As we enter a new decade in which both the politics and economics of housing look set to be centre stage, this quarterly publication will be tracking all the key trends as the 2020s unfold. We will be keeping an eye on the housing market, and the way that housing intersects with both living standards and policy developments. This quarter, we begin with a look at house prices and ask whether the ‘levelling up’ we observe across the country since 2016 is at an end, or if the process still has further to run.

Political parties’ housing policies need to tackle the reasons for the public’s heightened concern about housing: low home ownership rates, high housing costs and the burden of high costs falling particularly on those with lower incomes.

Housing is the subject of much political and media attention – but commentary focuses primarily on rising house prices and declining home ownership. Our research looks at housing costs as a proportion of income over time. This slide pack is the precursor to a report that will be published shortly.

Despite the strain that high housing costs cause, millions of people on modest incomes continue to live in high cost areas and are somehow coping. The Resolution Foundation report explores six ‘coping strategies’ – working more, increasing the term of a mortgage, getting help from friends and family, over-crowding, lowering standards and doubling up. It … Continued

The private rented sector is growing and, as it expands, it is housing an increasingly diverse group of tenants, including a higher proportion of people across every income decile and a growing number of families with children. However there are still a range of challenges associated with the sector which need to be addressed. These include variable standards of … Continued

Close to 1.6 million UK households – the housing pinched – are spending more than half their disposable income on the ongoing costs of housing each month. Not all households spending more than one third of their income on housing (the threshold at which people are far more likely to find making housing payments difficult) … Continued

A major expansion of newly built shared ownership could help low and modest income working families across the country onto the property ladder, while keeping their housing costs affordable. One foot on the ladder shows that shared ownership – where buyers purchase at least 25 per cent of the equity in a home and pay a low rent … Continued

A low-risk income return of 4.7 per cent should be achievable for institutional investors putting money into the private rented sector – a move which could also help solve Britain’s housing crisis for families on modest incomes. Building Homes for Generation Rent identifies a £140 million property portfolio, made up of almost 800 rental homes around … Continued

One third of Britain is effectively off-limits to lower-income working families looking to rent a home privately because they can no longer afford a property in those parts of the country. An alarming new report, Home Truths, is the first to give a comprehensive assessment of where less affluent families can reasonably afford to live, … Continued

This briefing note looks at the challenges that build to rent poses for housing providers. It is based on a six month project conducted by the Resolution Foundation and Social Finance to develop a financing model for institutional investment in a build to rent portfolio of 778 rental units nationwide aimed at middle income households. 

With one low to middle income family in four shut out of home ownership, there is an urgent need for high quality purpose-built rental homes offering more secure tenancies than typically found in today’s buy to let sector. In a context of significant cuts to public investment in housing, the Resolution Foundation proposes that new … Continued