Joseph Rowntrees report into the state of UK Housing

By: Sarah_Jones

According to the report, affordability is currently stretched, with mortgage costs currently accounting for 36 per cent of average earnings.

The supply of affordable housing is also at a low level, the study claims, with 35,000 homes available in 2005-06 – half the level experienced in the mid-90s. This is well below the minimum of 48,000 outlined in the government-commissioned report.

Mortgage costs for first-time buyers have now reached their 1990 peak.  A third of all working households under 40 cannot afford to buy even at the low end of local housing markets.

Affordability levels in the UK property market are set to get worse, as interest rates rise and the housing market forecast to continue to drift higher.

To read the full report http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/housing/1933.asp

On the otherside we have the IMF's warning that the UK housing market could experience a downturn, after it was listed as one country that has over-valued housing. Though the IMF has been issuing the same warnings for over 3 years !

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