To complicate matters our properties have become not only our homes, but also a significant source of our perceived wealth and this has added another layer of intrigue and interest for the government.
Perhaps because of this interest, the last century has seen a huge rise in owner-occupation in the UK – from 23% in 1918 to almost 71% in 2003 – before settling back to just below 68%. The current housing minister, Grant Shapps, has spoken of his desire to deliver an age of aspiration, in which owner-occupation will play a central role.
Given the sensitive political environment we live in – both in terms of economic recovery and the delicate balance of a coalition government – not to mention that the taxpayer now owns a significant stake in a number of lenders, we can presume that the world of mortgages will continue to attract a disproportionate amount of policy makers’ attention.
So what does that mean for our industry? Well, lots of things both in terms of regulation and policy and we’ll cover the most pressing of those issues in this blog over the coming months. But on a macro level the signs are that, to achieve its housing objectives, this government will have to work with our industry rather than against us.
For a start, owner-occupation is falling so in order to deliver an age of aspiration in which owner-occupation plays a central role, this trend will need to be reversed.
But the more pressing issue may well be the growing importance of the private rental sector. Home Truths 2010, a report by the National Housing Federation, suggests the country is in the midst of the worst housing crisis for generations. It describes an entire generation of people locked out of the housing market as a result of high house prices and unable to get social home because of the chronic shortage of social housing.
The obvious choice for these people is private rental accommodation, but with demand already exceeding supply this sector will need to experience significant growth to fill the gap in the nation’s housing stock. It will be interesting to see whether this is a trend that is recognised by the government, and what measure it takes to address the situation.
Alex Hammond, PR, brand and communications manager at Kensington
