House prices out of reach
Average West Sussex home remains out of reach for many
as Chichester named least affordable area in the South
East
The economic climate is doing little to help West Sussex
families looking for their own home, with affordability still a
huge problem here according to a new report published on 11
November.
The National Housing Federation’s
‘South East Home Truths’ was launched at a special reception at
the Jubilee Rooms at the Palace of Westminster. Hosted by North
West Hampshire MP, the Right Honourable Sir George Young, the event
is being attended by a number of other South East MPs. They will be
joined by representatives from housing associations, the Tenant
Services Authority, Homes and Communities Agency and local
authorities.
The Federation’s report clearly highlights the
ever increasing need for more affordable housing in the county as
well as the wider region. The average house price for West Sussex
in 2008 (£262,089) stood at 13 times the average (median)
individual income (£20,129), with even homes in the lowest quartile
costing an average of £170,000. West Sussex also boasts the single
least affordable area in the South East region (Chichester).
Broken down by affordability, a ‘league table’
for West Sussex shows the Chichester as the least affordable part
of the county and Crawley the most affordable:
·
Chichester: £340,063 average house price (20.7 x £16,463 average
income)
· Adur:
£213,576 average house price (13 x £16,479 average income)
· Arun:
£235,213 average house price (12.9 x £18,299 average income)
· Mid
Sussex: £294,713 average house price (12.5 x £23,530 average
income)
· Horsham:
£306,535 average house price (12.3 x £24,913 average income)
·
Worthing: £210,204 average house price (11.1 x £18,964 average
income)
· Crawley:
£209,724 average house price (10.4 x £20,223 average income)
NB: The affordability ratio is the house price
divided by individual average income.
It’s not surprising then that people are
turning to social housing, with over 17,000 (17,226) households in
West Sussex on waiting lists – an increase of 60% in the last five
years.
The situation is exacerbated in rural parts of
the region where homes cost nearly 14 times local incomes on
average, increasingly pricing younger people out of the communities
in which they grew up or have families.
In addition, the South East has seen the
largest increase in the number of second homes in the country, up
by 25% to nearly 44,750 in 2008. These present a significant
challenge to the local economy - testing the viability of many
local shops and services to breaking point. Again, Chichester comes
out top of the list, with second homes at over 5.3%. Next in line
are Arun with 2.2% and Worthing with 1%.
The National Housing Federation is calling on
the government to:
· Increase
public investment to support the building of new high quality
social housing
· Make
public land available to affordable housing providers at discounted
rates
· Compel
the nationalised banks to make mortgage funds available for shared
ownership
· Ensure
local housing authorities assess housing need in all rural areas
every three years and publish an action plan to deliver affordable
homes.
Warren Finney, South East Regional Manager for
the National Housing Federation said: “While we’ve been pleased to
see the Government putting more cash into affordable housing, it’s
vital that high levels of funding are maintained if we’re to avoid
a housing crisis in the future.”
“Given the current state of the economy, where
we are seeing increasing unemployment and repossessions, combined
with a growing population and rises in overcrowding, home
ownership’s just a dream for thousands of low-to-middle income
households in the South East. The solution has got to be to invest
in more high quality homes for social rent now, before prices begin
to shoot up again.”
“Housing is at the heart of the solution to
economic recovery, and the Government must ensure it remains a
funding priority, enabling the region’s housing associations - who
build the majority of affordable homes here – to deliver the high
quality affordable housing we so desperately need.”
Keith Exford, Group Chief Executive of
Affinity Sutton, who are developing 750 net zero carbon footprint
homes with partner Galliford Try at the former Graylingwell
Hospital site in Chichester - 40 per cent of which will be
affordable, said: “Affinity Sutton is one of the largest not
for profit landlords in the south east and the biggest provider of
new affordable homes in the region. Even though we made over 1100
new lettings in the region last year [over 400 in West Sussex], the
scale of housing demand revealed in ‘Home Truths’ shows that we are
doing no more than scratching the surface of unmet need.”
“We have the commitment and capacity to do so
much more to help those on waiting lists to find a decent
affordable home and we are ready to use our resources and private
borrowing to stretch any public money the government can make
available. Housing investment is good for local communities and
good for the national economy.”