An article examined ways in which home-owners could be better protected from the consequences of housing market volatility, through a mixture of prudential lending, responsible borrowing, and an improved safety net. It also considered whether the private rented sector was capable of providing a safe alternative to full or partial ownership, and concluded that this was unlikely. Consequently, the role of the social rented sector remained crucial for providing security for those people who could not access full or shared ownership safely.
Source: Mark Stephens, 'Tackling housing market volatility in the UK. Part II: protecting households from the consequences of volatility', International Journal of Housing Policy, Volume 12 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
See also: Mark Stephens, 'Tackling housing market volatility in the UK. Part I: long- and short-term volatility', International Journal of Housing Policy, Volume 12 Issue 3
Date: 2012-Dec
A paper examined the housing tenure decisions taken by older people in Europe. In nearly all countries the home-ownership rate among older people did not decline with age, contrary to the 'life cycle hypothesis'.
Source: Joaquin Alegre and Llorenc Pou, The Homeownership Rate among the Elderly and the Life Cycle Hypothesis: European evidence using individual and household data, Working Paper 49, Departament d'Economia Aplicada, La Universitat de les Illes Balears
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Dec
A second set of key statistics were published from the March 2011 Census for England and Wales:
• The resident population was 56.1 million, a 7 per cent (3.7 million) increase since 2001. 55 per cent (2.1 million) of this increase was due to net migration.
•The number of residents who stated that their religion was Christian decreased from 72 per cent (37.3 million) in 2001 to 59 per cent (33.2 million) in 2011. The size of the group who stated that they had no religious affiliation increased by 10 percentage points from 15 per cent (7.7 million) in 2001 to 25 per cent (14.1 million) in 2011.
• Most residents of England and Wales belonged to the white ethnic group (86 per cent, 48.2 million) in 2011, a decrease from 91.3 per cent in 2001 and 94.1 per cent in 1991.
• Of the 13 per cent (7.5 million) of residents who had been born outside the United Kingdom, just over half (3.8 million) had arrived in the previous 10 years.
• 64 per cent (14.9 million) of households owned their own home in 2011, down 4 percentage points since 2001.
• In 2011 there were more people with level 4 or above qualifications (such as a Bachelor's degree) (27 per cent, 12.4 million) than with no qualifications (23 per cent, 10.3 million).
Source: 2011 Census: Key Statistics for England and Wales, March 2011, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report (key statistics) | Report (religion) | Report (ethnicity) | ONS press release | BHA press release | Carers UK press release | Catholic Church press release | C of E press release | Evangelical Alliance press release | Methodist Church press release | Migration Watch press release | NSS press release | OCSI briefing (housing) | RSS press release | Runnymede Trust blog post | Theos press release | BBC report | Daily Mail report | Ekklesia report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Guardian report (3) | Inside Housing report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Dec
A paper examined the relationship between home-ownership and inequality in western Europe. Home-ownership helped to counterbalance wider inequalities in the income distribution in 1997, particularly in southern Europe: but by 2007 home-ownership played a less significant role in these countries. In the other relatively unequal countries, home-ownership was enabled by more widespread mortgage indebtedness, and played less of a role in counterbalancing income inequality.
Source: Michelle Norris and Nessa Winston, Home Ownership and Income Inequalities in Western Europe: Access, affordability and quality, Discussion Paper 41, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Dec
A report said that owner-occupation had fallen to its lowest level since 1988, leaving about 5 million households who wanted to own their home but did not.
Source: The Death of a Dream: The crisis in homeownership in the UK, HomeOwners Alliance
Links: Report | HomeOwners Alliance press release | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Nov
An article said that there was little evidence that migration had much effect on house prices, despite the popular perception that the impact was important. The nature of housing market adjustment was more complex than price indicators alone would suggest. Adjustment also took place through changes to household formation and through the mobility of domestic residents, which mitigated the price effects.
