Government Takes Centre Stage In Discussion Over Affordable Housing

This week has seen the political discussion for affordable housing hot up.

The Prime Minister, Theresa May, spoke about a plan to build homes in ‘the right places’ to help get younger people on the housing ladder.

With the average age of a first-time buyer rising to over 30, some might say that this is an issue the government should put at the top of their list of priorities.

However, there are a number of factors at play here. Dealing with them one at a time might not bring the desired results.

The number of vacant properties, the slow speed of building new homes and the way mortgage lenders operate all have an impact on the way that this will pan out. It will be interesting to watch the moves made by the Government in all of these areas.

How Does It Compare Across The Country – And With Other Nations?

With the higher house prices that are generally seen in the South of England, it may come as no surprise that this is also the area where first-time buyers are, on average, the eldest.

London house prices, for example, have grown at a strong rate for a number of years now.

Carlisle in the North West of England and the town of Torfaen in South Wales are where first-time buyers are the youngest, according to a survey by the Halifax.

Across Europe, owning a home rather than renting isn’t seen as important as it is in the UK. Regulated rents in countries such as Germany and Switzerland mean that they have a much lower rate of ownership than we currently have in the UK.

Although we don’t have anything like the same controls on monthly rent as they do, we may see a trend towards renting a property being seen as a more socially acceptable option than it has ever been.