| Millennials and Gen Zedders 11:30 - Feb 23 with 1351 views | DJR |
I'm a Boomer but thought this passage from Autumn by Ali Smith (which I'm currently reading) neatly sums up the position of many Millennials and Gen Zedders.
"It is a Wednesday, just past midsummer. Elizabeth Demand - thirty two years old, no-fixed-hours casual contract junior lecturer at a university in London, living the dream her mother says, and she is, if the dream means having having no job security and almost everything being to expensive to do and that you're still in the same rented flat you had when you were a student over a decade ago-..."
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| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 11:39 - Feb 23 with 1300 views | Herbivore |
Pretty accurate. I know some of the older generations don't like to hear it as they see it as an attack, but being able to afford your own home these days is so difficult for most young people. In 1980, the average house price was just over £19k and the average salary was £6k, so house prices were a shade over three times the average salary. In 2024, the average house price was £290k against an average salary of just over £37k. That's average houses costing a little under eight times the average salary. The ratio has more than doubled. Rents, particularly since we sold off so much social housing, tend to track house prices so housing costs have effectively more than doubled in the last 40 years. |  |
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| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 11:47 - Feb 23 with 1271 views | DJR |
| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 11:39 - Feb 23 by Herbivore |
Pretty accurate. I know some of the older generations don't like to hear it as they see it as an attack, but being able to afford your own home these days is so difficult for most young people. In 1980, the average house price was just over £19k and the average salary was £6k, so house prices were a shade over three times the average salary. In 2024, the average house price was £290k against an average salary of just over £37k. That's average houses costing a little under eight times the average salary. The ratio has more than doubled. Rents, particularly since we sold off so much social housing, tend to track house prices so housing costs have effectively more than doubled in the last 40 years. |
I read recently that the easing by banks and building societies (presumably as a result of greater financial freedoms and competition) on the limit on the multiplier of salary (around three times back in the early 80s) has had a lot to do with the increase in house prices.
Another example of deregulation kicking many people in the teeth.
Indeed, there was a time when people had to save with a building society to get a mortgage, and I don't think banks were involved in residential mortgages at all. [Post edited 23 Feb 11:57]
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| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 12:22 - Feb 23 with 1195 views | J2BLUE |
| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 11:39 - Feb 23 by Herbivore |
Pretty accurate. I know some of the older generations don't like to hear it as they see it as an attack, but being able to afford your own home these days is so difficult for most young people. In 1980, the average house price was just over £19k and the average salary was £6k, so house prices were a shade over three times the average salary. In 2024, the average house price was £290k against an average salary of just over £37k. That's average houses costing a little under eight times the average salary. The ratio has more than doubled. Rents, particularly since we sold off so much social housing, tend to track house prices so housing costs have effectively more than doubled in the last 40 years. |
How is average salary worked out? I know that sounds stupid but surely it's not just total earnings divided by total workers because for every Haaland there must be 1000 (more?) on minimum wage?
I appreciate the point you're making, it's still relevant but for most it will be even worse as they won't be on anywhere near 37k.
The median figure puts 50% of the population before 37k, most by some distance I would imagine.
Again, I know you know, but I can see some people thinking 37k is easily enough to get by.
Thankfully I own a property but I was looking on right move recently trying to help someone find something in their budget and it shocked me how much rents are. £700-800 a month for small flats. Absolutely insane. |  |
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| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 12:29 - Feb 23 with 1152 views | DJR |
| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 12:22 - Feb 23 by J2BLUE |
How is average salary worked out? I know that sounds stupid but surely it's not just total earnings divided by total workers because for every Haaland there must be 1000 (more?) on minimum wage?
I appreciate the point you're making, it's still relevant but for most it will be even worse as they won't be on anywhere near 37k.
The median figure puts 50% of the population before 37k, most by some distance I would imagine.
Again, I know you know, but I can see some people thinking 37k is easily enough to get by.
