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Whose Housing Crisis? Assets and Homes in a Changing Economy

Online ISBN:
9781447346104
Print ISBN:
9781447345312
Publisher:
Policy Press
Book

Whose Housing Crisis? Assets and Homes in a Changing Economy

Nick Gallent
Nick Gallent
University College London
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Published online:
23 January 2020
Published in print:
1 April 2019
Online ISBN:
9781447346104
Print ISBN:
9781447345312
Publisher:
Policy Press

Abstract

England, and especially London, remain in the grip of a housing cost crisis marked by extraordinary ratios between median house prices and workplace earnings. House prices have continued to rise over the last decade despite a stagnation in earnings. At the root of the crisis is the problematic relationship that individuals and economies share with residential property. Housing’s social purpose, as home, is frequently relegated behind its economic function, as asset, able to offer a hedge against weakening pensions or source of investment and equity release for individuals, or guarantee rising public revenues, sustain consumer confidence and provide evidence of ‘growth’ for economies. England’s economy – along with that of the rest of the UK – has been on a long transition away from manufacturing for several decades. It is now reliant on services and particularly the financial services associated with real estate consumption and debt production. This book explores the 'UK's economic transition and examines associated housing outcomes. The re-functioning of housing in the twentieth century is a cause of great social inequality, as housing becomes a place to park and extract wealth. What can be done to address this inequality and what role might planning play in delivering fairer outcomes and in re-prioritising housing’s social function?

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