It’s hard to imagine the housing crisis getting much worse. But according to the front page of today’s Times, the prospect of buying one’s first home may get pushed even further out of reach.
According to the newspaper, officials in No.10 and the Treasury are working on plans to revive ‘Help to Buy’. This was the supposedly ‘affordable’ housing scheme which enabled first-time buyers to purchase a property with a 5 per cent deposit and access an equity loan from the government worth up to 40 per cent of the property, paid back interest-free for five years. Help to Buy came to an end in March, but it’s been briefed that Rishi Sunak may be considering a new version of the scheme for the Conservatives’ next election manifesto in a bid to offer wannabe homeowners a glimmer of hope for getting on the housing ladder.
There is no solution to the current housing crisis that does not include building a significant number of new properties
Goodness knows serious action is needed.
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