North West
HOME TRUTHS 2012
The housing market in north west England
North West
More homes would boost our local economy We are simply not building enough homes in the North West. This lack of homes is affecting the lives of young people and families and holding back the regional economy. The shortage of new homes keeps house prices high and pushes up mortgage deposit costs, even as the economy suffers and wages stay the same. With people unable to buy their own home, more people are being pushed into the private rented sector, which in turn is driving up rents to increasingly unaffordable levels. And as costs soar in the private rented market, more pressure is heaped on the limited supply of social rented housing. The Government’s latest measures to speed up new development and reduce the unacceptable volume of empty homes are helpful but more needs to be done. Building more homes would tackle the growing housing crisis in the North West and kick-start the regional economy. It would help combat the high levels of unemployment, poverty and deprivation in north west towns and cities. Housing creates jobs and kick-starts the economy in a way no other industry can.
What the Government should do The Government and the whole housing industry need to take a long-term view, tackling the market difficulties with a joined-up approach. Addressing the lack of houses – the supply shortage – is crucial to ensure we have a healthy, sustainable, affordable housing market across all tenures (home ownership, private rent and social housing) 2 | Home Truths 2012
HOME TRUTHS 2012 that strengthens the economy in the North West and meets people’s aspirations rather than defeats them. Housing associations are ready and able to play their part and deliver more homes. The Government has recently put in place some welcome, important short-term measures, including a debt guarantee. But now broader, long-term solutions are needed. Housing associations could do much more if there was a ready supply of public land available to build on, if they had more certainty over rent levels after 2015 so they could raise the additional finance needed to build, and if red tape preventing them from using their homes and other assets flexibly and productively was cut.
To stem the urgent housing shortage, the National Housing Federation calls for: ■ The rapid release of publicly owned land to housing associations so they can build homes. For the quickest economic impact the Government must immediately release small parcels of brownfield sites, which can be delivered more quickly than larger sites. Each of these could be capable of delivering up to 100 new homes. Based on the Government’s own data1, we have already identified land equivalent to three towns the size of Blackpool that could be built on. ■ The Government should provide certainty on its long-term plans for investing in social housing. Currently housing associations are struggling to plan beyond 2015, when the current programme ends. Home Truths 2012 | 3
North West
Without certainty that there will be Government support for new homes, it is too high risk for housing associations to commit to new development. The Government could create some certainty by retaining the present rental formula for housing associations until 2020, allowing them to commit to delivering new homes in the future. ■ The Government must also cut red tape to allow housing associations to unleash their entrepreneurial skills. For example housing associations need more freedom to be innovative in the use of their assets and their ability to raise finance. The flexibility to take an imaginative approach would allow housing associations to build more homes. ■ We know people want more homes built, and we need to encourage their voices to be heard above those of the NIMBYs. Public support for more homes is vital. That’s why we’ve launched our new campaign, Yes to Homes. Visit www.yestohomes.co.uk to join the campaign.
