Housing shortage, so what’s going on here then?

[Steve Bullman]

This is a new housing estate in my village, which has been completed for the best part of a year now. On new builds like this they are generally filled up as they are built…not here though. I drove around the estate last night, about 60 houses so not a huge development…..3 are being lived in.

 

yes they are ugly and seem massively overpriced, but for what reason? What developed wants to have 60 empty homes? There’s weeds coming up through the driveways already….it all seems quite odd 

 

 

[Dan]

It's very strange! I've heard that some big multi national finance firms like black rock are buying up 1000s of houses at a time. But if that's true why leave them empty? 

[Mark Bolam]

Because they can’t sell them?

[Oldfeller]

waiting for the next rubber armada?

[sime42]

Weird. Probably just greedy developers misjudged the market conditions. Maybe the plans for the houses were drawn up years ago when things were different. 

[nepia]

Even down here in the south east developers are building and then unable to sell.  So where's this 'massive demand for housing'?  Oh - it couldn't be anything to do with the construction industry having waaaaay too much sway over government could it?   £££££££.........

[openspaceman]

36 minutes ago, Mark Bolam said:

Because they can’t sell them?

Because the prices have taken a dip and the developers  are hoping the capital valuation will rise in the short term.

[Steven P]

Usual ugly as sin houses.

 

Had this when the Irish bubble burst 20 years ago, blocks of flats (sorry, apartments - flats) bought off plan, deposits paid, house prices dipped, Irish money dipped and the owners walked loosing their deposits was cheaper than the loss of fulfilling their contracts and paying more than the flats were valued at.

 

Might be similar, bought off plan by investors, house prices haven't risen as much as they want so they have walked or are not selling them on till the prices pick up

 

 

2nd thought, if they are valued at so many millions the developer can use them as deposits to borrow more money from the bank to fund the next development, without having to pay any sales tax they can borrow their full value

Edited July 3 by Steven P

[AHPP]

As new builds go, I’ve seen uglier. 

[doobin]

Developers are no doubt lobbying behind the scenes for more government ‘help for buyers’.