BSA responds to the Redfern Review
The Building Societies Association responds to the Redfern Review.
As we consistently find through our consumer research, the biggest barrier facing home buyers is their ability to raise a deposit. The size of that is related to the price of homes; and prices are pushed up by a lack of supply in the face of increasing demand. Generally the issue is not that home buyers can’t afford their mortgage payments, particularly now when rates are at a record low. We see the primary issue as affordability. This is increasingly stretched whether individuals and families are housed in social housing, private rented accommodation or opt for home ownership. House price inflation is underpinned, at least in part, by decades of underbuilding and decades of failure by successive Governments to address this undersupply through a coherent housing strategy.
We know the private sector house-builder’s capacity is around 120,000 to 130,000 per year so diversity in housing supply to plug the huge gap between this figure and the 250,000 plus new homes needed each year does require Local Authority to start to build at volume. We cannot continue to rely on the incumbent large house builders.
