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Comment by noddy1w | Hacker News Reader

Anyone think it is reasonable to predict plummeting high end real estate prices and a further pummelled pound as demand dries up and motivated sellers dump properties and sell pounds here?

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The only people who benefit from inflated property values are rent-seekers. I see decreasing property values as just another benefit of this policy.

It's unfortunate for those caught with negative equity.

Those are the people who are taking risk by investing in real estate. They don’t need bailouts.

Some of them are just buying a home, I was caught in this when I bought my first flat, prices fell by 25% and I found it very difficult to move when my job moved.

That’s risk vs reward though. You take the risk that prices will drop (and that you will have less flexibility to move) in exchange for the reward that prices will rise (and for a slightly more stable cost than renting, sometimes). You can’t have it both ways.

There is no reward for rising prices as I need somewhere to live, I likely won’t realise those gains.

It’s already well known that real estate is used this way; are specific names going to change that?

Maybe if they did something to actually prevent such investment.

I just wonder what is the bigger story behind this anyway? I have come across this study that claims that UK has the largest net debt to other EU countries. [1] There is significant amount of debt that is "mutual" within the EU in that it could be "canceled out" (I.e. UK owes Germany, Germany owes Italy, Italy owes UK) So here is the result: http://econ.anthonyjevans.com/2012/08/eu-debt-write-off/writ...

UK €460Bln, Italy €204Bln ... Germany €108Bln, France just €1Bln.

So this clearly shows that UK might indeed profit from the devaluation of pound. Is UK so far on the debt spiral that has to do it? Thus Brexit?

[1] https://www.cobdencentre.org/2011/05/how-much-eu-debt-can-be...

That's only if UK's debt is in pounds and without provisions for currency fluctuations.

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