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. Last week, we found out that the apartment had actually been sold for €440,000 (£295,000). How ridiculous, I thought, for 351ft²! Realising that the housing market has changed considerably since he purchased his own apartment six years ago, we decided that we would stay put, investing instead in professionally fitted wardrobes! This would address our problem of a lack of space.

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