‘Affordable housing’ in the UK …

RESPONDING to an article written by Adam Sampson entitled, “current housing stock should not go to waste“, and that appeared on the website of the Guardian Newspaper dated Saturday, 30^th August 2008.

Mr. Sampson writes:

… But Gordon Brown must deliver on new affordable housing if he is to tackle the housing crisis, let alone the faltering UK economy

Writing in response (amended):

From the desk of MD

During the tenure of this Government, the government often announced its desire in addressing the issue of affordable housing. John Prescott, for example, made attempts but, essentially, his proposals were flawed. Suggesting that brownfield sites on floodplains be earmarked for affordable homes would exasperate the risks yet more of further incidental flooding. Building houses on floodplains simply increases that risk ten-fold as the water-table is involuntarily raised. The government needs advising more appropriately before making such outlandish and ill-thought out views on how policy might be best made. New-Eco-towns, though, is a suggestion I would like to see the government moving towards given that large areas of government policy are now being geared towards meeting with climate change targets. Much needs to be done in terms of ‘affordable housing’, not only through the supply of new homes but also through better and stricter controlled building regulations in helping occupants keep carbon emissions to a minimum. Loft and cavity insulation, as well as the fitting of ’smart meters’, for instance, are minimum standards. Such measures will likely help a great deal in the running of homes, affordability being the operative word.

Housing, though, will become even more of a pressing issue than it has since the government came to office in 1997. Up until recently, of course, the housing market has been fairly buoyant but, with economic conditions expected to get much worse in the coming months, ‘affordable housing’ will likely become a priority for many people holding key sector jobs as they, too, struggle to battle with rising costs in general. Economists generally believe that the current housing market is deflationary with many homes having lost capital value due to the deteriorating conditions of the economy. A full blown recession could add yet more difficulties onto personal finances.

 

HOUSING COSTS are an integral part of any person’s finances. We can try and cut back on other things like changing to a smaller motor vehicle but we cant really do too much about any changes to things like interest rates, or the rapid rising prices in food and energy. We can seek out supplementary food alternatives but, with GM foodstuffs rejected in the UK, disposable incomes will have to take the strain in what is amounting to very tightly controlled pay settlements. Not to do so would create additional inflationary pressures. At the moment, though, retail spending is extraordinarily high given the state of the economy. To cool spending within retail the MPC might well have to raise interest rates a little which, as a consequence, would likely affect those who have large outstanding mortgages, affecting first time buyers who attempted to cash-in-on the housing market and ‘economic feel good factor’ when times where buoyant. What we mean, however, by the term ‘affordable’ is obviously interchangeable depending, largely, on how the government intercedes. It could, for example, set a ceiling on private rents.

 

© Mark Dowe 2008: all rights protected