Pretty depressing reading.
[Edit] I had the archive link as a comment but this has gained enough traction that it’s not obvious. Here it is again so you don’t have to give FT any clicks https://archive.is/ypkln
Unsurprising that it all shot out of control after 2010, and just more evidence that we need to build more.
This is something I’d wish the next government would do. Seriously how hard is it to build? Bust through the bullshit planning restrictions and build houses that people want to live in.
The house building companies already have vast amounts of land they own with planning permission in place. They restrict the amount of housing they build to artificially keep the prices high, if they build too many, the prices they could sell their houses for would drop, reducing profit. These are private companies and the government has little control over them. This is why every government for the last few generations has promised more houses and delivered nothing.
It is unfortunate that the building companies make more money by not building, than by building.
We need a progressive land/council tax. Hording land should cost you.
My favourite suggestion should be that tax levels are based upon a heat map of urban density, but also linked to area owned. It was a suggestion that came out of the US because they have problems with land hording in urban areas, spaces that are just a car park to act as a holding for land.
It would mean that ownership of inner city, undeveloped land and also owning large estates is penalised.
These are private companies and the government has little control over them.
lol, they have an army, just send it in and nationalize the shit out of them. the government has as much control as it wants to have.
It’s by design.
The rich want low housing and high population because it makes their assets go up. Traditionally like silent generation, greatest generation and before affordable homes for the working class and the following generations was seen as an ideal that people were willing to die for. This ideal was largely realised with the boomers.
But the boomers then decided it is better if they have houses and no one else does because their wealth can go up and they can then make money like the land owners than their grandparents were kept in poverty by. Now they can do it to their children!
I honestly don’t think it will be solved until the boomers die. Even then I wouldn’t count on it. Too much effort to keep population increasing no matter the cost.
If I was PM I would end up get voted out by doing something drastic like trying to put through a land value tax and building a new city 1mill+ city maybe between Hull and Leeds. Put a big fucking 200mph train line between Liverpool and Hull. Tell everyone to get fucked and steal some quotes from Churchill and JFK about going through hard time for the better of the country.
Why would they? They’re all landlords lol. More supply means dropping property values.
The next government. They are incentives to help younger generations and renters as these make up a large majority of their voters that helped them into power.
