The Housing Trap

Why aren't we building more houses?

Well, let us start off by imagining the situation if we were building lots of council houses. These would have restrictions of course. Firstly they would NOT be for sale, neither would they be available to anyone as a second home.  So what are the consequences?

Houses would be much cheaper, simply by the mechanism of supply and demand.  Rents are much lower.  A private landlord must compete with council house rents and mortgage repayments on cheaper houses.

Immigrants, who we desperately need to work in the NHS would have places to live almost immediately, and NOT at the expense of locals - there are enough house to go round.

This was the case back in the 1970s.  A typical house cost around three years wages (Now it is seven and a half years)

Why won't we build lots of council houses now?

Do you have your own house?  

How would you feel if the council started to build houses close to yours, at a similar standard to yours, but let out at half of your mortgage payments? 

When you sell your house you will not get what you paid for it. You will be in a state of "negative equity".  Due to the stupid way our banks work you will find it difficult or impossible to move house. Even if you have to move house for a better paid job to pay your mortgage!

Are you a landlord?  

Are you happy for your tenants when they move out into cheaper accommodation supplied by the state. You bought your properties when the prices were high and you need the income from them to pay off the loans you took out to buy them.  

The establishment has managed to trap you in this position by restricting the number of house available. You have bought at a high price and you really don't want to see the value of your house fall.  After all it's your major investment.

So you will not vote for any government who says they will bring house prices down. But building more houses will bring them down!

Margarets Thatcher's dream of "A nation of home owners" has come about. There is no easy way back.

So the current situation of the poorest people in our country being unable to afford a house or struggling to pay for food after paying rent or mortgage, and no place for migrant workers to live will continue for the foreseeable future.