A majority (54%) of British homeowners would be happy if their own home did not rise in value in the next ten years if it meant houses were more affordable for those who don’t own property, according to YouGov polling commissioned for a new report on Britain’s housing crisis, published today by research and campaign group Positive Money.
The report, ‘Banking on property’, debunks the dominant narrative that inflated house prices are primarily the result of a failure to build enough homes. Rather, the authors argue that the rapid house price growth of recent decades has been driven by the transformation of homes into financial assets, through a loosening of financial regulation and monetary policy, as well as wider policy changes such as tax incentives, right to buy and the deregulation of the private rental market.
Positive Money’s YouGov polling indicates that the majority of the British public – including a majority of homeowners – are in favour of bold reform. As well as most homeowners being happy for house prices not to increase:
Two-thirds of Britons (66%) support the Bank of England being given a target to keep house price inflation low and stable in the same way it does consumer price inflation
— source positivemoney.org | Chloe Musto | 31 Mar 2022
