Analysis published yesterday by the thinktank highlighted a fall in home ownership across England.
The Building Societies Association (BSA) has highlighted the need to increase the number of affordable properties built in the UK, responding to analysis of the Labour Force Survey by the Resolution Foundation.
Analysis published yesterday by the think tank highlighted a fall in home ownership across England.
The BSA cites an increase in housing demand, pressures on private landlords, and a lack of local authority house building as a cause for the shortage of properties.
Paul Broadhead (pictured), head of mortgage policy at the BSA, said:“The latest findings from the Resolution Foundation’s analysis of the Labour Force Survey(LFS) further highlights the fragile state of housing in the UK, underpinning the need for more affordable housing.
"First-time buyers can expect to pay up to five times their annual salary for their first property, so it comes as no surprise to learn that raising a deposit continues to be the most common barrier to home ownership.
"Everyone needs a home to live in. Due to the long-term deficit in housing supply, affordability is becoming stretched whether people own their homes, privately rent, or are social housing tenants. Clearly there is a real need for a coherent housing strategy from the Government; a strategy that improves not only the number of homes, but the types of suppliers too.
"This report mentions a sharp decline in home ownership in the UK’s cities; the BSA are citing a larger-scale problem across the UK housing market. It is time financial services as a whole, along with the government, worked together to break down the barriers and solve this increasingly poignant problem.”
