Renting in London or buying a property elsewhere

Owning a home is the dream of many people all over the UK, who are currently trapped in the rental market.

New figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the UK house prices surged by 11.7 per cent in the year to August 2014 and they are increasing strongly across the country, with prices in London showing the highest growth once again.

Besides, the amount of money paid by first-time buyers in August were 12.9 per cent higher, on average, than they did a year before.

In England and Wales the average cost of a home is £272,000, while Londoners who want to get on the property ladder have to pay £514,00 on average, with most properties standing well above the £210,00 price of a starter home.

Not surprisingly, in most cases only a six figures salary can guarantee a mortgage to secure a home in the capital. Yet, the average London wage is £33,000.

No wonder that there has been an increase of 50 per cent of rented households over the past five years, according to data released by the English House Bulletin.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who addressed housing issues at MIPIM UK on October 15, said:

“ There is a deep and understandable sense of social  injustice because the cost of a home, the most basic of human needs, seems to recede beyond people’s reach.

“The real solution to the problem is to build hundreds of thousands more homes, beautiful homes, family homes (…),  homes that are affordable for all Londoners and I am very proud (…) as we have not only build so far a record number of affordable homes (…). This year we will build more homes in London than in any year since 1980”.

Being more specific about the number of houses to be built in the future, Mr Johnson unveiled a plan to deliver 500 thousand new homes for London in the next ten years, including town centre regeneration projects.

However, during  a more recent meeting of the London Assembly, that took place last Wednesday, the Mayor of London revealed that his target of March 2015 for completing 55,000 affordable new homes would not be met. Instead, the likely date for completion would be the end of next year.