Pensions/Investment

[Innertube]

Can't see the colour which tells you that houses can be built there?

[superfrank]

Can't see the colour which tells you that houses can be built there?

Well that depends on political will.

Remember Labour's 'commitment' to build 3m new homes? As soon as house prices started to fall Gordon Brown crowed about how we hadn't "over-built" like in the US.

I just don't like the way that property has been turned into an investment vehicle for the masses. I find it unethical - shelter is a basic human need and speculation in property has led to ridiculously high prices which ultimately benefit nobody, and cause much social harm, and has made the UK an uncompetitive place to live and work.

[Iron]

True, but isn't it difficult to get planning permission to build on greenfield sites?

Jeff

There's plenty of land, that's just estate agent spin.

[Euler]

I just don't like the way that property has been turned into an investment vehicle for the masses. I find it unethical - shelter is a basic human need and speculation in property has led to ridiculously high prices which ultimately benefit nobody, and cause much social harm, and has made the UK an uncompetitive place to live and work.

I agree, also, again, people mistake speculation for investment. It would be much better if people stopped thinking about houses as an investment and more as a place to live. If they then invested their cash into, say, starting a business or funding somebody else's business the whole country would benefit significantly. If they just plough everything into a non productive asset like a house, that doesn't really add much value to UK PLC. Houses should be a place to live first and foremost.

I laughed when all these projections for housing shortages were around during the boom years. My prediction was that as soon as prices stopped going up the housing shortage would suddenly disappear.

[superfrank]

Euler, I'm pleased you agree. I was beginning to feel like a mad man on here!

David Cameron hit the nail on head in his recent speech in Davos:

"Remember what we started with in the UK: an economy built on the worst deficit, the most leveraged banks, the most indebted households, the biggest housing boom and unsustainable levels of public spending and immigration.

And now think of where we need to go: an economy based not on consumption and debt but on savings and investment not on government spending but on entrepreneurial dynamism not on one industry in one corner of the country but on all our businesses in all our regions, with a new emphasis on manufacturing, exports and trade.

To get there isn't easy. We can't just flick on the switch of government spending or pump the bubble back up. Making this transformation - and it is a transformation - requires painstaking work and it takes time. It involves paying down billions of pounds of debt. New plants and factories need to be built. New products designed. New innovations taken to market. New businesses nurtured."

[freddy]

Just as a matter of interest then

What would people be doing then right now if they had say 250k sitting in there bank accounts ready to invest / speculate with.

i think you can gather what i would do, so lets see some other idea's .

[hgodden]

I'd use it all to fill up as many jerry cans of petrol as humanly possible. I'm 29 now, by time I come to retirement age I'd imagine a haul like that would be pushing 10 figures!

[hgodden]

On second thoughts it might be a bit risky - in 20 years when it all starts running out the Americans would probably invade my garage looking for "WMDs"!!

[freddy]

lol sounds about right

[superfrank]

What would people be doing then right now if they had say 250k sitting in there bank

"I spent a lot of money on drinks, women and fast cars. I wasted the rest." - George Best

[Euler]

A lot of equities are at lower prices than there were 11 years ago.

[freddy]

Some interesting ideas on what to do with the 250k ,
But im not convinced , I would still be buying a bargain uk property myself,
It would generate me a decent rental income until the market starts to recover and then i could cash in at a latter date.

I could of cause be very wrong ,
and It's clear it will not make me a multi millionaire like other higher risk investments could protentially do ,
but in 10 years time I im sure i will be far better off than I would have been if i had just left the 250k in my bank account.

And

far better of than the majority of people who tried to invest the 250k else ware.

[superfrank]

it sounds like you're looking for a decent return with low risk so why not consider investing in something like corporate bonds in blue-chip companies. decent yields and much less hassle/risk than BTL (and you'd be helping UK Plc and not following the sheep into property).

[Iron]

My concern about buying blue chip shares with a view to holding them long-term is that, as a group, they are over-inflated IMHO.

The attached chart is what you'd expect if the economy were in rude health. The fact that it's not leads me to believe that the FTSE is a bubble waiting to burst...

Jeff

why not consider investing in something like corporate bonds in blue-chip companies. decent yields and much less hassle/risk than BTL (and you'd be helping UK Plc and not following the sheep into property).

[superfrank]

Bonds I said (i.e. corporate debt), not shares.