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HOME TRUTHS 2012
The evidence ■ Only 9,600 new homes were built in the North West in 2011/12, providing homes for just 44% of the 22,000 new households expected to form in the region each year.2 ■ A 25% deposit on the average home in the region costs £38,704, twice the average regional salary. The cost of a mortgage deposit has increased 400% in 10 years.3 ■ House prices in the North West have risen more than 3.5 times faster than earnings over the past 10 years.4,5 ■ Social housing waiting lists have grown faster in the North West than anywhere else in the country in the last 10 years.2 ■ Private sector rents are expected to rise by 46% in the North West over the next 10 years.6 ■ The North West has nearly 131,000 empty homes, over 30,000 more than any other region and the highest proportion of vacant stock in the country.2
Sources 1. National Land Use Database 2. Communities and Local Government (CLG) statistics 3. National Housing Federation research, using Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), Tenant Services Authority (TSA), Land Registry, CLG statistics, or Valuation Office Agency Rent Officers data for year ending 31 March 2012 4. Land Registry data, 2001 and 2011 5. Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics 2001 and 2011 6. Housing Market Analysis for the National Housing Federation, Oxford Economics, August 2012
Home Truths 2012 | 5
North West
Average (mean) house prices 2011¹
Average (median) incomes 2011²
Gross annual income needed for a mortgage (75% at 3.5x)1
Ratio of house prices to incomes1,2
Total local authority homes 2011³
Total housing association homes 20114
£236,518 £154,816 £111,322 £106,317 £217,802 £190,825 £133,749 £182,345 £162,414 £157,335 £111,299 £140,596 £129,862 £201,968 £224,506 £148,988 £127,195 £141,968 £145,126 £120,027 £122,854 £127,602 £186,251 £121,091 £244,720 £120,551 £148,165 £89,240 £166,989 £193,196 £96,785 £145,463 £106,389 £132,708 £223,195 £130,203 £154,900 £191,277 £158,644 £142,461 £116,190 £128,093 £119,907 £159,461 £163,091
£21,346 £19,432 £17,066 £15,267 £20,623 £20,483 £19,365 £20,961 £17,732 £17,399 £19,386 £17,586 £16,032 £14,997 £18,756 £19,438 £18,086 £21,793 £18,309 £18,205 £19,344 £18,928 £21,419 £18,876 £22,584 £19,573 £19,250 £18,424 £20,301 £21,549 £18,148 £18,803 £17,872 £17,264 £22,339 £18,387 £20,030 £21,684 £18,096 £19,989 £20,166 £19,344 £20,296 £20,290 £20,124
£50,682 £33,175 £23,855 £22,782 £46,672 £40,891 £28,661 £39,074 £34,803 £33,715 £23,850 £30,128 £27,828 £43,279 £48,108 £31,926 £27,256 £30,422 £31,098 £25,720 £26,326 £27,343 £39,911 £25,948 £52,440 £25,832 £31,750 £19,123 £35,783 £41,399 £20,740 £31,171 £22,798 £28,437 £47,828 £27,901 £33,193 £40,988 £33,995 £30,527 £24,898 £27,449 £25,694 £34,170 £34,948
11.1 8.0 6.5 7.0 10.6 9.3 6.9 8.7 9.2 9.0 5.7 8.0 8.1 13.5 12.0 7.7 7.0 6.5 7.9 6.6 6.4 6.7 8.7 6.4 10.8 6.2 7.7 4.8 8.2 9.0 5.3 7.7 6.0 7.7 10.0 7.1 7.7 8.8 8.8 7.1 5.8 6.6 5.9 7.9 8.1
1,725,905 113,388 1 5,257 86 5,637 40 37 5,917 3 2,711 24 0 0 3,179 86,266 0 8,386 17,444 1,782 13,709 10,571 11,585 0 0 22,789 10,075 0 0 0 5 3,807 0 0 4 0 0 6,259 0 72 0 72 0 0 0
2,319,386 465,178 11,379 2,066 18,459 16,241 13,752 14,022 26,562 8,553 810 7,393 6,224 2,340 1,242 175,635 25,420 4,320 51,980 18,707 7,515 21,098 5,781 21,678 15,888 3,248 52,534 5,791 5,895 2,435 4,863 2,131 4,558 10,925 1,841 4,576 4,992 944 3,583 134,528 17,997 58,041 17,282 18,727 22,481
ENGLAND NORTH WEST Blackburn with Darwen UA Blackpool UA Cheshire East UA Cheshire West & Chester UA Halton UA Warrington UA Cumbria Allerdale Barrow-in-Furness Carlisle Copeland Eden South Lakeland Greater Manchester Bolton Bury Manchester Oldham Rochdale Salford Stockport Tameside Trafford Wigan Lancashire Burnley Chorley Fylde Hyndburn Lancaster Pendle Preston Ribble Valley Rossendale South Ribble West Lancashire Wyre Merseyside Knowsley Liverpool St. Helens Sefton Wirral
