Is anyone else who grew up local, being priced out of owning property in MK?
Posted by Classic_Peasant@reddit | miltonkeynes | View on Reddit | 51 comments
I grew up here, house prices have essentially doubled since I was small.
Lots of people moving here, whether that be from London or abroad.
Up and coming city, lots of business, close to London, house prices are whacko and as a family we cant afford it.
Or we could, but it would be a tiny property or in a rough area. Although, even the rough areas have expensive housing now.
Having to leave MK as a young family is sad, as we like it and its got lots of positives especially for youngsters growing up with lots of nature etc.
But what you can get for your money here, compared to 25/30mins away is a world apart of value for money
fuzzbook@reddit
People coming from London have been priced out of London too 🤣 and then wherever people from MK go will end up pricing people in those areas out. Unfortunately it all starts at the top with Russian and Chinese billionaires buying up property in Central London which they don't live in.
MuffDthrowaway@reddit
No it starts with refusing to build any houses.
BeginningKindly8286@reddit
No it starts with refusing to regulate the speculative property market, meaning too many houses are investments rather than homes.
Sharkfacedsnake@reddit
Sorry for the necro. Just searching around MK housing attitudes on this sub.
To your statement i say most housing is the UK is owner occupied. 65% of housing in the UK is owner occupied while 19% is private rented, and 16% of social rented. (Chapter 1: Profile of households and dwellings - GOV.UK) I find that a few of the "problem" people are pointing out here are red herrings. eg the China and Russia empty buildings, your example, and another person saying that the type of flats and houses being build are the problem.
The truth is that any building is good for lowering house prices. If the 19% of private rented housing were put on the market for sale prices would still be high because there are more people wanting to live in MK than there are available houses.
BeginningKindly8286@reddit
So… 1 in 5 houses are investments rather than homes, That is an issue for me if not for you.
Sharkfacedsnake@reddit
People live in those homes as renters. It is not a problem. You are not gonna house any more people by converting those private rented houses to owner occupied ones.
Currently more people want to live in MK than MK can house. So prices rise. Building is the only solution.
BeginningKindly8286@reddit
Yes. And ballooning rent increases would mean that those people renting would find it increasingly difficult to afford to buy a house. Still need more houses though.
MightyPotato11@reddit
They're building houses, just the "affordable" (still very expensive) flats and houses. Like where I live they've built hundreds of homes and flats in my life but I'd never be able to afford them unless I win the lottery or marry a rich person 😅
scrapheaper_@reddit
If they build enough houses, the price will go down. Supply causes prices to drop. If there aren't enough houses people will bid up the price no matter how affordable the houses are.
If they're still too expensive that means they haven't built enough of them yet
toastongod@reddit
Prices are set by supply and demand. They don’t set the prices high because they’re mean, they do it because they get away with it because people buy.
Sure, demand is high, but supply being high could keep the cost low too - eg Spain - we have no supply, that’s the problem.
No_Stage9114@reddit
To be fair, the differential has been there for years, it’s just the prices have skyrocketed everywhere. We bought our first house in 2000 and chose to move to Northamptonshire as you got so much more for your money. I think MK is just more attractive for London commuters and that is what pushes the prices up versus 30 mins down the road
Flibberdigib@reddit
This is happening everywhere. I grew up in a small town near a big city, now I have to live in the big city because I can't afford a house in the small town. My grandmother once commented "isn't it funny how your parents and aunt and uncles all live here but you and your cousins all moved away?". No Nan, it's not funny, it's because of people like you living in 3 bedroom houses alone for 40 years 🙄
Srapture@reddit
Strange and sad to see this. My partner and I were priced out of my hometown, Hemel Hempstead, and moved up to Milton Keynes because house prices were much cheaper.
We bought our house for £360,000 two years ago; the equivalent house in Hemel Hempstead (detached house with a garage and a decent driveway) was looking like over £550,000, and the ones in that price range weren't particularly nice houses still.
Accurate-Ad9790@reddit
We did the same, Grovehill to Dagnall then Eaton Bray, then Linslade, now Great Brickhill
DustTheHunter@reddit
We just got a 3 bed in Eaglestone for 280k. That seems reasonable enough for most people?
