Building more homes won’t solve UK housing crisis, new report argues
Back to Topic
Click to Print
Useful Websites
Glossary Term Selection
Despite rapid house-building, UK house prices have grown 160 per cent in real terms since their low point in 1996.
By Oleysa Dmitracova, Economics and Business Editor
Simply building more houses is not the answer to Britain’s housing crisis, an economist argues, making the case instead for increasing the supply of social housing, subsidies for first-time buyers and measures to encourage private landlords to sell their properties.
UK house prices have grown 160 per cent in real terms since 1996, rents are relatively high and home ownership has fallen over the past 15 years. But, despite common perceptions, tight housing supply is not to blame, according to a 48-page report by Ian Mulheirn from the Tony Blair Institute.
“The supply shortage story is a red herring,” he says.
“The real culprit for sky-high house prices is low global interest rates that have made it easy for home owners and investors to take on large amounts of mortgage debt and pay ever more for houses.
“Meanwhile, a sh...
Want to see the rest of this article?
Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?
- Useful related articles
- Video and multimedia references
- Statistical information and reference material
- Glossary of terms
- Key Facts and figures
- Related assignments
- Resource material and websites
