I1L2T3 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 There's no housing crisis round my area, plenty to rent or buy to suit all price ranges. If anything the market has become swamped and has led to lower prices. Whenever the media do a rant about housing they always make out like its a national thing. Or are they all just trapped in the London bubble and assume its the same elsewhere? ---------- Post added 07-02-2014 at 10:19 ---------- UK home building hits highest since 2007, figures show http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25982505 UK housebuilding growing at fastest rate since 2003 http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/feb/04/uk-housebuilding-growth-2003 Supply and demand innit? Nobody wanted to buy during the downturn. It's obviously good news that more houses are now being built but even in 2007 house building was inadequate. It had been for years before that, stretching all the way back to the 80s. It's not all about homes for purchase either. Not everybody wants to buy and in some areas of the country demand for affordable rentals is not being met. The symptoms of this are clear in rising rents that outstrip wages, which then feeds through into a massive and continually rising housing benefits bill. Social housing has not been adequately renewed and replenished. Quite simply house building has not kept pace with demographic and economic change. It's not a subject for taking cheap political pot shots over. Every government since the 1980s has played a part in this mess and the main parties have to accept responsibility for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Build houses chem. There are streets up and down the country that used to have houses that don't have them any more - a fair I suspect are ex council. Put it out to tender that these streets need houses but with a cap on what they can be sold for. Who are these empty plots owned by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivanava Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Builders are not building enough homes and haven't been for years, not even enough to meet demand from natural growth. Actually they have built enough homes to meet natural growth. In 2013 they built 133,670 which is more than enough for UK population growth if you take out net immigration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoilhat Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Who are these empty plots owned by? I don't know. I think some streets at the top end of Mansfield (I think pleasley) could be council or at least bought up by the council. The bit I saw on google maps might be council too (I was watching a programme about Mary bell of all people) but I'm sure there are street like this all over the place. That said, you have to wonder if Mansfield has housing issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salsafan Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics, the population of Britain will soar by nearly 10 million over the next 25 years, taking the total number of people living in the UK to over 70 million by 2037, the majority of the increase will be attributable to migration, either directly through new arrivals to the country, or indirectly through the impact on birth rates. Assuming 4 of these new people live in each house, we will need to build 100,000 houses a year, and according to this, that's a city the size of Sheffield every 2.5 years. This is whereby statistics may not actually be as accurate as one thinks. Especially when they are seen with contextual information relating to how the statistics were gathered together. Is there a housing shortage in the UK ? I am inclined to say "no". But, there is a geographical housing issue. More people are concentrated in areas where there are jobs, and the housing in areas with no jobs are on offer and derelict. We now have people living on top of one another in "mega cities" (which is now becoming a reality), in HMOs. To be honest, that is not a way to live. It may possibly mean that these people can never buy their own place, settle down and raise families. Especially if salary versus house price ratio is too high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xt500 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 (Sigh) Hasn't this topic been done to death yet? It might have for someone with nothing better to do than make 10,000 posts,but for some others maybe not.Some people actually have a life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salsafan Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 .. Quite simply house building has not kept pace with demographic and economic change. It's not a subject for taking cheap political pot shots over. Every government since the 1980s has played a part in this mess and the main parties have to accept responsibility for that. Yep, yep. Well said. I think the government should indeed intervene at some point so that there is more of a spread across the UK. As the whole population cannot congregate in London alone. It really is not feasible. Do people want to live in high rising buildings with exposure to little or no greenaries ? We still have a choice in this country. In other countries, they do not have a choice, and it forces the building industry to build upwards because the government holds the land, and sells slowly over time to developers. If you treat people like rats and make them live in closed-off environments, I am sure that will indeed affect the psyche of the individuals. I do not know if the Human Rights supporters are now actually even looking into this area at all. i.e. the increase of HMOs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I1L2T3 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Actually they have built enough homes to meet natural growth. In 2013 they built 133,670 which is more than enough for UK population growth if you take out net immigration. Taking that year in isolation and dealing with raw numbers you could just about eke out an argument. Taking the last 30 years as a whole, factoring in government policy, economic change, regional disparities in growth and demographic change it's a different story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alchresearch Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 The statement that "social housing should be replenished" is another subjective one. In Liverpool they've literally given away terraced houses for £1. If they can afford to do this for structurally sound houses, would it not be cheaper for the council to refurbish them instead of building new? According to the article it will cost £35,000 to refurbish. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-24453771 There's a build calculator here but I don't know the sqM floor area: http://www.jewson.co.uk/working-with-you/for-self-builders/preliminary-planning/calculators/build-cost-calculator/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I1L2T3 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 The statement that "social housing should be replenished" is another subjective one. In Liverpool they've literally given away terraced houses for £1. If they can afford to do this for structurally sound houses, would it not be cheaper for the council to refurbish them instead of building new? According to the article it will cost £35,000 to refurbish. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-24453771 There's a build calculator here but I don't know the sqM floor area: http://www.jewson.co.uk/working-with-you/for-self-builders/preliminary-planning/calculators/build-cost-calculator/ I think it reflects the economic realities of life in Liverpool. A council in the SE would not be able to start selling off houses for a quid. It kind of also reinforces the case that a one size fits all regions policy won't work. If a city or area has a declining population then the case for mass housebuilding is weaker than say for the SE where it is undeniable that (currently) many more houses are needed. It may be that the country is at a crossroads. It can go hell for leather supporting growth in London and the SE, or it can start to look at how to better spread growth. If it's the former then they absolutely have to build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.