What happens when people have the funds to buy their dream houses and the market – or government just cannot provide these houses? Chaos! The recovery of nations from the global economic meltdown presents a new challenge for the housing market in the U.K. I am not saying everybody would have ready funds or mortgage facilities to buy, but the deficit in new houses being constructed each year is quite alarming.
I stumbled on a recent report by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors which shows that there is a shortage of 80,000+ houses yearly. Now consider these facts: many people are opting for buying instead of letting; many others want to be landlords – at least for the first time; the U.K is becoming a choice destination for business and leisure; influx of foreigners into U.K universities; relaxed mortgage regime; and of course the coming of the Olympic Games in 2012.
Place all these pieces together and you’ll easily see why people are in a rush to get their own homes as soon as possible. There are indeed several options proffered by all kinds of experts as the true solution to this problem.
As far as I am concerned, ingenuity and a deliberate attempt to stem the tides of traditional housing problems that plague the U.K is the way to go. Some of these problems are: long term shortage of housing, volatile prices – booms and busts in prices, and shortage of mortgage lending among many others.
Modern methods of building using recycled materials and innovative structural design not only save time, it drastically reduces cost and improves efficiency and the general lifespan and flexibility of the house.
The U.K Town Planning department must shift its focus from “just supplying” accommodation to providing functional, cost-effective, and durable housing units for the crowd waiting to open the doors to their newly acquired homes.
To do so, the challenges identified in the delivery of housing of quality, quantity, environmental sustainability and affordability must be tackled head-on. To avoid the imminent chaos and loss of valuable tax income to the government, the time to start is right now!
