Prior to arriving in Frome my last employer was the housing charity Shelter – at their HQ on Old St EC1. Thatcher was a dirty word around those offices. Despite sustained lobbying and eager promises from a succession of housing ministers, rectifying the damage done by Right to Buy continues to feel a long way off. When are govt (of any colour) going to properly address this basic human right? Adequate affordable shelter for all. Thank you for taking the time to highlight these shocking figures.

Good analysis – comparing housing costs to other necessities. You could also add in average rents – would be interesting to see what the trend is there. In London, and I’m sure in other places, rents are rising rapidly. We also looked at affordability in our recent report – and found that the ratio of average deposit to incomes has rocketed from 30% in 2001, to more than 60% by 2009. See – http://hoa.org.uk/campaigns/publications-2/the-death-of-a-dream-the-crisis-of-homeownership-in-the-uk/

Very informative post. My partner and I are looking to buy our own home (age 24) but it’s near on impossible.

We both earn fairly good money, but unless you want to take out a loan in order to get the deposit together for a mortgage (create more debt) saving for the deposit is very difficult. We’ve done well so far saving over £7,000 but we’re not even half way there are 2 years of saving.

What makes this even more difficult is that at the moment we’re renting, which is expensive. Maybe an idea for a new post – How Rent Prices Have changed!

Frightening to see those figures presented so starkly. Unfortunately everyday I hear stories of homeowners that reached breaking point due to the financial burden of homeownership. The banks clearly have played their part having flooded the market with cheap money and allowing people to over stretch themselves in ways that were clearly irresponsible. Vulnerable people are now being made homeless and what’s worse is that there is a whole other industry just waiting in the wings to take advantage. Thankfully the OFT has finally woken up to this and are soon to regulate the property vultures looking to profit from homeowners looking to avoid the inevitable repercussions of mortgage arrears.

Slightly off topic however, I’d like, if I may, respond to Gavin’s comment and point out that it’s a little unfair to tar the entire industry he’s talking about as “vultures”. The service provided by these sorts of companies (my own included) can be of immense value to those in dire need. The traditional model for a UK property transaction is seriously flawed due to a buyers ability to pull out of a purchase at anytime up to exchange. 1 in 3 property sales fail (liquidity is a big problem in this sector) and thus those that “need to sell” find themselves in a very precarious situation. There are firms who service this need and are committed to transparency, fairness etc.. Firms that actually already comply with the guidance that Gavin himself has published on this matter – http://www.theadvisory.co.uk/cash-buying-specialists.php – i welcome the OFT’s investigation and agree there are those that need to be removed from the industry however, as mentioned, not all of us are “vultures”.