Footnotes to tables 1. Land Registry, 2011 2. Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), 2011 3. Communities and Local Government Housing Statistics Live Tables, 2011 and 2012 4. Homes and Communities Agency, Regulatory and Statistical Return, 2011 5. Homes and Communities Agency completions data, 2010/11
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HOME TRUTHS 2012 All new housing association homes completed with HCA funding 2010/115 49,196 4,120 116 227 201 293 161 215 316 27 62 124 41 23 39 1,318 166 36 253 54 164 256 86 49 103 151 450 42 72 114 23 27 11 5 30 32 23 29 42 823 145 194 72 207 205
Change in affordable housing stock (housing association and local authority) 2006-113,4 19,220 12,190 82 131 -113 367 -319 35 -600 -68 -27 -245 -450 95 95 -7,233 -104 -78 -1,796 -1,562 -1,362 -253 -291 -1,248 75 -614 -320 -151 118 168 -38 -67 -98 -164 136 -108 89 -341 136 -4,220 -767 -3,065 -182 -211 5
0% -2% 1% 2% -1% 2% -2% 0% -2% -1% -1% -3% -7% 4% 2% -3% 0% -1% -3% -7% -6% -1% -2% -5% 0% -2% -1% -3% 2% 7% -1% -1% -2% -1% 8% -2% 2% -5% 4% -3% -4% -5% -1% -1% 0%
Households on waiting list 20113
New affordable lettings made by local authorities 2010/113
New affordable lettings made by housing associations 2010/114
1,837,042 233,902 6,359 6,221 8,725 16,079 2,683 10,968 12,430 1,137 1,485 4,257 1,357 1,307 2,887 101,004 26,223 2,648 14,398 6,345 5,017 16,476 6,961 8,786 9,631 4,519 24,766 2,027 851 2,866 4,001 2,204 2,637 2,715 735 2,735 1,644 2,341 10 44,667 1,965 13,977 3,464 9,029 16,232
146,388 15,659 0 700 0 366 0 682 586 0 350 0 0 0 236 12,259 1,496 946 1,921 1,184 2,517 885 1,060 0 0 2,250 1,066 0 0 0 0 359 0 0 0 0 0 707 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
176,660 34,549 1,010 211 1,192 863 1,080 1,449 2,398 855 53 707 499 178 106 11,777 638 313 3,611 792 736 2,021 433 1,823 1,019 391 4,446 561 539 287 327 150 296 990 123 437 426 67 243 10,123 1,584 4,368 1,366 1,290 1,515
Change in affordable lettings (housing association and local authority) 2006-113,4
-22,283 -3,565 -268 -217 -363 -6 -148 948 -134 138 -118 -1 -67 -18 -68 -511 -241 -98 -723 -117 582 -404 66 63 -2 363 -3,000 -100 -191 151 -2,345 -65 -205 24 -46 -56 58 -136 -89 134 410 89 54 -215 -204
-6.5% -6.6% -21.0% -19.2% -23.3% -0.5% -12.1% 80.1% -4.3% 19.2% -22.6% -0.1% -11.8% -9.2% -16.6% -2.1% -10.1% -7.2% -11.6% -5.6% 21.8% -12.2% 4.6% 3.6% -0.2% 15.9% -35.2% -15.1% -26.2% 111.0% -87.8% -11.3% -40.9% 2.5% -27.2% -11.4% 15.8% -14.9% -26.8% 1.3% 34.9% 2.1% 4.1% -14.3% -11.9%
Note The facts in this booklet use the latest available official government statistical sources at the time of going to print. In some areas, the National Housing Federation has carried out additional analysis to draw out the social and economic implications of the figures. The commentary is our own. Some of this data is Š Crown copyright.
Home Truths 2012 | 7
National Housing Federation City Point 701 Chester Road Manchester M32 0RW Tel: 0161 848 8132 Email: north@housing.org.uk Website: www.housing.org.uk
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The National Housing Federation is the voice of affordable housing in England. We believe that everyone should have the home they need at a price they can afford. That’s why we represent the work of housing associations and campaign for better housing. Our members provide two and a half million homes for more than five million people. And each year they invest in a diverse range of neighbourhood projects that help create strong, vibrant communities.
The National Housing Federation runs iN business for neighbourhoods in partnership with members to promote the neighbourhood work of housing associations.