The other census data: housing

vivatifosi

There was a lot of census data released on housing yesterday, but it seems to have been overlooked in the rush to publish news stories about immigration, so thought it would be good to start a thread.

Link to press coverage:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/9737819/Census-2011-Renters-soar-as-proportion-of-homeowners-falls.html

The press focuses on home ownership, but again, there is more to the data than just ownership, such as access to central heating and the type of property occupied.

Link to census datasets:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-286262

Useful datasets:

KS401EW Dwellings, household spaces and accommodation type, local authorities in England and Wales
KS402EW Tenure, local authorities in England and Wales
KS403EW Rooms, bedrooms and central heating, local authorities in England and Wales

the_flying_pig

the economist Andrew Lilico commented on his twitter [something like] that the number of dwellings had increased by slightly more than the number of households between 2001 and 2011.

but he wasn't precise about where each figure came from.

the_flying_pig

ah yes - here we go. i've not read properly, so please don't shoot the messenger.

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thecolumnists/2012/12/andrew-lilico-the-2011-census-data-confirm-once-and-for-all-that-the-notion-of-a-housing-shortage-in.html

Wookster

Jeremy Warner did an article in the Telegraph yesterday on this:

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jeremywarner/100021775/britain-is-becoming-a-nation-of-renters-and-overseas-investors-gobble-up-the-housing-stock/

Quite interesting (as his articles usually are). It would seem that a vast number of new build properties in London are being bought by investors from South East Asia.

Indeed, there is much merit in going back to a system where mortgages are properly priced and a reasonable dollop of equity is demanded. Rather the problem lies with unduly oppressive planning restrictions and still unsustainably high house prices.

I've seen a bit more in the media recently about the shortage of houses, seems like it could finally be getting the coverage it is warranted.

the_flying_pig

the definition of 'household' could be thought of as a potential sticking point... but average HH size barely changed between 2001 & 2011 - see http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/population-and-household-estimates-for-england-and-wales/stb-e-w.html.

the_flying_pig

Wookster wrote: »

Jeremy Warner did an article in the Telegraph yesterday on this:

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jeremywarner/100021775/britain-is-becoming-a-nation-of-renters-and-overseas-investors-gobble-up-the-housing-stock/

Quite interesting (as his articles usually are). It would seem that a vast number of new build properties in London are being bought by investors from South East Asia.



I've seen a bit more in the media recently about the shortage of houses, seems like it could finally be getting the coverage it is warranted.

Noting that this is very strictly a London-only phenomenon, do you know where a typical Chinese buyer of a flat in London would get his mortgage from? A Chinese bank?

Domfrizby

So this census showed that the number of people renting is going up every yr at a fast pace compared to the number of owners going down every yr. This is no surprise while price are still so high.

What is the future going to look like when housing benefit needs to be cut back its unsustaintable. The numbers of people claiming for help with their rent will be going up as unemployment keeps going up and cost of living also compared with average wages.

It is looking very likely that the number of people renting will continue to grow and put an even bigger strain onm housing benefit that has to be cut back in the next years to come. This will bound to have a lowering of average rents and with that a higher number of repossessions and lower house prices.

vivatifosi

Ownership. Here's the percentage data:

England and Wales:
Owned outright 30.8%
Owned with mortgage or loan 32.7%
Shared ownership 0.8%
Rented from local authority 9.4%
Other social rented 8.2%
Private rented - private landlord or letting agent 15.3%
Private rented - other 1.4%
Living rent free 1.4%

When you breakdown to regional level, there's not a great deal of difference, save for the shortage of council housing in some regions in the south.

It's only when you look at London, or break down further to county or district level, that the figures really vary from the averages. London is very different though:

Owned outright: 30.8%
Owned with a mortage: 27.1%
Shared ownership 1.3%
Social rented from local authority 13.5%
Social rented other 10.6%
Private rented private landlord or letting agency 23.7%
Private rented other 1.3%
Living rent free 1.3%
These figures are even more distinct when Inner London only looked at, eg owned outright 14.1%, owned with a mortgage 19.4%. Tyne and Wear is the only region that has a higher level of council housing than Inner London, which was quite surprising given that we are told that all the best properties were sold under the Tories.

ETA: figure for owned outright London should be 21.1%, not 30.8%. Please see michaels post below.

grizzly1911

Wookster wrote: »

J

Quote provided via Wookie.


Indeed, there is much merit in going back to a system where mortgages are properly priced and a reasonable dollop of equity is demanded. Rather the problem lies with unduly oppressive planning restrictions and still unsustainably high house prices.

Have planning restrictions become oppressive recently, have they been for some time or is it just something to rail against?

grizzly1911

vivatifosi wrote: »

It's only when you look at London, or break down further to county or district level, that the figures really vary from the averages. London is very different though:

Owned outright: 30.8%
Owned with a mortage: 27.1%
Shared ownership 1.3%
Social rented from local authority 13.5%
Social rented other 10.6%
Private rented private landlord or letting agency 23.7%
Private rented other 1.3%
Living rent free 1.3%
These figures are even more distinct when Inner London only looked at, eg owned outright 14.1%, owned with a mortgage 19.4%. Tyne and Wear is the only region that has a higher level of council housing than Inner London, which was quite surprising given that we are told that all the best properties were sold under the Tories.

Hasn't inner London always had a higher rented property sector/mix? How does this compare historically I wonder?

Perhaps the best properties were sold off and this just acknowledges what a poor state the property was in?;)

Wookster

grizzly1911 wrote: »

Have planning restrictions become oppressive recently, have they been for some time or is it just something to rail against?

They have been for many decades.