House Prices – What Happens Next?Watch this video on YouTube Here is a graph that often surprises me. If we adjust UK house prices for inflation, they are the same level as 2003. In other words, if you bought a house in 2003, ignore the effects of inflation, then the average house hasn’t increased in …
In 1957, the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan proclaimed to the electorate “You’ve never had it so good”. And he had a point, full employment, a growing economy, debt falling rapidly, record house building, rising wages, universal health care and a growing sense of optimism that things would keep getting better. But, can you imagine …
The UK is experiencing record levels of immigration and although it will fall a little in coming years, it will still be a record decade for immigration. The big question is why are immigration levels so high, how will it affect the economy and can the housing market cope with such a rise in the …
The UK housing market is in crisis, with prices eight times median incomes. The latest idea to be floated is the return of government-backed 99% mortgages. The logic is that since house prices are out of reach for many, a 99% mortgage would enable more to be able to buy without waiting the 19 years …
The post-war period saw a golden era of home-ownership. Workers from all social classes were able to buy their own home. Home ownership rates rose, and the idea of getting on the housing ladder was a key part of the national psyche. The American dream is perhaps to get rich, the British dream was to …
A look at the major trends in UK housing in the past century, including the trends on housing tenure, house prices and the supply of new houses. Victorian housing The Industrial Revolution saw rapid growth in inner cities as people flocked to the city for new factory jobs. This accommodation was often hurriedly built by …
An examination of UK house price affordability. UK House price to earnings ratios (all buyers) reached a peak in 2022. Above the 2009 peak, which preceded the housing price falls. The house price to earnings ratio is most extreme in London, with the ratio reaching 11 times salary. Housing prices in the North, Scotland and …
For many people, especially those under 40, the UK housing market appears broken, with excessive prices making it difficult to buy and very expensive to rent. Housing costs are one the biggest factors in a long-term cost of living crisis. The UK isn’t alone, with many advanced economies also facing a broken housing market and …