In recent decades the UK has become an increasingly diverse country. And yet, persistent and significant ethnic inequalities remain. While the jobs and pay gaps experienced by those from an ethnic minority are becoming better understood, the key living standards question of housing affordability is still under-discussed. With even higher-income ethnic minority groups spending a greater share of their budgets on keeping a roof over their heads compared to White British households, the puzzle of why they are paying more for their housing remains unsolved.

The new Government has set an ambitious target of delivering 1.5 million new homes over a five-year period – at a rate that hasn’t been achieved since the 1960s  – and has put planning reform at the heart of its agenda. But successive governments have aimed high, but delivered low, when it comes to housebuilding. … Continued

Purchasing a house has traditionally been seen as one of the key milestones in adulthood, providing not just a home but financial security for many. But with youth home ownership having declined substantially over the past three decades, this milestone is increasingly one many may not reach. How have trends in youth home ownership changed … Continued

Post-war governments invested heavily in social housing. But it then fell spectacularly out of favour, with the introduction of Right-to-Buy in 1980 sparking a decline in social housing stock. Almost 40 years on, attitudes toward social housing appear to be changing again. In 2017, Theresa May earmarked £2 billion of new money for social rented … Continued

High house prices and weak wage growth have led to a stark fall in home ownership rates among young people since the early 2000s, with a typical first-time buyer needing 18 years to save for a deposit, up from 3 years in the mid-90s. Increasingly stepping into this gap has been the Bank of Mum … Continued

From the establishment of primogeniture to the Bank of Mum & Dad the transfer of wealth across generations is both an ancient and very modern issue in Britain. With wealth increasingly concentrated among older generations, the issue of wealth transfers is rising up the political agenda. The desire for families to pass wealth onto the … Continued

Britain’s housing crisis has been decades in the making, and is finally rising up the political agenda. But is this crisis really just confined to London and the South East, or is it spreading across Britain and other European countries? Which groups are on the receiving end of a lack of affordable housing? And how … Continued

Buying or renting a home in many parts of the country is a financial challenge for families on modest incomes. How then do these families continue to live in some of the most expensive parts of the country? What coping strategies can make the seemingly unaffordable financially possible, at what personal cost to the families … Continued

Very high levels of household debt have been a stubbornly persistent feature of many developed economies – including those of the UK and the US – before, during and since the financial crisis. The Resolution Foundation has led UK analysis of how this debt may carry severe consequences for many families and for the wider … Continued

While many have benefited from years of rock-bottom interest rates the burden of household debt has not greatly declined since the financial crisis and now the era of ultra-cheap borrowing is likely to be drawing to a close. A large swathe of households remains highly exposed to the effects of rising interest rates. Yet while … Continued

The struggle to set aside savings and the increasing difficulty that many working people find in securing a decent income at retirement is one of the less noticed but potentially most far-reaching issues in the living standards debate. In her first major speech on pensions policy since becoming Shadow Secretary of State for Work and … Continued

Low to middle income households are increasingly shut out of traditional home ownership, and more and more families with children are living in the private rental sector. We know, however, that home ownership overwhelmingly remains most people’s preferred tenure and the lack of asset accumulation amongst long term renters is a concern. This event launched … Continued