would be well advised to take a rain check at the next election, because the chickens will come home to roost in 2024-25, and the new government will have a rather large poisoned chalice.
It is inflation, compounded annually, which inexorably drives up the cost of housing and simultaneously depreciates the spending power of a currency. This in turn inexorably batters down the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. Why not target 0% inflation and stable prices? Letting inflation rip is dangerous. The most modern example of inflation spiralling out of control is of course Venezuela, lauded not that long ago by Mr Corbyn et al as a great modern example of what a socialist economy can achieve.
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This government had done everything possible to maintain house price inflation, including the use of tax payer's money to do so through the stamp duty holiday.
If I was leader of the Labour party, I would take a little step back at the next election on the basis that having made an excellent job of managing the Covid situation, the Tories deserve to reap the fruits of their successes and be given the opportunity to do the same for the economy over the following term.
