First read the Stumbling and Mumbling blog on why not to worry about a housing crash.
Then, emboldened by those words, venture to This is Money’s latest toy: a House Price Crash Calculator.
What will your home be worth if the market collapses?
Cheery, and generally unhelpful, stuff. Using data from the regional Nationwide property surveys, you can ascertain what your home would be valued at should prices fall back to the level they were at in a year of your choosing. The numbers are based on averages for each year and for different types of property. The percentage crash rather annoyingly tracks the change from the valuation year you input, rather than from today’s inflated price. “It is meant as a guide. And possibly a wake-up call,” say This is Money.
But nobody believes that house prices are going to fall back to where they were in 1992, which is a drop of up to 80 per cent. And for those that haven’t had their houses valued for a few years, the calculator serves mainly to underline just how much prices have risen over the past few years.
Hat tip, appropriately enough, to StopRepossessions Org UK.