Housing double whammy: A whole generation ‘won’t be able to buy or rent a home’
And this article explains why it is so important that we build more homes more quickly it tells us:
A generation of Britons faces a housing “double whammy” as a growing number of people cannot afford to buy or rent a home, according to a report published today.
The study warns that house prices are set to rocket by 35 per cent by 2020 and that private sector rents are likely to soar by 39 per cent over the same period. It said that the “two broken housing markets” mean an extra 310 working people a day – one every five minutes – turn to the Government for housing benefit.
The average house price in England will rise from £245,879 this year to £331,387 by 2020, according to projections by the respected analysts Oxford Economics. In London, the £452,400 average will rocket to £647,500 – 18 times the average London wage, compared with 16 times now. At the other end of the spectrum, the £146,000 average price in the North-east will rise to £171,400.
The National Housing Federation, which commissioned the forecasts and represents housing associations, warned that the widening gap in demand for and supply of housing meant “an entire generation will be locked out of home ownership and forced to rent for life”.