Older home owners are becoming stuck with their properties due to a lack of supply for them to move to, which in turn keeps first-time buyers out of the market, according to a survey.
The annual home owner survey of more than 2,000 adults, conducted by YouGov for HomeOwners Alliance and its backers BLP Insurance, found that one in five property owners aged 55 or over considered moving in the past two years but have not done so, equating to more than 2m home owners.
This is based on there being 11.4m home owners over 55, according to the English Housing Survey.
Almost a quarter (23%) of home owners aged 55 or over who considered moving say lack of suitable housing was the main reason they did not do so, equating to more than 500,000 home owners.
The stress and upheaval of moving as well as not wanting to be away from friends, neighbours and community were also listed as obstacles to moving.
Paula Higgins, chief executive of the HomeOwners Alliance, said the Government shouldn’t be distracted by Brexit and neglect the housing crisis.
She added: “The recent Brexit decision means we are now in the midst of uncertain times and new housing is likely to be a victim.
“The Government needs to focus efforts on negotiating a European exit but they must not drop the ball in delivering new housing that meets the needs of last-time buyers.
“House builders can’t be allowed to sit on their hands and land-bank. The Government needs to keep them building, and building houses that meet the needs of last-time buyers as well as first-time buyers.”
Kim Vernau, chief executive of BLP Insurance, added: “The issues highlighted by this survey that face last-time buyers are as acute as those issues encountered by first-time buyers.”
One of the biggest issues with the supply crisis is raised by the results of this survey – and that is that it is more complex than “houses need to be built.”
We need a whole raft of different types of housing, all over the country (esp the south) that accommodates every type of buyer/tenant demographic, with a lot of research into local schools, transport links, nearby employers, the ability to move both locally and further afield, and the actual QUALITY of the properties being built.
This is why the government saying it is “committed to building a million homes” is as much an answer to the property crisis as “I dunno, yeah, maybe okay don’t call us we’ll call you”. The specifics are complex, and the government needs to start saying as much and putting a plan together. It’s not just about first-time buyers anymore. the potential inertia for an entire nation could be really damaging long-term.
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Initiatives such as PPG3, PPS, S106 amendments, NPPF and the likes have male chickened up what was already a broken system.
Let private sector old-school developers lead the way with supply – not bean counters.
They know what needs building, and where.
It’s what they do best.
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