Kristian Niemietz has a familiar but worthwhile CAPX piece on UK housing.
1997: the last year of pre-housing-crisis Britain
1997 was, in lots of ways, a watershed year for Britain. I’m not just talking about Princess Diana and Tony Blair. One could also think of 1997 as the last year of the pre-internet and the pre-mobile-phone age. Both technologies already existed, but for most people, it was still possible to ignore them, or even be unaware of them: only about 15% of households had a mobile phone, and 7% had internet access. A year later, these proportions would jump to 26% and 14%, respectively.
It was also the year when Britain relinquished control over its last remaining major colony, Hong Kong, which makes it the symbolic final year of the British Empire. It was the year of the Devolution Referendum in Scotland, marking the end of Britain as a fully unitary state.
1997 was also the last year of pre-housing-crisis Britain.
Short but well worth reading as a reminder that hopelessly inadequate housing policy combined with a policy of mass immigration doesn't make sense. Not unless we assume that governments are remarkably incompetent, remarkably indifferent or possibly both.
After 1997, the situation went from bad to worse, and then from worse to much, much worse. By 2004, the ratio of house prices to gross annual salaries had jumped to 6.6. Today, it stands at 8.3 for England as a whole, 10.1 in the East of England, 10.8 in the South East, and at 12.5 in London. The homeownership rate among people in their early-to-mid 30s has dropped to below 30%, and the proportion of young adults still living with their parents has jumped to 27%.
After 1997, the situation went from bad to worse, and then from worse to much, much worse. By 2004, the ratio of house prices to gross annual salaries had jumped to 6.6. Today, it stands at 8.3 for England as a whole, 10.1 in the East of England, 10.8 in the South East, and at 12.5 in London. The homeownership rate among people in their early-to-mid 30s has dropped to below 30%, and the proportion of young adults still living with their parents has jumped to 27%.
6 comments:
Home ownership was in essence a deal between the working public and the Conservative Party. "If you acquire skills and work hard, most of you will be able to get a foot on the housing ladder. And we, the Tories, will try to keep interest rates and taxes low, and support house-builders."
You would think that the Tories would understand that. But for all their posturing gravitas, they turned out to be utterly useless.
Sam - yes home ownership was a deal between the working public and the Conservative Party. It's not easy to see how they could be so useless, but they are, it's there for anyone to see.
When we moved here in 1989, we knew that we really couldn't afford the place, but back then, there was real hope around, and we worked our socks off to make sure we won out...
I don't recognise that sort of aspiration anywhere these days, and only see resignation that the country is failing! The Tories have just botched their way through the last half-dozen years, and will suffer the consequences this Autumn.
Scrobs - the BBC could have helped by promoting a more optimistic and genuinely progressive outlook, but it is optimistic about the wrong things and its progressive notions are merely degenerate political fashions.
"Not unless we assume that governments are remarkably incompetent, remarkably indifferent or possibly both"
Strangely enough, 1997 was the year I started assuming both
Bucko - I'm not sure when I started assuming both, but it was last century.
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