Guest comment piece by Nan Tewari
Given the unconscionable volumes of building going on in the borough (and elsewhere) we might hope the numbers of homeless families would be falling. Yet this is far from being the case.
The housing shortage rhetoric is somewhat at odds with the content of this article. It may well be time for public policy to recognise that having a home must be, first and foremost, a human right. Housing as just an asset should be coming way down the list of what is acceptable in a civilised society when so many remain without a secure roof over their head.
Extracts from Posiitve Money's coverage of a Bank of England LINK
If we look at the data, [...]. Housing stock levels have consistently risen at a higher rate than population growth even in the past couple of decades, and even in London. So, according to the laws of supply and demand, if houses were a simple consumer good, prices should have fallen – obviously not the case.In the 1930s a typical three bed house was just 1 and a half times the average annual salary. By 1997 the average house price was 3.6 times the average salary. But in just twenty years that has more than doubled to nearly 8 times, and in London an ‘affordable’ home is 13 times first-time buyers’ salaries.
