Seniors Sit on the Answer to the UK Housing Shortage

The UK never stops feeling stressed about housing. But things feel worse than usual at the moment — so much so that Housing Secretary Michael Gove thinks the state of the market has put democracy itself in danger. Let high and rising prices put ownership out of the reach of our young, he says, and we create a “barrier to young people feeling that democracy and capitalism are working for them.”

Gove wants Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt to do something big – and to announce that something big in the March 6budget. But what? All the usual ideas are out there. Think: cut in stamp duty, extra taxes on non-resident buyers and subsidized mortgages for first time buyers. Hunt has even discussed an unusually awful plan: 99% mortgages, guaranteed by the taxpayer. This is a terrible idea for one simple reason – just like all previous attempts to help would-be buyers – it increases demand without doing much for supply. That means house prices go even higher, and things get even worse.