NORMAL LIFE: House price madness
Bree is mega pissed off! Admitting that a bit of extra space would be nice, we recently went to view an apartment in the Etu-töölö district of Helsinki. Measuring 107m², the apartment had three large rooms, a spacious hallway and a kitchen with a smaller room next to it. The bathroom was in a bit of state and the wall linking the small room with the kitchen could be knocked through to create a lovely spacious kitchen-dining area. We both liked the place and were considering a joint purchase. I would take on a smaller share, as a first-time buyer however, as the apartment was on the marketing for €360,000 (approx £240,000).
We bided our time to see what offers were made on the apartment.
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4245/1957/320/forsale%20signs.jpg)
It's clear how careless people are being with their purchase decisions these days and, especially, the state of house prices in Europe has been well publicised. According to a recent article on the BBC, the number of first-time buyers in the UK is at a 25-year low with the average person having to spend five years saving up an average deposit of £24,000. The average age of a first time buyer has reached 33. These figures are shocking and make you wonder what the point of buying your own home is - and therefore being responsible for all the maintenance - as opposed to renting. After all, the statistics prove that Britain's homeowners make up the majority of the nation's poor.
BBC Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4657868.stm
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