I can't afford to buy a house

Also unable to afford my own house, a single female who cannot afford the repayments on shared ownership properties even if I were lucky enough to be offered the chance. Having experienced a relationship break up at 26 I have had to move in to my parents house, far from where I work and all my friends are and totally supressing my independance! I dont want anything flashy, but I have lived in housing association flats (rented privately by my partner and myslef due to lack of demand in that area) and I would not share access to my living space ever again. Machettes, police, broken glasses, robberies and drugs......would you move to a place like this as a single female? Who is helping us? Im quite sure houses dont cost that much to build so why the inflation? my friends house bought for £80'000 approx 10yrs ago is now £220'000!! My salary has stayed stable during that time! Who is helping people like me? It very frustrating, I have no debts, very small savings and no sob story.......I just want a place to call home!

Forgot to mention the political element to this housing crisis. The conservatives were by common consent responsible for high % rates Brown and Blair were determined to keep rates artificially low as one of the economical promises to the electorate (forget the BOA independence) and this helped fuel the bubble and run-away prices.. that said, I still believe that the real determining factor for house prices rises now and in the future will simply be about supply and demand all the other old metrics are now outdated although they still may have some limited impact on negative\positive prices rises. With demand strong from immigration, students, commuter towns, single people, rising life spans, buy to let etc this housing shortage is sure to continue. Nobody has a divine right to home ownership but this should be a least a realistic aspiration. My dream of home ownership is tempered with the thought if you don't expect too much out of life you will not become to disappointed.

Social Housing for key workers is another Government Con. This policy is simply targeted at public sector workers who in the main are more likely to vote for them anyway. This short list of key workers has always brought a wry smile (isn't everyone essential to the workforce anyway)

To reiterate until there is an intellectual debate on Housing, Buy to let and Population growth in all its form this property crisis will continue regardless of rapid new builds in response.

Is the Electorate bothered probably not in the same way everyone has just accepted Council Tax increases of 120% over 10yrs... Trying asking your employer for that sort of increase whilst giving little in return over the same period!

You are not alone this is affecting everyone in every age group. In 20yrs from now the state will be paying a huge price for those reaching retirement who are unable to meet the costs of private renting. As for the council waiting list this is a priority list they don't like to mention this based on need so if your homeless, a single parent etc etc.. you can work the system and in many scenarios this is indeed the case.

Councils and Housing Associations are all totally pathetic they clearly forgot to mention that marketing\increasing the town size with ever growing student populations or selling it as a commuter town would cause potential supply and demand issues factor in immigration and buy to let and this just about completes the picture of the great housing mess.

Building more houses is simply a sticking plaster solution and often in many cases does not address the infrastructure, health, education and additional crime new builds create.

Who in there right mind would part rent \part buy all these schemes are like the great endowment insurance scandal of the 80's and 90's.

I cannot disguise my contempt for political officials and councils who in their wisdom have helped heap a whole lot of misery on those who own\ do not own property and not withstanding the impact on the environment.

Finally until immigration\EU free movement can be discussed without some brainless idiot shouting your a racist then these additional people will continue to require housing. Basically most councils are run in a pathetic way with a huge take in council tax but little in return most of them would be unemployable in the private sector and yet they make important strategic decisions on housing whilst being sweet talked by some nice developer.. Often consultation exercises are reduced to little more than a sham.

Solution
emmigrate

You took the words out of my mouth, Unhappy Renter. My husband and I are in the same boat as you, although we worked out the figures for the government homebuy and shared ownership schemes and they do more harm than good. I am feeling so much resentment right now. We have no help from family (like it seems everyone else in this country seems to have). And it's hard to see people all around you that bought their house a long time ago when prices were a much smaller percentage of income. It doesn't feel fair, does it? I think instead the government should provide more cheap renting accomodation, I mean REALLY cheap so we have a chance to save up for a proper deposit, otherwise we'll always be chasing the rising rates and never win. It feels terrible, and it makes landlords seem greedy, so you secretly hate them. They own one or several houses and you have none but like a vassal you pay for their ownership. It's medieval really. I wish you guys the best.

it's a difficult situation to be in and there are plenty of people in the same boat. there's nothing we can do but ride it out and keep saving as much we can for as long as we can.

I'm so fed up with reading comments such as 'the key is a large deposit' (Bloated Womble) Gee how helpful Mr Womble, thanks for sharing your valuable research with us all. In case you didn't notice the article is about NOT BEING ABLE TO AFFORD A DEPOSIT. idiot...

Mary, I will tell you what I think, all people who live in "nice" council accomodation, who haven't paid rent or council tax for the last five years without good reason, should be forcibly moved to the less popular empty run down council accomodation, preferably apartment's,

Then ex-forces people, working people, should be given the better accomodation.

But as this country is back to front-inside out, it would never happen, we workers are mugs.

Mary,

Considering the quality of your writing I am amazed to learn that you attend a university. If your dissertation is to be published it will need someone with more skill than you to make it intelligible to the public.

Ask yourself again what is the "real" price of a house.

For the past 40 years there been some "stability" in the market where a "house" had somthing like an intrinsic market value in itself, an "objective" value. For example you could walk down a street and say that that house, pointing at it, is worth £500,000.

That has all gone. Nowadays the price of a house has much more to do with the urgency that the seller has to rid themelves of it which can include

a) having to move urgently
b) mortgage foreclosure
c) having to pay inheritance tax

and so on.

The money, the cash is required on the nail.

Because the "objective" value of a house has gone and gone for good, house prices generally in this country will fall and fall, and fall.

My prediction for the future: forget owning a house, it won't be worth it. Those who own house today will lose more than half their wealth over the next 10 years.

40 years from now people will be writing about the house proce bubble that lasted 40 years, and laughing at their ancestors' stupidity.

Hi guys,

Ive been reading all you have been saying and it is true. I am about to write a dissertation which is likely to be published and considered if I really meet the needs of the public. I am a UK citizen as well and dont have a house to my name. At the amount of salary the average british man earns, he is still unable to afford a house. Even if I get a job worth £50,000 a year, I cant afford a 1 bedroom flat which will cost around £160,000. What the government does is allow us to go into debt by taking out a mortgage and we end up paying twice the amount. With all the job losses, I dont blame the poeple for not being able to repay their mortgage. Do you think the prices of houses is too much? I certainly do. but why is it that high? cos the supply of land for property in the UK is fixed? in the UK, only about 8% of the land is built on. there is soo much land to build so many properties, reduce the price of properties and then everyone will be able to afford a house without being in debt. what do you guys think?

Fed up with the system, "house those who only work", yes I agree with that, and it ought to be the same with voting, people who could, but haven't worked, or paid tax for 10 or 20 years shouldn't be able to vote, that way, a certain party wouldn't be able to tout for their vote.

I am in the same situation as you, I am also on the housing register but am on the lowest band therefore have been told that I have no chance of getting a property.
I privately rent and I struggle all the time to come up with the rent.
The government should be more empathic towards our situation and house those who only work, not these 16yrs kids who get pregnant to get a place or imigrants.