Falling house prices - HOW TO make money ?

Where did you buy your crystal ball from?

wrote

I must have missed something - where in that article did it say that prices are *falling* ?

I saw: "... price of the average home *rose* .. in August following July's meteoric .. *rise*." I also saw: "... we could be seeing double digit house price inflation next year".

Time you prophets of doom (predicting infinite house price inflation) gave up the ghost . Prices are falling. And will continue to for a few years to come. Constantly saying they are not falling will not make it any more true.

Any one got any advice on how to make money out of a bearish house market ?

One of the spread betting firms (City index?) has spreads on house prices.

Isnt that just gambling ?

Oh, I see, you're a troll. Silly me

wrote

I haven't prophesied anything. You, on the other hand, have - so isn't it actually you who are the "prophet of doom" (predicting continuing house price deflation) ?

wrote

Well that may be so (or it may be not!) - but you pointed out an article, suggesting that it said this, when in fact I couldn't find any such reference anywhere in it. And when asked, you can't point out where it does say this??

Looks like you are making it up!

wrote

Conversely - constantly saying they

And IG. One uses the Halifax index, the other the Land Registry figures.

Daytona

"The housing market ground to a halt last month as prices posted their smallest rise since the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Centre, Nationwide building society said."

so they're rising.

The report is derived from the monthly Nationwide Building Society report that says -

"Monthly price growth slows to 2½ year low

- House prices rise just 0.1% during August as annual increase eases to 18.9%

- Interest rate cycle could be close to peak, but energy price rises could equate to further ¼ percentage point on mortgage rates for households with £100,000 mortgage

- Forecast for house price inflation in year to December 2004 remains at 15%"

Daytona

Yes. But it is a way to make money from a falling market.

You could make money from a rising market by buying a house on a 100% mortgage. Is that any less gambling?

No its not a gamble. Sam knows that house prices are going to fall, if you know something is going to happen there is no gamble.

You will have to excuse our Sam, every couple of months he posts the end of the housing market. He desperately needs prices to fall so he can get on the property ladder.

I don't think he is naive enough to believe that he can influence the market by posting its demise on this newsgroup.

Count your blessings that you didn't "invest" in Spanish property, if recent events over there are a guide.

And there are CFDs available as well.

...

"Jane Tweedynn" wrote

So why did Sam say that betting on house prices *falling* was still "gambling"? Perhaps (s)he's not quite so sure after all!

Unlike the majority in this mad country I wasn't buying as an investment but - shock horror - somewhere to live. I know that may seem hard for an Englishman to understand but that is the norm in Europe. People buy homes for somewhere to live.

I was being a bit facetious. I was thinking of some other way to make money out of falling house prices rather than spread betting.

Why? What's wrong with spread betting??

Short the shares of the banks you reckon will be hit hardest?

FoFP

...

"M Holmes" wrote

But isn't that just gambling too? ;-)