For several decades now, Britain has been heading towards an enormous economic iceberg. And, instead of changing course or stopping to properly assess the danger, some politicians looked the other way while others, somewhat unfathomably, accelerated towards it.
That iceberg is Britain’s housing market.
And now, the eminent and reputable Building Societies Association (BSA) has issued a stark warning: if nothing changes, by 2050, the dividing line between homeowners who have financial security and everyone else in this country will be as sharp as it is stark.
Through the 1990s and early 2000s, homeownership rose steadily, peaking at almost 70 per cent of the population. After the financial crisis, it declined. This was particularly the case amongst younger adults who no longer met strict mortgage requirements, including the need for large deposits and high incomes, as house prices rose to historic highs.
So serious is the situation now that the BSA’s new report – Finance for a Fairer Future – is raising the red flag that Britain’s housing crisis is now a major threat to the “financial resilience” of the country as a whole. This might sound shocking, but it should not come as a shock. The writing has been on the wall for some time now.
