Sky high rents blamed
Home ownership in England has dropped to its lowest level in 30 years thanks to soaring property prics.
A study by think tank The Resolution foundation found that the growing gap between earnings and property prices has created a housing crisis.
It’s not London in grips of the housing crisis, places like Manchester have sen a drop in ownership since its peak in early 2000s.
Home ownership across England reached a peak in April 2003, when 71% of households owned their home. Come February this year the figure had fallen to 64%.
Anne Baxendale, head of policy and public affairs at the housing charity Shelter, said house prices were now “completely out of step with average wages”.
She added: “Sky-high rents are leaving many families struggling to make ends meet each month, let alone save up enough for the deposit on a home. Far from being the stepping stone it once was, many young people and families are now facing a lifetime stuck in expensive and unstable private renting.
“The new government has a real chance to give hope back to these families by tackling the root cause of the housing crisis and building genuinely affordable homes that people on ordinary incomes can actually afford to rent or buy.”
The Department for Communities and Local Government said it helped more than 300,000 to get on the property ladder through various schemes.
“On top of this, latest figures show that for the first time in 20 years, first-time buyers have borrowed more than home movers,” a spokesman said. “However, we know there is more to do, which is why we’ve set out the most ambitious vision for housing in a generation, including delivering hundreds of thousands of homes exclusively for first-time buyers.”
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