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The sector in stats
Inside Housing pulls out key figures from this year’s UK Housing Review
The UK Housing Review, published by the Chartered Institute of Housing this week, consists of more than 200 charts and tables compiling existing data on housing expenditure, tenure, stock, house prices, tenant demographics and the economy.
Inside Housing has pulled out some of the eye-catching figures.
HOMEOWNERSHIP
Britain has the fifth-lowest level of outright owner-occupation in the EU…
Despite what some see as a British ‘obsession’ with homeownership, the percentage of UK households owning their home outright is among the lowest in Europe (figures for 2015).
…But has a relatively high level of mortgage owner-occupation
However, Britain has a disproportionately high proportion of the population with a mortgage (figures for 2015).
Loans made to first-time buyers and movers fell in 2015 and are a long way behind pre-recession levels
The number of loans is still nowhere near the heights of the early-to-mid-2000s.
HOMELESSNESS
The number of homeless people in temporary accommodation in England continues to increase…
The number of households in temporary accommodation halved between 2004 and 2010, but has been gradually increasing in recent years, with 20,000 more households in temporary accommodation in 2015 compared to 2010.
…As does the number of rough sleepers
The increase in rough-sleeping – the most visible form of homelessness – may have been the trigger for the government to support the Homelessness Reduction Bill.
WELFARE REFORM
The number of housing benefit claimants in Britain is no longer increasing as the economy has improved and cuts have been implemented.
Housing benefit expenditure has now levelled out after several years of increases
But at what price? The Chartered Institute of Housing, citing a Sheffield Hallam University report, says households will be worse off to the tune of £25.3bn by 2020/21.
GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE ON HOUSING
Housing less of a priority?
In the last few years the government has spent around 2% of its total expenditure on housing, bringing it back to the proportion of spending we saw in the late-1990s and early-2000s, before an increase during the tail end of the Labour government. Note the figures also include housing benefit subsidy.
Net capital investment down on late-2000s
The total net capital investment in housing of £4bn has come down in the last couple of years compared to the late-2000s, but compares favourably to the early-2000s when the annual net spend stood at around £2bn.
