| Comment | But if you're looking at an area of similar housing (i.e. a street of nearly identical tenement flats) then you can assess the trends in value without knowing individual values. You get the values from those that bought before the peak and hence aren't influenced by negative equity.
I just pulled up data for a random street in Hyndland that fits this, and from what I can see the only negative equity is if you literally bought in 2007 and sold within the next 2-3 years. I saw just one flat where someone appears to have paid an insane price and lost significantly, but the price was so mad that it was a terrible decision under any scenario and very unlikely to have been based on a mortgage.
I have no doubt the market for multi-million houses in Dowanhill is a lot more volatile and susceptible to financial market changes, but that's not really a useful indicator for your average buyer.
And for the rent vs mortgage aspect you're still ignoring that the mortgage gives you returns in the form of an asset, which renting does not. That makes a negative return on a house *as a place to live* still, overall, a net positive present value. |
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