High property prices in the UK has been revealed to be the top concern in housing affordability
High property prices in the UK is responsible for housing concerns as housing affordability is the top worry for consumers, a survey has revealed.
According to the Annual Survey by HomeOwners’ Alliance, high house prices was a ‘serious’ problem for 83% of respondents, whilst over three quarters (77%) felt that housing availability was a key concern. Earlier in 2014, the proportions were lower at 77% and 69% respectively.
The YouGov survey is conducted on behalf of HOA and BLP insurance polling over 2,000 UK adults, and has tracked the top concerns in the housing market for half a decade.
Whilst supply was outlined as a key issue, the poor quality of homes was also cited as being a serious problem by over half of respondents (57%), up from 2014’s figure of 52%.
Those looking to own their property for the first time also raised their problems, with 86% of first-time buyers stating that house prices were an issue, and 87% describing saving for a deposit as a serious problem.
Sharing her thoughts on the survey results, Chief Executive of the HomeOwners Alliance, Paula Higgins said the housing sector in the UK is on its knees. There’s a shortage of building, a constant stream of stories surrounding poor quality and unfair deals for homeowners, a lack of social housing, rising homelessness and a leasehold system that is dangerously broken. As the survey shows, these problems have escalated over the last five years and the crisis is deepening.
She added that people are just as keen as in previous years to own a home but the system is failing them, despite the introduction of flagship schemes like Help to Buy. Although Brits have reacted positively to government’s changes to stamp duty house prices and availability continue to be major concerns year on year. It’s telling that leasehold issues have been by far the fastest growing concern for the last 2 years – the government needs to hurry up with their plans for leasehold reform and be more ambitious.
