wolfie Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Homeownership is "in crisis" in the UK, with owner-occupation falling to its lowest level since 1988, The owner-occupation rate peaked at 69.7% in the UK in 2002, falling to a current 64.7%. That rate is only the 17th highest among 27 EU countries, and lower than that of Bulgaria, Ireland, Italy and Romania. There are now about 5 million households locked out of the property market as a result of housing shortages and high house prices. Having been forced into the rental market, sky-high rents mean they are unable to save the funds needed to get a foothold on the property ladder. The chronic shortage of council housing and soaring rents are two of the key factors behind the housing crisis. Gideon Osborne’s answer to the problem is higher rents and less council houses. The evil one will be turning in her grave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockcutting Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Thatcher sold all the Council houses (that was one of her worst legacies) and Blair invited all of Europe to invade UK (That, apart from the fact that he is a war criminal) is the reason that we now have a social housing crisis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 There has always been a proportion of the population, to whom home ownership has never been an affordable option; hence the need for (Council) social housing. Yes Maggie sold them off cheaply, thus reducing overall stock; and Bliar & Brown not only didn't fund the building of replacement units, but pressured Councils to quasi-privatise their stock into Trusts. With less social housing units, general demand increases and pressures price rises up the housing chain, affecting both rents and mortgages. So to counter this, the obvious solution is to build more social housing units, thus reducing demand generally and creating employment in the construction industry. Not exactly rocket science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Agree with Wolfie, and mostl of what Obs says Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeborn John Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 Thatcher sold all the Council houses (that was one of her worst legacies) and Blair invited all of Europe to invade UK (That, apart from the fact that he is a war criminal) is the reason that we now have a social housing crisis. Both stunts were fuelled by political self interest in my opinion, with Thatcher aiming to create a Tory in Labour heartlands with each council house buyer, while Blair and Nu Labour opened the door to mass immigration knowing the majority of them would, with an eye on the UK benefit system, vote Labour. What swine politicians are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 Thought you had to be a citizen to vote, most immigration under Blair came from the EU, and is/was short term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 A very significant part of the fall in owner-occupation is due to people not being able to sell their homes for what they think they are worth but needing to move anyway. Many people are renting out their own properties and then renting themselves another which is either more suitable to them in terms of size or located where they need to move to. So they cease to be classed as owner-occupiers and become classed as living in rented property. The total number of people who own a property has not fallen at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 A good point inky, and I am sure that is what is going on in some cases, but I do not think that is going on in the scale you infer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 A great many people are cashing in on the "buy to let" market which is buoying up house prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 Very good point PJ, and one I agree with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 Very good point PJ, and one I agree with It has a lot less credibility now that you went and agreed with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 Your probably right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 A great many people are cashing in on the "buy to let" market which is buoying up house prices. good if you intend to downsize though!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfie Posted April 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 A very significant part of the fall in owner-occupation is due to people not being able to sell their homes for what they think they are worth but needing to move anyway. Many people are renting out their own properties and then renting themselves another which is either more suitable to them in terms of size or located where they need to move to. So they cease to be classed as owner-occupiers and become classed as living in rented property. The total number of people who own a property has not fallen at all. That would account for an increase in the number of people renting but not account for the fall in ownership or socially rented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 good if you intend to downsize though!!! Not really Baz, the buy to let investors tend to snaffle up the cheaper more affordable housing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 Check out the Land Registry website and read through some of their reports. You'll see that the total number of individuals who are property owners has hardly changed at all in the past 10 years. There has been a fall in the number of owner occupiers but not in the number of property owners - the only explanation is people renting out their own homes and living elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 Check out the Land Registry website and read through some of their reports. You'll see that the total number of individuals who are property owners has hardly changed at all in the past 10 years. There has been a fall in the number of owner occupiers but not in the number of property owners - the only explanation is people renting out their own homes and living elsewhere. Or many people owning multiple homes and renting them out? They would account for far more than the scenario you suggest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfie Posted April 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 Or for the fact that one in three London houses are now owned from overseas by investors looking to take advantage of the high cost of rent and the tax breaks they receive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 A lot of people buy to let to make up shortfalls in pensions etc. I have had a pension since I was 18 but it will be worth bugger all after the charges and stuff they take off you. You have to find an alternative or end up at the mercy of the Government in your old age!! I do know of someone who is really taking advantage of the buy to let scenario though. He owns 15 houses in and around Warrington and rents out rooms (up to 5 people in a house) and mainly to Eastern Europeans. It is worth a lot of money as you can imagine.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 A lot of people buy to let to make up shortfalls in pensions etc. I have had a pension since I was 18 but it will be worth bugger all after the charges and stuff they take off you. You have to find an alternative or end up at the mercy of the Government in your old age!! I do know of someone who is really taking advantage of the buy to let scenario though. He owns 15 houses in and around Warrington and rents out rooms (up to 5 people in a house) and mainly to Eastern Europeans. It is worth a lot of money as you can imagine.... I never said it was wrong, it just explains the statistics in the OP. you have no need to explain yourself This person you know with the properties, he sounds like a real Philanthropist, I guess he is a big proponent of the EU and immigration ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 Is it Obs? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 Is it Obs? Ha, nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 I couldn't afford the gas bill !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 Or many people owning multiple homes and renting them out? They would account for far more than the scenario you suggest No, that wouldn't account for the fact that just as many individuals own properties now as did ten years ago. Mrs Inky works in property letting and the majority of her landlords now are people who have moved (often overseas for work reasons - which I suppose makes them "overseas owners") but have retained ownership of their homes here and are renting them out. In Warrington, private landlords with large portfolios of 10+ properties are actually quite rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted April 22, 2013 Report Share Posted April 22, 2013 I don't think you can use Warrington as a measure for the whole Country. If only the same amount of individuals now own properties as did so 10 years ago, who owns all the new houses and flats built in the last decade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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