Classic_Peasant@reddit (OP)
Not to put anyone down, but that's not an area we want to live in.
Entire-Archer-2495@reddit
Not the best of areas, but the actual houses are ok. All it takes is for people to start looking at some of these ok older estates (e.g. Downs Barn, Springfield, etc.), which actually have more space than some of the newer ones, to gentrif them. Already happening a bit in Wolverton and places like Galley Hill (want to live in stony but can’t afford).
elegant_thief@reddit
Springfield and Galley Hill 😬
Mr_Tenno@reddit
Springfield is perfectly fine
DustTheHunter@reddit
:(
bumblestum1960@reddit
Ignore mate, I’ve lived here since 1990 and never had a spot of bother. Convenient for everything as well.
DustTheHunter@reddit
Thank you, been here a couple of weeks with no issues and all the neighbours have been friendly and social.
Don't understand all the bad rep
PsychoticDust@reddit
Not really. Assuming your mortgage is 4.5x your salary, you would need to be earning about £62K for a mortgage of £280K. A £62K salary puts you well within the top 20 something percent of earners in the UK. Definitely not most people. I appreciate that it is different if you're in a couple.
The vast majority of single people in MK stand no chance at owning a home.
dilithium-dreamer@reddit
I'm literally in the process of selling up and moving to Scotland right now. I can buy a 2 or even 3-bed house outright there for less than £150K. I'm by myself and can't afford to live in the area any more.
melatone1n@reddit
My dad sold his 2.5 bedroom (one of the rooms is tiny) house in Lavendon for £225k and was able to get a big Victorian 3 bed in Glasgow for £250k. The house went up by £100k from the price he bought it for 15 years ago.
I've just had a look at the prices on that street, there was a house bought in May 1998 (when I was born) for £100k, it sold in 2023 for about 330% more. Prices tripling over 25 years is insane.
dilithium-dreamer@reddit
Wow. It's all just so unaffordable.
shdanko@reddit
Yep. Born and lived in MK all my life, now having to look at Northampton / Rushden areas to get something reasonably sized for my small family.
Classic_Peasant@reddit (OP)
Its a sad state of affairsÂ
flwdbydsgn@reddit
3rd generation Milton Keynesian here.
Being priced out of MK housing sucks for sure, but I would always prefer to live in a village outside of town and drive in for work. Let muppets waste their money on cramped housing with no driveway, no garden, and crushed velvet everywhere in town. More space and greenery for me.
Medium_Cantaloupe_50@reddit
Any villages you would suggest?
ThatstheTahiCo@reddit
Are we Milton Keynsians? I thought we were Milton Keyners. I quite like Keynsians though. Sounds exotic. Unlike the council estate I grew up on.
Bhines94@reddit
I’ve always assumed the Keynes comes from the economist, so I’ve always just presumed Keynesian as that’s what’s used to describe his economic theory
ThatstheTahiCo@reddit
I've heard a conspiracy theory that MK is a capitalist conspiracy based upon the economic principles of Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman. Then again, I've also heard we got our name from Milton Keynes village, which is pretty ancient. Who fuckin knows.
Bhines94@reddit
I’ve lived here my entire life and I have always believed this conspiracy
Technician438@reddit
Let muppets waste their time and money for commuting. I prefer to live in smaller house than waste my time in traffic
PsychoticDust@reddit
Yup. I earn £40K, not including bonuses, and the places I can afford here are grotty to say the least. Next year I should be earning about £50K, but even that isn't enough to afford a 3 bedroom house in a low crime area. I do not want to live in Netherfield, etc. I lived in Fuller Slade for a few years before I ended up somewhere much nicer. Never again.
If you want a decent, three bedroom home in Milton Keynes, in a decent area as a single person, then you're looking at about £350,000 (I just checked on Rightmove). You need to be earning almost £80,000 to get a big enough mortgage. It isn't worth it, so I'm looking elsewhere.
starwars011@reddit
A 3 bedroom house is the best part of £400k now. Its only really affordable now in 2 circumstances:
PsychoticDust@reddit
I'm not surprised at all.
