More houses? Great…
…but location, location, location matters a lot
(This one is topical, hence the earlier than usual publication)
Since 1995 house prices have tripled in real terms.1 Simple supply and demand: had we built many more houses, prices would have risen less, or not at all. Britain would be a better place if houses were cheaper. More young people could afford to leave their parents’ home. More people could afford to buy a place of their own. Fewer people would get evicted for not paying the rent. People would have more money left over at the end of the month.
So I am absolutely delighted that Labour have announced that councils must now plan for 370,000 rather than 300,000 homes.2
Unfortunately, only 1 in 7 of the extra houses will be in London and the South East, whose target has risen by just 5%. This means that prices and rents in this part of the country will keep rising. I doubt that is what young and working age Labour voters want.
In contrast almost half the extra houses will be…