Housing Market

There are always articles in the newspapers regarding the state of the housing market, the cost of housing and the government’s actions for or against private landlords.  Currently, the opinion is on why the government is cracking down on private landlords when there’s such a shortage of rental houses.

There is also quite a lot of people arguing for or against all the points made. Some argue how the private landlords contribute to the economy by providing houses that the councils are ignoring. Some say it’s just a way of lining the pockets of private landlords and making the elite richer whilst the poor stay poor.

What if it’s all of those things? And more…

What is the prevailing opinion on house purchases? Why should we, as a nation, be intent on buying a house? It’s not the common thing in Europe. They are happy to rent for their entire lives. What makes Britain different?

When you think about it, successive governments have discouraged buy over renting for decades. Renters do not have to pay excessive stamp duty charges. Currently, if we were to buy a house we want, the stamp duty alone would be nearly £30,000. And what do we get for that? Nothing!

A person who rents never has to find a 20% deposit. Nor do they ever have to find the stamp duty tax. So they are £40 to £50,000 better off immediately.

If the rental house demands upgrades or structural issues, who pays for it? Not the renter. If my house has a leaking roof, which it does being over 100 years old, who has to pay for it? We do!

If the rented house is council or private, it’s still the the owner who pays for all repairs. How is that beneficial to the council? It’s no wonder they sold everything off in the 80’s. It relieved their burden by about 60% according to statistics.

Future Ramifications

What are the positive consequences of a housing market that is over-priced and beyond the grasp of many people today, especially the young?

Perhaps a consequence of this situation is that it encourages young kids today to work hard at school in order to get good grades and a decent university degree, so they can get a good job in order to buy a house later in life.

Perhaps those children who listen to their parents who are already home owners, and understand that if they are to get on the housing ladder, they must work hard early in life in order to be able to set up the lifestyle that provides the opportunity to save enough money for a deposit, are the ones who do well in life? They will always do well in life because they think better.

Those children who cannot think further ahead or who listen to their parents complaining about life being unfair, and it’s the government’s fault for not handing them everything they need, will do badly at school because they blame the system rather than trying to rise above it.

If you have an entitled attitude, as I hear from most Labour voters on the radio or television, who expect to be handed everything in life at the expense of taxing the rich, the ones who actually worked hard in early life, then why aren’t we accepting the fact that they will never own a home, and that’s not the government’s fault?

If they are unwilling to better themselves, or if they are unable to think beyond their environment, why is it the fault of the richer, more educated, or government that they cannot buy a house?

The point about equality is that it is an equality of opportunity, not an equality of outcomes.