HALF of British homeowners would back a bold new approach to housing even if it means their own properties not rising in value, polling for a new report suggests.
Positive Money, a not-for-profit advocacy group, said its report, published today, debunks the dominant narrative that inflated house prices are driven by a failure to build new homes.
Instead the authors argue that soaring house prices has been driven by the transformation of homes into financial assets through deregulation and other policies that favour investment in property.
Median house prices in England are now eight times more than the median income, with the gap widening far more in the capital, where properties cost 12.5 times more.
Polling carried out for the report by YouGov found that 54 per cent of British homeowners and 57 per cent of those in London would be happy for their properties not to rise in value over the next 10 years if that meant others could afford a home.
Report co-author Danisha Kazi, a senior economist at Positive Money said: “Governments have failed to deal with the housing crisis because of a pervasive view that the public, who are majority homeowners, would be against policies that restrict house price growth.
“However, the evidence suggests that most people, including homeowners, support a fairer approach to housing which seeks to stabilise prices rather than letting them inflate endlessly.”
The report calls on the government to launch a new strategy to bring house prices in line with incomes over time.
Among its recommendations are increasing taxes for those investing in properties and introducing rent controls.
The Banking on Property report was set to be launched at an event this evening, with Labour shadow City minister Tulip Siddiq.
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