30.08.11
Housing market hit hard
The shortage in affordable housing is increasing rent prices and negatively affecting ownership rates, according to the National Housing Federation (NHF).
The Government says that it has made more public land available for building, and is investing £4.5bn into new low cost homes over the next four years – although the NHF says that this represents a cut of 63%.
Home ownership rates are currently at 67%, and could decline to a further 63.8% over the next ten years. Average rents are set to rise by almost 20% over the next five years and 1.5 million people are on waiting lists for social housing in England.
The NHF said: “More government investment in affordable housing would stimulate a wider, faster economic recovery and help fix our broken housing markets.”
Campbell Robb, chief executive of housing charity Shelter told the BBC: “Millions of people across the country remain desperate for an affordable place to live, with more and more forced into expensive and unregulated private rented accommodation.
“With major developers holding planning permission for at least 188,000 new homes, the government must urgently look at ways to get construction going. This will not only create jobs and drive growth but will deliver the homes people desperately need.”
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