Britain pulls out, Europe stands isolated

That was the week in property, by Mike Hoffa

Well I couldn’t really write anything this week without mentioning the gradual unfolding of the European Union and using a headline that outlines our British defiance.

So Cameron has finally used the power of veto to recreate that famous Agincourt moment and stick two fingers up at the French, but will it prove to be his Waterloo?

Probably not, I reckon. Despite all the criticism he is now getting (and seriously, what other country’s population is criticising its leader right now for standing up for them?) we’re better off out of the mess that the European Union has become. This vision of a united Europe just doesn’t work across a geography that contains such cultural and financial diversity, in my opinion. So we’ve finally found out what happens when you try to mix clogs, berets, lederhosen and Savile row suits (whilst living on a diet of kebabs and Ouzo)– you end up looking pretty daft, have terrible breath and no-one wants to do business with you.

“…we’ve finally found out what happens when you try to mix clogs, berets, lederhosen and Savile row suits – you end up looking pretty daft…”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not really a “Euro sceptic” as they like to call them, in fact I’m all for anything that makes good business sense for the UK, but I’m afraid getting more embroiled with Europe doesn’t make any sense at all right now. And I wouldn’t get too worried about any damage from being “left out”, as the last time we stood alone it turned out rather well (although the Americans did help us a little bit).

Funnily enough, the Euro entered circulation as a currency in 2002, exactly seven years before it all started to unravel – so has the seven year itch finally put paid to the European love affair?

A report in the Mail Online this week suggests that the seven year itch might also apply to the property market, with people getting bored with their current home after, on average, seven years and four months. The report, based on research from Zoopla, goes on to clarify that the major reason for starting to cheat on your domicile and window shopping for a better one is a “dissatisfied female”, who has developed house envy. I can just imagine all those men being nagged into house hunting…

And it’s worse if you’re younger, with the average figures representing a divide between those in the 25-34 age group, who typically get bored with their house after only four years, and those over 55 who are normally happy in their home for almost ten years.

“…the seven year itch might also apply to the property market, with people getting bored with their current home after, on average, seven years and four months.”

Of course, such analysis will clearly be skewed by the fact that younger people will have issues such as growing families to deal with, but it would be interesting to see if these results are mirrored in other countries – or is it just us Brits who are obsessed with continually moving up the property ladder?

But I wouldn’t worry about the Euro meltdown leaving Britain proverbially homeless. In fact, I reckon we’ve just got bored with our dodgy European housemates (after much nagging by our wives) and decided to move out to our own place, in the process getting our foot on the first rung of the ladder to economic recovery.

About the author:

Mike Hoffa has been working in the property sector for more years than he cares to remember, as a tenant, first time buyer, second time buyer, landlord, adviser and general trouble maker. He keeps his real identity fiercely secret, but some say he can often be found at the back of property auctions howling, but only when a full moon is out. He’s also rumoured to be of average height, weight, ethnicity and class, which he claims accounts for his inability to be politically correct or wear pastel coloured cardigans.

Mike’s question of the week: Has Cameron boldly got Britain back on track?