Source: Geoffrey Meen, 'The adjustment of housing markets to migration change: lessons from modern history', Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Volume 59 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
An article estimated the impact of population ageing on house prices in Scotland. It was found that population ageing – or more generally changes in age structure – was not likely to be a main determinant of house prices.
Source: Yu Chen, Kenneth Gibb, Chris Leishman, and Robert Wright, 'The impact of population ageing on house prices: a micro-simulation approach', Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Volume 59 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined the impact of housing equity, local house prices, and other variables associated with household structure and change on residential movement. An increase in a household's housing equity encouraged residential mobility substantially, and a decline discouraged it.
Source: John Ermisch and Elizabeth Washbrook, 'Residential mobility: wealth, demographic and housing market effects', Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Volume 59 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
A paper examined the impact of different types of supply constraints on house prices in England over the period 1974–2008. Regulatory constraints were found to have had a substantive positive long-run impact on the house price-earnings elasticity. The effect of constraints due to scarcity of developable land was largely confined to highly urbanized areas. Uneven topography had a quantitatively less meaningful impact. The effects of supply constraints were greater during boom than bust periods.
Source: Christian Hilber and Wouter Vermeulen, The Impact of Supply Constraints on House Prices in England, Discussion Paper 119, Spatial Economics Research Centre (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Sep
An article examined long-term solutions to house price volatility. There was a need to improve housing supply to tackle volatility in the long run: but counter-cyclical policies were also required to tackle volatility in the short run.
Source: Mark Stephens, 'Tackling housing market volatility in the UK. Part I: long- and short-term volatility', International Journal of Housing Policy, Volume 12 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
See also: Mark Stephens and Peter Williams, Tackling Housing Market Volatility in the UK: A progress report, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Date: 2012-Sep
A paper examined the combined effects of population ageing and changes in long-term care policy on the housing market. The trend away from institutional provision towards care at home would maintain the level of housing demand above what it would otherwise be. It would also have distributional consequences, with individuals less likely to reduce their housing equity to pay for institutional care, which in turn would increase the value of their bequests. Household formation effects involving those requiring long-term care were relatively weak and unlikely to significantly offset the effects of this policy shift on the housing market and on the distribution of wealth.
Source: David Bell and Alasdair Rutherford, Long-Term Care and the Housing Market, Discussion Paper 2012-13, Stirling Management School, University of Stirling
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Sep
A paper compared the structural features of home-ownership systems in 15 European Union countries (home-ownership rates, mortgages, and public subsidization) with data on inequalities in outcomes (variations in home-ownership access, risks, and standards between income groups). Elements of both convergence and divergence were evident in western European home-ownership systems. The comparative housing literature had largely failed to capture the key inter-country cleavages in home-ownership systems between the northern and southern countries.
Source: Michelle Norris and Nessa Winston, Home-Ownership, Housing Regimes and Income Inequalities in Western Europe, Discussion Paper 42, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
See also: Michelle Norris and Nessa Winston, 'Home-ownership, housing regimes and income inequalities in western Europe', International Journal of Social Welfare, Volume 21 Issue 2
Date: 2012-Aug
A think-tank report said that the system of leasehold tenure in which leasehold managing agents could operate without any form of regulation was 'not fit for purpose'. Problems with management were growing, with a significant rise in disputes over inflated service charges and the operations of connected companies. A 'light touch', independent regulator for leasehold managing agents was essential if leasehold properties were to be given sufficient protection.
Source: Thomas Brooks and Chris Paterson, A New Lease of Life: Making leasehold fit for the 21st century, CentreForum
Links: Report | CentreForum press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Aug
An article said that young people were increasingly being excluded from accessing the housing ladder: many were remaining in the parental home for longer, and even when they were ready to 'fly the nest' they faced significant challenges in accessing mortgage finance. This had created a source of inter-generational conflict between 'housing poor' young people and their 'housing rich' elders. There was a need to look beyond the immediate housing market issues and consider how housing policy interacted with broader social, economic, and demographic shifts; and how it was intimately connected to debates about welfare.