I will never receive financial help from anyone. It's just me and doing everything off my own back. That's just how it is, life is a lottery, and I wasn't born to people who will ever be able to help. Congratulations to all the people who have a bank of mum and dad to rely on.
True, and I know that's how most people do it. Again, I'm on my own here. The only reason I'm in MK is because I really like my job.
It does make me wonder what will happen to the high number of people who will never be able to own a home once they are too old to work. No politician seems to be willing to speak about this.
dilithium-dreamer@reddit
I agree. I don't even really want to own a house. I only bought one so I could retire one day. You can't afford to pay rent on a pension.
I'm having to move out of the area this year (going to Scotland where I have friends and can buy something for a third of the price here out in the countryside by the sea) but when you think that it's literally a pile of bricks, and some glass, the prices are ridiculous.
TheMopFromMars@reddit
3 bedrooms in New Bradwell are around the £250-£280 mark. Not a top quality area but decent
Jayce1976@reddit
Bought our first house in New Bradwell in 2002 for 75k (3 bed terrace)
Weve moved a couple of times since. We live out of town now in Northamptonshire. House we have now would be a million in mk and we paid half that.
I miss some amenities and convenience but it's 35 mins away
No-Proof2099@reddit
Yes  Literally moved across the country to buy my first house because I could get a 3 bed semi detached for the price of a 1 bed apartment in MK
starwars011@reddit
I did the same, and to be fair I quite like where I live now other than the distance to family.
No-Proof2099@reddit
Yeh, I moved to the country side and am loving it. Also I like Star Wars as well, nice username!
AvadaBalaclava@reddit
I remember my dad looking at houses in New Bradwell in the late 90s, he’d just got a big redundancy and could get one for £25k, he didn’t bother in the end.
bumblestum1960@reddit
Only thing bringing Eaglestone down is the buy to let slumlords. Just look for the broken fencing and uncared for gardens, that’ll be their properties. Apart from that it’s a decent place to live.
AreWeRollingTucker@reddit
Yep, lived here my whole life and we’re looking in Northamptonshire. Absolutely insane how much more you can get for your money just 40 mins or so away but it is a shame we’re essentially being forced to look elsewhere because house prices in MK are absolutely ridiculous.
BigDipDan@reddit
Yea agreed, it all rolls downhill, the people growing up in London will be priced out of there and buy here, pushing us out and thus we do the same to a smaller town outside Mk. It’s the system we live in unfortunately
vivalaalice@reddit
Yep, I’m the 7th generation of my family who’s from Bletchley and owning a house here is becoming borderline impossible
spanner1991@reddit
It’s the same across the country. It forces locals to relocate which breaks their support circles. Which then makes people think twice about starting families.
Oh great I can afford a house in this town but I am now 60+ mins from my family to help look after my children. So now I need to spend extra on childcare.
Living_Affect117@reddit
Honestly, I feel like house are undervalued in MK. To be able to get a 4 bed house 30 mins from Euston for £400k is absurdly good value when you consider what that 400k gets you in London, including outer zones that might mean you have a longer commute timewise than MK.
I think a lot of those born and raised in MK take for granted how special MK is. The so-called 'high crime' areas of MK are fucking paradise compared to similar areas in other commuter towns. I used to live in Slough and going for a walk at night was literally unthinkable - not only would it be just plain horrible visually, you can't move for homeless people and thieves, even going to a supermarket was like wandering around Children of Men. I lived a year in Fishermead and other people would say 'Oh dear, not Fishermead!' but to me, Fishermead was absolutely blissful compared to literally anywhere in Slough or West Drayton where I lived before. Here in MK you can pick goddamn blackberries on the way to the train station ffs!
I don't think MK is 'cheap' of course, it is not, but the grass is most definitely not greener in other commuter towns/cities. The red way system alone makes MK in to a top 5 place in the UK to live. I have been in Medbourne for 4 years now and still shudder with relief at how lucky I am to live here. Can you get more square footage for your money in Luton or Northampton? Yeah, probably but I wouldn't want to, ever.