When all the housing markets are broken

摘要

When former communities secretary Sajid Javid said in 2017 the housing market was broken, which one did he mean, exactly? The land, development, construction or residential end-markets? Or the markets in each region (and sub-region)? His 2017 white paper was promising and touched on all these markets, but their web of problems remains the same. We're not building enough; too much housing is unaffordable; renting is precarious; design, quality and sustainability are poor; the wrong type is being built in the wrong places; the cladding scandal is still not resolved; and the new scandal of permitted development is emerging blinking into the limelight. It does not have to be like this. There are advanced European economies that do not have broken housing markets. In a series of policy debates this year, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (Solace) is examining how local government can best consume from, participate in and shape the markets in which it operates.