Daniel in Leeds. Well said!!
I am also 35 and a FTB. I made a decision in 2004 that the housing market was overpriced and decided to wait. The speculation driven rise over the last 4 years has been obscene!! No longer the fool at dinner parties! House I want to buy, 390k Jan, 325k Aug.

Simon, Leamington Spa, England

location location location is dead, its all about liquidity liquidity liquidity

ben, ashby,

Actually John - the only relevant demand is that which can afford the property. If there were only 10 houses in the country, each worth £100,000,000,000 then they would all be empty. In fact, they would remain empty until the price reached a level people could afford - e.g. 35-50% of where it is now

Paul, Brighton,

Clive, Chichester, UK

Don't think you're far off the mark! Mid 'denial' stage I reckon. I want to see the Money Consumer Editor in full flow when the 'anger' stage starts.

Around Autumn would be my estimate - when the dark nights start drawing in, the masses can't pay their utility bills.

Rob, Isle of Wight,

Absolute tosh!. These are not average buyers, they are wealthy people who would buy whatever the market. Savills aren't doing so well in Norwich where they have pages and pages of overpriced flats round Riverside which are not selling. Who wants a flat when houses are dropping so fast!

sophie smith, london, uk

John, Redhill. The supposed shortage of housing will soon end. When the baby-boomer generation start shuffling to retirement homes or to the cemetary there will be an over-supply of housing. This is due to start happening within 10 years. Search for 'UK population pyramid' if you don't believe me!

Ted, Nairobi, Kenya

This is pure fiction. I fear Valarie Elliot could be accused of plagiarism, as it looks to me that this has been written entirely by estate agents. This is a long way from the housing market I see before me...

Simon, estateagentworld,

The correction in house prices is likely to bottom out at 2002 prices according to my local building society manager. The problem was created by the 6 times salary mortgages. Future lending levels will be pitched at 4 times salary with a 40% reduction in prices; about £160K on a £400K property.

john, milton keynes,

What goes up must come down!Property here in Melbourne is also over the top .Many of us are waiting for the bottom to drop out of it.Three years ago a 3 bedroom house in Essendon could be purchased for $380.000.Today $900,000 + developers buy them and demolish to build 4 houses on one piece of land

jane, melbourne, australia

Anyone who buys when houseprices are falling at the fastest rate in recorded history can hardly be described as getting a bargain.

Those of you quoting the supply demand argument, just needs to look at the Japanese housing market to see that it's fundamentally flawed.

Dave, Reigate,

Why buy in now in a falling market? This sounds like the usuaI agents talking up the market. I was looking to buy in the Isle of Wight but think prices could easily slide 25% or more in the next couple of years.

John Kelly, Watford,

John, Redhill: examine Japan, a country even more overpopulated than yours, where property prices have still to recover 20 years down the line.
It is not a shortage of property which is the issue - it is the availability of finance to purchase it. If the money dries up, property prices will plunge

Gareth Jones, Dusseldorf, Germany

Oh Dear John,

you think demand will keep prices up...dream on.How are people to buy when they need 15 to 25 % deposits,and that is if they are lucky.Prices will continue to drop for four years and will be down by 30/40%.
The days of pyramid selling are over.

Geoff, Birmingham,

If you believe anything an estate agent says ,then you are in need of therapy.
It is in their interest to talk the market up. Their livelihood depends on the number of transactions they process.

jackie, paphos, cyprus

I think you are the fool Clive if you think house prices will half by 2012. Take a look at the population growth stats for the UK over the next few decades. Where are all these people going to live? If they don't buy they let. Either way this will create a bouyant market once again private or invest

John, Redhill,

I have to agree with Clive. I live here so am not concerned about price drops but am thinking about my children so I do hope ( and think ) that prices are tumbling down. Don't buy till they are half price. A house is a home not an investment.

Pamela Ritchie, Sussex coast,

I am a FTB. I am 35 years old. An experienced Management Consultant and shareholder. Ive always rented. I have no problems getting a mortgate. For many perfectly legitimate, sensible, and economically realistic reasons, I will not be purchasing my first home, until they return to 2001 prices.

Daniel, Leeds,

Oh, dear. This all sounds a bit delusional. "I've got a bit of money in my pocket, I think I'll blow it all now, rather than waiting for prices to fall." Or maybe it's estate agent fantasy time.

I live in a scenic small town adjoining the Peak District. Our property market is stagnant. Dream on.

Carol, Derbyshire,

Four sold for over a million pounds? Hardly cheap and not likely to be bought by the likes of me. I couldn't even afford the other one you quoted at a price of £360,000. I think that the 'rank and file' are waiting for more drops before bargains can be had, thank you very much.

Nan, Reading, UK

Clive is probably right!

Anne Kent, Dorset,

'People would rather have their money in property than in the bank' ! Unbelievably amusing quote but coming from someone with a vested interest in talking the market up not totally surprising. Well done Richard Copus for making us laugh.

chris, brighton,

There is indeed a fool born every minute. I live on the Sussex coast and there are no bargains to be had at present - the market is dead as sellers are in denial and buyers on strike. Anyone from out of area thinking they are getting are bargain is a fool - prices are set to half by 2012.

Clive, Chichester, UK