Financing a House in Newark

Financing a House in Newark

Shelter in Newark is one of the three basic human needs, and a responsible society has an obligation to prevent people from dying out in the cold. In 1949, however, the United Kingdom set a goal that would take this minimum obligation several steps further-to “a decent home and a suitable living environment for every British family.” This declaration moved the nation beyond the obligation to provide mere shelter and into the realm of “housing,” a market commodity reduced by a complex and politically influential industry (Ben, 2007).

British National Policy on Housing

UK House Prices were very high and very unstable for many years before the credit crunch. These long-term problems were caused by the long-term developments of UK Housing Policy and they will not be solved by ending the credit crunch. It is true that prices have fallen due to the credit crunch, but they will rise as soon as the banks begin to lend again; so this analysis offers no comfort to young people aspiring to make new homes. The level and stability of house prices in Europe and the UK is critically related the availability of alternative accommodation in low cost rented housing. The high prices and instability of UK housing has been caused by the privatisation of the rented housing sector and a deliberate policy to eliminate investment in a low cost rented alternative.

There is no easy solution. The greed that brought an economic and banking crisis to the world has been acknowledged and its effects have mortgaged our children into debt. But the 35 year long UK housing recession has not been acknowledged. It was a mistake to abolish the low cost rented sector in 1971. It was and is a mistake to fritter away huge national investment by the discounted sales of council houses since 1980. It was a mistake to replace it with a high cost private rented consumer service.

Sanity in banking demands that loans of 5 times income are totally unacceptable. But in UK housing, young people, even on well above national average incomes, have taken such risk and more because the UK market offers no alternative. How can economists fail to acknowledge these circumstances? A sensible banking decision to limit loans to the historically prudent level of 2.5 times income, will more than decimate the UK housing market. The measures to solve the world banking crisis conflict with the current financial structures of UK housing policy. This new unconsidered crisis looms and mayhem will decsend on the government that flinches from its solution.

As part of the Government's Building Britain's Future plans, published 29 June 2009, Housing Minister John Healey has said that construction of thousands of extra homes will begin in a matter of months, thanks to the £1.5 billion pound housing investment announced earlier by the Prime Minister.

The Housing Pledge places councils centre-stage, building more homes more quickly while creating thousands of jobs in the construction industry. Changes to the rules for allocating ...