Is Housing unaffordable for the young?

[Carth]

Definitely agree that something has to give sooner or later, maybe more 'home working' is the start of the something.

The other side is, possibly people moving from the cities to the outer areas will push those house prices up, leaving the 'locals' even worse off.

has there really been a time in the past when those complainers could've afforded the local houses?

Is there some point to your post/quote ?

Originally Posted by jonbxx

On potential side effect of this whole COVID thing will be the rise in home working. If it really sticks, then we could easily a flattening of the housing market where cheaper areas will become a possibility if you only work from home. The opposite will be true for classic commuter towns.

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Yes, have been thinking along the same lines too. Providing you've got a good internet location then you can live anywhere in the country, though living abroad does present some issues.

There is another problem with the concept of an exodus from urban areas, or mostly the South-East, to elsewhere in that this pushes up the prices of the areas people are moving to as well often at the expense of the locals. The housing problem is nationwide. We don't build enough. Homeworking might solve the problem for professionals in service industries based in the South East, less so for people who grew up in Cornwall and can't afford the ever-increasing prices there.

The other thing is this thread is entitled 'young people' who are more likely to want to live near certain areas such as London. Ideally, you expect people would want to go from renting/owning a small place in a city, to a home in the suburbs when they have a family.

The country needs a cultural and political change from seeing houses as an investment rather than homes. At the moment you have the government pursing policies to keep the rises going such as Help To Buy.

Originally Posted by Paul

Is there some point to your post/quote ?

It was an extract from a previous post, and a poor attempt at humour.

Originally Posted by nomadking

But in the areas where people are complaining about second home owners, has there really been a time in the past when those complainers could've afforded the local houses?
You have people on low incomes complaining that they can't buy houses in those areas.

[Mr K]

Increasing interest rates by 5% should sort it all out. Borrowing money and mortgages have been too cheap for a long time, which has fuelled the crazy prices. BTL landlords have it coming too, as well as second home owners leaving their holiday houses empty most of the year , whilst locals have to go elsewhere.

[mrmistoffelees]

Originally Posted by Carth

Definitely agree that something has to give sooner or later, maybes more 'home working' is the start of the something.

The other side is, possibly people moving from the cities to the outer areas will push those house prices up, leaving the 'locals' even worse off.

2019 - young people can’t afford houses due to eating avocado toast and drinking espresso

Parts of 2020/21 - you must support our economy !! Eat avocado toast and drink espresso

2022 - young people can’t afford houses due to eating avocado toast and drinking espresso

[tweetiepooh]

The housing issue in Britain has been a problem for a long time and isn't simple to sort out. Certainly there is (was) a problem in SE and especially London. Covid allowing many to work from home has pushed some out of the city centres. That then pushes up prices and demand elsewhere. It also leaves some areas it trouble as businesses that started to accommodate that population close/relocate then leaves behind a deprived neighbourhood with declining investment and opportunities. Those that can also leave even if not ideal and further decay sets in.



WFH has also changed what people are looking for from focus on flats and maisonettes to houses with gardens (thinks about some developments near here where a large house with large garden is knocked down and 5-6 five bed boxes with little or no garden are erected). It's already been mentioned about "wealthier" people moving in and 2nd homes pricing locals out, especially in rural settings where locals work "on the land" at lowish pay but have always been able to cope because prices were lower too.



Higher prices also stop the usually move up the chain as people get more wealthy. It's cheaper and easier to extend. Profit is important for builders and there is more profit in larger houses so that's their focus. But we really can't simply build our way out. If there is empty stock somewhere that somewhere should be filled first before we destroy more countryside and enlarge towns. And simply building large estates around towns/cities may not be the best solution as often infrastructure isn't always there to cope either. And NIMBYism is also valid, I live within 150m of open countryside and I'd like to keep it that way. So instead of a few thousand homes around my home city why not spread it out so a few homes around each of a few hundred villages. Less impact on roads/schools etc.