Source: Kim McKee, 'Young people, homeownership and future welfare', Housing Studies, Volume 27 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
A paper examined the effect of the stamp duty land tax on household mobility. It was found that a higher stamp duty strongly negatively affected a household's propensity to move: a 2 percentage point increase in the stamp duty might reduce mobility of home-owners by around 40 per cent. This adverse effect was mainly confined to short-distance and non-job-related moves.
Source: Christian Hilber and Teemu Lyytikainen, The Effect of the UK Stamp Duty Land Tax on Household Mobility, Discussion Paper 115, Spatial Economics Research Centre (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jul
Date: 2012-Jun
Date: 2012-Jun
Date: 2012-Jun
The Scottish Government began consultation on proposals to further restrict the 'right to buy' housing policy. The proposed changes would cut the discounts available to those who wished to purchase their home through right to buy. They would also place greater restrictions on where it would be available – for example, in areas where housing was under particular pressure.
Source: The Future of Right to Buy in Scotland, Scottish Government
Links: Consultation document | Scottish Government press release | SFHA press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Jun
A think-tank report examined the affordability of housing in London. It looked at buying, renting, and the potential impact on affordability of the coalition government's welfare reforms. The most effective solution was to increase the supply of new and affordable homes. It proposed the following options for further consideration:
• Increasing the supply of housing in the capital through novel roles for registered social landlords, and releasing more public land for development.
• Improving London's welfare reforms by (in the short term) raising the local housing allowance (LHA) caps in London by £10 per week, and (in the longer term) devolving power and responsibility for housing benefit to the mayor.
• Achieving reasonable regulation of the private rented sector by exploring the idea of maximum base rents in the LHA sub-market of the private rented sector.
Increasing the taxation of foreign buyers of prime London property.
Source: Phil McCarvill, Declan Gaffney, and Matt Griffith, Affordable Capital? Housing in London, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | Inside Housing report | Public Finance report
Date: 2012-May
An article examined whether lender-imposed borrowing restrictions contributed to the decline in young adult home-ownership rates in Britain in the 1990s – especially since house prices rose rapidly in the second half of the decade. It was found that borrowing restrictions had delayed young adult transitions into home-ownership.
Source: Mark Andrew, 'The changing route to owner-occupation: the impact of borrowing constraints on young adult homeownership transitions in Britain in the 1990s', Urban Studies, Volume 49 Number 8
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the components of tenure in hybrid models of ownership and renting, and whether they fulfilled expectations of ownership. The psychosocial benefits of partial ownership might mask the attributes of the form of occupancy and ownership that were less well aligned with traditional home-ownership, such as the control over the management and exchange of the home and assets.
Source: Alison Wallace, 'Shared ownership: satisfying ambitions for homeownership?', International Journal of Housing Policy, Volume 12 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined whether a 'regional ripple' effect in house prices could be tracked at the district level. Spatial spillover of house price growth was unlikely to be based on interlocked markets bonded by commuting or migration alone: information flows and expectations were likely to reinforce inter-district transmission. House price spillover north of the east midlands region appeared to be much more rapid than would be consistent with a 'ripple' effect, suggesting that there was some support for undertaking housing market analysis on a spatially segmented basis, even at a regional level.
Source: David Gray, 'District house price movements in England and Wales 1997-2007: an exploratory spatial data analysis approach', Urban Studies, Volume 49 Number 7
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
A paper examined the fiscal and distributional consequences of including home-owners' imputed rent, net of mortgage interest and maintenance costs, in taxable income, based on an analysis in six European countries. The results showed how including net imputed rent in the tax base might affect inequality in each of the countries considered. Housing taxation appeared to be a promising avenue for raising additional revenues, or lightening taxation of labour, with no inequality-increasing side-effects.
