BBC: Housing Shortages

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8501873.stm

Lowest housebuilding since 1923....

2.5 million people living in overcrowded housing already. (which explains the bear fallacy of us not having millions of homeless)

Mortgage rationing crippling supply of new houses, as developers won't build until they can be assured of enough buyers.

Families of 7 in 3 bed flats. 16 year waiting lists for housing. etc..... (which is the inevitable consequence of trying to ration limited supply through a mechanism other than price, such as social housing does)

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Another story brought to us courtesy of Browns Bullsh*te Corporation uniquely funded by ermmmmmmmmmm........... you & me......

abaxas

Tractor production DOWN!

Running_Horse

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Mortgage rationing crippling supply of new houses, as developers won't build until they can be assured of enough buyers.

More like developers won't build until the profit margin is higher, so restrict supply to force up prices. Is it mortgage rationing, or house rationing by the free market? A good reason to break up the big housebuilders cartel, and free up land for social and small scale private developers. Won't happen of course, as long as politicians believe high house prices are a good thing.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Running_Horse wrote: »

Won't happen of course, as long as politicians believe high house prices are a good thing.

As most of them have a least 2 houses.........

wymondham

There is no shortage of houses. there are lots that simply lay empty. Does building more solve a problem that doesnt exist? It's the cost and distribution of housing thats the issue.....

HammerSmashedFace

Not this story again ? Houses, in the majority of cases need some kind of finance to purchase, if the price is too high then the demand can be whatever it wants because no one can afford them.

Many people would like to buy a house, there are hundreds of thousands on Rightmove alone, many of which are in very desirable areas, they aren't selling for one simple reason...........price.

Mr.Brown_4

Every now and then a story gets me annoyed and this is one of them. Ten people living in a three bed flat. Meanwhile people celebrate the pricing out of a generation from affordable housing. People like InsideTrack, Krusty, BTL's, the Wilsons, and so on. "Houses rose again this month by 1%" and the media celebrates. Parents are proud when their children take out a 100k (or more) mortgage, borrowing from everyone in the family just to make their first steps.

This is surely a gigantic con played on Joe Public, the majority of whom just want to buy a place of their own and live their lives. If they are 'lucky' now they get a gigantic debt and a tiny unsuitable property, or they just wait for a sensible price point that seems as far away as ever.

Something has gone very wrong with the market, and it is criminal that the Government and BOE failed to see this and act on it earlier. That little rate drop in 2005 just to keep the artificial debt fuelled boom going.

High house prices are wrong, they benefit very few at the expense of many.

bernard_shaw

Mr.Brown wrote: »

Every now and then a story gets me annoyed and this is one of them. Ten people living in a three bed flat. Meanwhile people celebrate the pricing out of a generation from affordable housing. People like InsideTrack, Krusty, BTL's, the Wilsons, and so on. "Houses rose again this month by 1%" and the media celebrates. Parents are proud when their children take out a 100k (or more) mortgage, borrowing from everyone in the family just to make their first steps.

This is surely a gigantic con played on Joe Public, the majority of whom just want to buy a place of their own and live their lives. If they are 'lucky' now they get a gigantic debt and a tiny unsuitable property, or they just wait for a sensible price point that seems as far away as ever.

Something has gone very wrong with the market, and it is criminal that the Government and BOE failed to see this and act on it earlier. That little rate drop in 2005 just to keep the artificial debt fuelled boom going.

High house prices are wrong, they benefit very few at the expense of many.

Indeed. There is no housing shortage, but there is a shortage of housing people can afford.

It is truly low and sickening that the 'I'm all right Jack' brigade use reports like this to justify themselfishselves.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

bernard_shaw wrote: »

Indeed. There is no housing shortage, but there is a shortage of housing people can afford.
.

Such high prices cannot exist if there were not a shortage.

Chicken and egg.....

The article states there are 2.5 million people living in overcrowded conditions.

There are only 650,000 properties for sale in the UK. Many of which are 1 and 2 bed flats.

So assume the state comes along and implements price capping, so all those houses must be sold at an "affordable" price.

Then assume that 1.5 million of the 2.5 million living in overcrowded houses can afford them.

All the houses are sold immediately, and you now only have 1 million living in overcrowded houses.

BUT.... where do you now put the previous occupants of the 650,000 houses?

There are no more houses for sale..... Presumably that 1.5 million or so people (close enough to average household density) that came out of those 650K houses, have to move into somewhere else.......

So they have to go back into the other houses that the first 1.5 million people left, and we are back to having 2.5 million people in overcrowded houses.

Graham_Devon

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

So assume the state comes along and implements price capping, so all those houses must be sold at an "affordable" price.

Then assume that 1.5 million of the 2.5 million living in overcrowded houses can afford them.

All the houses are sold immediately, and you now only have 1 million living in overcrowded houses.

You missed out "assume" in the third sentence.

All the houses wouldn't sell immediately, as even if they were affordable, not everyone could buy.