Thankfully I own a property but I was looking on right move recently trying to help someone find something in their budget and it shocked me how much rents are. £700-800 a month for small flats. Absolutely insane. |
Here's a useful link from December which deals with the issues you mention and also shows that affordability varies by country in the UK and by region in England.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/bulletins/housingpur [Post edited 23 Feb 12:33]
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| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 12:41 - Feb 23 with 1086 views | WeWereZombies |
| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 11:47 - Feb 23 by DJR |
I read recently that the easing by banks and building societies (presumably as a result of greater financial freedoms and competition) on the limit on the multiplier of salary (around three times back in the early 80s) has had a lot to do with the increase in house prices.
Another example of deregulation kicking many people in the teeth.
Indeed, there was a time when people had to save with a building society to get a mortgage, and I don't think banks were involved in residential mortgages at all. [Post edited 23 Feb 11:57]
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You've always been able to get a loan from a bank secured on a property, it's one of the things banks do But in the relative prosperity of post Second World War Britain it was more affordable and safer to utilise a Building Society for saving towards house purchase. The safeguarding of responsible lending to only three or later four, times your salary (which needed to be verified through payslips and/or P60s) was part of the inbuilt ethos of mutuality. |  |
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| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 12:48 - Feb 23 with 1048 views | iamatractorboy |
| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 11:39 - Feb 23 by Herbivore |
Pretty accurate. I know some of the older generations don't like to hear it as they see it as an attack, but being able to afford your own home these days is so difficult for most young people. In 1980, the average house price was just over £19k and the average salary was £6k, so house prices were a shade over three times the average salary. In 2024, the average house price was £290k against an average salary of just over £37k. That's average houses costing a little under eight times the average salary. The ratio has more than doubled. Rents, particularly since we sold off so much social housing, tend to track house prices so housing costs have effectively more than doubled in the last 40 years. |
Yeh but interest rates were 15% for a bit in the 80s, or something... oh and Netflix and smartphones and Easyjet holidays. I think that's ticked off all the boxes. |  | | |
| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 13:48 - Feb 23 with 927 views | FromReuserWithLove |
| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 12:48 - Feb 23 by iamatractorboy |
Yeh but interest rates were 15% for a bit in the 80s, or something... oh and Netflix and smartphones and Easyjet holidays. I think that's ticked off all the boxes. |
Avocado's mate. |  | | |
| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 14:20 - Feb 23 with 870 views | Herbivore |
| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 12:22 - Feb 23 by J2BLUE |
How is average salary worked out? I know that sounds stupid but surely it's not just total earnings divided by total workers because for every Haaland there must be 1000 (more?) on minimum wage?
I appreciate the point you're making, it's still relevant but for most it will be even worse as they won't be on anywhere near 37k.
The median figure puts 50% of the population before 37k, most by some distance I would imagine.
Again, I know you know, but I can see some people thinking 37k is easily enough to get by.
Thankfully I own a property but I was looking on right move recently trying to help someone find something in their budget and it shocked me how much rents are. £700-800 a month for small flats. Absolutely insane. |
Think it's median income that they use as the mean is likely to be skewed by those big earners, so 50% of people will be on £37k or less and the other 50% on £37k or more. £37k sounds pretty decent but when it comes to being able to buy a house or even rent on your own, it's not that much so if you're earning below the average then things are even tougher. I remember when my parents found out my first mortgage was just over £700 a month, they were staggered it was so much and felt really bad for me that housing was so expensive. A decade on, I'd love to only be paying £700 a month on housing. Not sure their mortgage was ever more than a couple of hundred quid a month. | |
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| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 14:22 - Feb 23 with 857 views | Herbivore |
And sourdough. Coffees from coffee shops. | |
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| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 14:23 - Feb 23 with 850 views | NedPlimpton |
Fancy coffees ✅ |  | | |
| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 14:37 - Feb 23 with 816 views | Axeldalai_lama |
| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 12:48 - Feb 23 by iamatractorboy |
Yeh but interest rates were 15% for a bit in the 80s, or something... oh and Netflix and smartphones and Easyjet holidays. I think that's ticked off all the boxes. |
Come on, what about 'flat screen televisions', even though they've been the only ones on the market for the best part of 20 years. |  | | |
| Millennials and Gen Zedders on 16:19 - Feb 23 with 701 views | DJR |
Why do older grandparents hate their grandchildren so much? [Post edited 23 Feb 16:20]
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