Source: Francesco Figari, Alari Paulus, Holly Sutherland, Panos Tsakloglou, Gerlinde Verbist, and Francesca Zantomio, Taxing Home Ownership: Distributional effects of including net imputed rent in taxable income, EUROMOD Working Paper EM4/12, Institute for Social and Economic Research (University of Essex)
Links: Working paper | Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
The coalition government announced (following consultation) that from April 2012 local council house tenants in England would be able to buy their homes with discounts of up to £75,000 under a revised 'right to buy' scheme: the new discount more than quadrupled the maximum available in most parts of London, and trebled it for the rest of England. The government also announced a new scheme (called 'NewBuy') under which leading mortgage lenders and building firms would offer mortgages on newly built properties to people with only a 5 per cent deposit.
Source: Reinvigorating Right to Buy and One for One Replacement: Consultation – Summary of Responses, and Government Response to Consultation, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Response to consultation | DCLG press release | Downing Street press release | HOC research brief (1) | HOC research brief (2) | CIH press release | FMB press release | HBF press release | IOD press release | Labour Party press release | LGA press release | NHF press release | Inside Housing report | Public Finance report | Telegraph report
Notes: Consultation document
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined the structural features of home-ownership systems in 15 European Union countries (home-ownership rates, mortgages, and public subsidization) with data on inequalities in outcomes (variations in home-ownership access, risks, and standards between income groups).
Source: Michelle Norris and Nessa Winston, 'Home-ownership, housing regimes and income inequalities in western Europe', International Journal of Social Welfare, Volume 21 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
An article compared the most recent 'bubbles' in the housing and mortgage credit markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Contrary to popular perception, the two European countries had had a bigger housing price bubble, more volatility, and a more 'short-termist' mortgage market. But the effects of the subsequent crisis – in terms of over-indebtedness of mortgage holders, home repossessions, and the loss of housing equity – had been worse in the United States.
Source: Waltraud Schelkle, 'A crisis of what? Mortgage credit markets and the social policy of promoting homeownership in the United States and in Europe', Politics and Society, Volume 40 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined the way in which housing equity was used as a pension across the member states of the European Union.
Source: John Doling and Marja Elsinga, 'Housing as income in old age', International Journal of Housing Policy, Volume 12 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the potential role of housing equity in funding retirement, drawing on a comparative study of the views of home-owners in Germany and the United Kingdom.
Source: Anwen Jones, Tim Geilenkeuser, Ilse Helbrecht, and Deborah Quilgars, 'Demographic change and retirement planning: comparing households views on the role of housing equity in Germany and the UK', International Journal of Housing Policy, Volume 12 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined government measures to prevent mortgage possessions. Hastily introduced initiatives had been insufficient to bridge the gap between a fragmented policy framework and borrowers circumstances and experiences of managing mortgage debt.
Source: Alison Wallace, '"Feels like I'm doing it on my own": Examining the synchronicity between policy responses and the circumstances and experiences of mortgage borrowers in arrears', Social Policy and Society, Volume 11 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
A new book examined the growing use of housing equity by older people to support a range of activities and needs. It traced the protections afforded to older owners through the 'ordinary' law of property and contract, as well as the development of specific regulatory protections focused on targeted products. It considered the 'appropriateness' of existing legal provisions, and the arguments surrounding 'special protection' for older owners in housing equity transactions.
Source: Lorna Fox O'Mahony, Home Equity and Ageing Owners Between Risk and Regulation, Hart Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jan
A study examined an equity-release product being trialled by three local authorities, designed to provide small amounts for older home-owners on low incomes without any adverse impact on benefits.
Source: Rachel Terry and Richard Gibson, Assessment of Equity Release Pilot Schemes, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the importance of housing, especially home-ownership and the institutional structures of the mortgage market, to welfare state change. Home-owners had begun to 'bank' on their homes – using them not only for consumption but increasingly as a financial safety net, a cushion against adversity, a means for securing access to privately supplied services, and to support their family's welfare needs across the life-course.
Source: Stuart Lowe, Beverley Searle, and Susan Smith, 'From housing wealth to mortgage debt: the emergence of Britain's asset-shaped welfare state', Social Policy and Society, Volume 11 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
