Only 43 homes listed for sale in London are “affordable” for the average family
Just 43 homes listed for sale in London are classified as "affordable" to the average family, new research has suggested. That's 0.1 per cent of the market – and it includes houseboats and a mobile home.
The study, by housing charity Shelter, found 34 of those properties has "incorrect information" in their listings, were likely to be sold for more than their listing price at auction, or were seen as "inappropriate" for families. Four were houseboats.
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The research was based on a typical family earning the median income of £30,748 looking to buy a two-bedroom house. For single people, there was a slightly wider choice – with 56 homes on offer.
Not surprisingly, the study showed the study showed 80 per cent of homes in the UK are now out of reach for the average family, while 35 local authorities across the UK (including Hammersmith, Haringey, Islington and Kensington and Chelsea in London, to name but a few) have no affordable homes whatsoever.
In fact, across the whole of the UK, there were 42,185 affordable homes on sale – that's about 16.9 per cent of the market.
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As the election campaign wears on, housing has become an increasingly potent issue. Last week, property search site Rightmove interviewed the leaders of the three major parties, asking them how they planned to solve the housing crisis.
While all three leaders agreed more homes need to be built, they clashed on the efficacy of the Help to Buy scheme and whether to increase regulation in the private rented sector.
Today Campbell Robb, Shelter's chief executive, emphasised that housing will be a "key concern for those heading to the polling booths".
For the next government, whoever that may be, it’s time for the talk to stop and the work to begin. Politicians need to act swiftly to deliver the plan that will build the 250,000 homes a year we need, or millions more people will be forced to kiss their dreams of a stable and affordable place to live goodbye.