Ryan Bridge: We're not too poor to buy property, we're too fussy

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

If these new TradeMe numbers are to be believed, and I have no reason not to believe them, then the biggest problem that we have with property and getting a foot on the ladder is not price.

We're not too poor, we're too fussy.

So TradeMe has done a survey; 44% of buyers were willing to compromise on the size of a section. Only 40% on the size of the property. Only 40% on the size of the garden. Only 33% on the condition of the property, and 28% on the location.

If you flip those numbers, around 55% of people won't compromise on section size. I'll have the section size I like and nothing else.

60% - no compromise on the size of the property. 60% - none on the garden. 67% - it must be new or near new and 72% won't travel or leave their favourite suburb.

I mean, hard to please much?

I bought a house with holes in the floor and the walls, there were plants growing from the ground up into my bathroom.

The shower pooled; I had to use a bucket to empty the shower every morning.

This carried on for two years.

The shower was so small and the showerhead was fixed, so I had to duck every time I got in the shower, and it would only get me from my nipples down. I had very clean nipples and very filthy hair.

Anyway, the point of the story is I lived like that for two years. I fixed it up, on you go.

Things are okay, but you have to compromise. Property is not a perfectionist game, is it?

It's about compromise and it's about trade-offs. Like any good negotiation, surely everything must be on the table.

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