Why Big Drop In Home Ownership For Young Families Is Worrying

Home ownership for young families has halved in some of Britain's leading housing markets since the 1990s. The phrase "housing crisis" is rarely off politicians' lips these days as they increasingly recognise the cost of a home - to buy and to rent - plays a key role in determining living standards. And quite right too as new Resolution Foundation analysis shows the crisis is both acute and widely felt. Home ownership levels among today's young families are way below those enjoyed by their parents' generation. Read more on the Resolution Foundation website.

Knock Down Barriers To Build More Affordable Rural Homes

The CLA which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses told a cross-party group of MPs that landowners have the potential to inject life into rural areas by making land available to house young families, local workers and older people seeking to downsize or retire. But the organisation warned that government policies such as extending the Right to Buy to housing association tenants discouraged landowners from making sites available because the homes would become unaffordable in the future. The CLA is calling for the government to encourage landowners to release land at a discount for affordable housing by exempting the value of land sold for affordable homes from Capital Gains Tax. Read more on 24housing.

Young Families Priced Out Of Rental Markets In Two-Thirds Of The UK

Having a child while living in rental accommodation has become unaffordable for young families in two-thirds of the UK.  Using the average regional full-time wage for workers in their 20s and 30s and the cost of privately renting a two-bed home in the area, the Guardian, in conjunction with Generation Rent, found that young couples would have to spend more than 30% of one full-time earner’s wage to keep a roof over their head in 66% of the country. There is no official definition of what a family can afford in the UK, but housing charity Shelter says it amounts to 33% of income, while the National Housing Federation says it is 25%. he findings have renewed calls from MPs and housing campaigners for rent caps to be reintroduced after being abandoned more than 20 years ago. Read more on the Guardian website.