chaplin

Monday, October 02, 2017

House price shock 1980s-style

We bought our first house in 1982. It was a four-bedroom place in north London.

An uncle of mine asked what it cost. When I told him he caught his breath and rocked back on his heels. He didn't have much experience of house prices outside Yorkshire.

He thought about it for a moment and then found a silver lining. "Still, I expect you'll also get a double garage for that."

I explained that there was no garage of any kind. Properties on suburban streets in London didn't work like that.

He went away shaking his head that we would ever pay such a ridiculous sum of money for a house, even in that there London.

How much were we paying?

£39,500.

2 comments:

  1. Linked to the rate of inflation, your £39,500 in 1982 would be the equivalent of £139,435 today.
    ( http://inflation.stephenmorley.org/ )

    ReplyDelete
  2. How much is it worth today? I'm guessing just into seven figures.

    ReplyDelete