The central role of the housing market
MORTGAGE INTRODUCER - 17TH MARCH 2007
With elections to the Scottish parliament taking place this May and probably only another two years until the next UK general election, we should all be thinking very seriously about the kind of policies we wish to se put into place for the housing market.
Property is central to the UK in so many ways and it is essential that our politicians draft proposals, which not only address the problems we face now, but also provide sustainable solutions for the future.
Given the central role the housing market plays to the welfare of the UK as a nation, it is no surprise that Chancellor Gordon Brown wants to see the back of boom and bust cycles. Yes, the boom over the last 15 years has brought huge returns for home owners and fuelled much of the consumer optimism seem on the high street, but when things bust, people lose the roofs over their heads.
There is no doubting the current need for extra housing and that the demand caused by the shortage of properties has driven a large proportion of the rises we have seen. However design, sustainability and environmental considerations must be at the heart of any planned developments if they are going to really help towards alleviating the problem. The priority must be to encourage building on brownfield sites to protect the land we have and to regenerate the areas we have already urbanised.
The government needs to look at putting requirements on developers to upgrade and regenerate existing stock and erect new properties in existing commercial or residential locations, before untouched land is released for development. Not only does this make sense in regard to the land we have available, but it will also help towards breathing life into many areas across the country. Whether the government gives certain tax breaks to developers taking on projects in some of the most run down areas, adds its weight to certain projects by improving amenities in association with new building, or incentives buyers into areas with tax breaks, there must be a commitment to working with the land we have already turned over to building on, rather than simply cutting up new and ever larger parts of the so called green belt.
However, housing policies alone will not solve the problems we have in the housing market. It will be social changes that make the biggest difference to the levels of demand for properties. As we leave home earlier, live alone for longer and get divorced more frequently than ever before, there has been a huge swing in the type and volume of properties we require. As such politicians need to consider how society can operate on a less individualistic level and live in a more communal way. Harking back to the family unit of old may not be suitable in today’s changed environment, but certainly a reliance on socially cohesive policies is going to be essential if we are to really make progress in meeting the housing challenges we face into the future.
