Name: David Orr
Company: National Housing Federation
The number of new homes built in England and Wales in 2009/10 are on course to hit their lowest level since 1923. A record 4.5 million people in England are stuck on housing waiting lists, and rising unemployment and repossessions have further fuelled demand for affordable housing during the economic downturn.
Overcrowding has reached epidemic proportions in many cities – with 2.3 million people currently living in cramped and unsuitable conditions.
This can have a devastating effect on children’s opportunities, with poor housing closely linked to poor health and low educational attainment.
Faced with these statistics, there is little doubt we are in midst of a national housing crisis and the chronic shortage of new homes is largely responsible.
Since the mid-1960s, there has been a long-term downward trend in the number of new homes built.
The last time that more than 200,000 homes were delivered was 1988/9. The lack of homes has pushed up prices so that they are beyond the reach of most people.
The hope for many people on modest incomes wishing to access the property ladder has been buying a shared ownership property. But banks continue to shy away from offering mortgages on these homes – locking thousands of would-be buyers out of the market.
Given the scale of the crisis, the three major political parties need to go into the General Election with a pledge to protect spending on housing.
Name: Mark Graves
Company: Linear Financial Services
People need more homes but it is about time that everyone realised that this is not going to change in the foreseeable future. The reality for house builders is that we need affordable properties for first-time buyers and not luxury flats or five bedroom houses.
Once we have the properties, we can all work together to find the solution of how we get these new entrants into them.
Shared ownership is a simple solution but the Key Workers schemes became farcical last year. Next time, it needs to be coordinated with the banks, builders and the Government working as one.
As intermediaries, we can then focus on helping the purchasers through the paperwork and explaining how the system works and ultimately help them get into a home.
If the shortfall of new-build properties continues through the decade, people will live at home for longer or share properties.
Another consequence is an increase in the use of rented accommodation, although this will help landlords with the yields due to supply and demand.
However, lenders are steering away from the risky first-time buyer landlords as only the very keen are likely to dive in with the stricter lending criteria so I do not see this sector helping that much with shifting new-build properties.
Logic says that house prices will rise if there is a shortage of property, and we have not really seen the impact of needing a 30% plus deposit just yet. It will be interesting to see how many equity rich purchasers will be left in the second half of 2010.
Name: Jaclyn Thorburn
Company: Buildstore
An imbalance between the supply and demand of homes is already limiting activity in the housing market.
The number of prospective buyers far outweighs the number of houses for sale, which is driving up asking prices.
This makes it especially difficult for first-time buyers and those who have seen the equity in their current homes plummet because of the need for larger deposits.
With the restriction of credit for housebuilders, the number of new homes built has certainly nose-dived. Less than 120,000 homes were built by the private sector last year – less than half the predicted need of 240,000 each year.
A recent YouGov survey showed that people in Britain still want to invest in a new home but are putting plans on hold because of the market conditions.
It is unlikely that the private sector housebuilding sector will regain its dominance, and Local Authority housing has not been a favoured housing procurement model for over twenty years, so the real issue is who will supply the homes to meet demand?
The homebuilders of the future could very well be the public, as more frustrated homeowners have built their own homes in the last two years.
Lenders can give loans for both the purchase of a self-build plot and for construction costs.
With plot prices falling 20% in the last year and less competition for land from large developers, building your own home has never been more accessible or affordable, and could be a real solution to meeting housing need.
