I work as a Building Society as a Manager in the Manchester area. I believe that the problems with the housing market have been coming for a very long time. We now live in the perverse situation where property is unaffordable to many, due to huge investments from BTL (Buy-to-Let) investors, sucking up properties when they are "off-plan!" securing properties when they are cheapest and when FTB (First time buyers) can't. This demand has pushed the prices up coupled with homeowners greed. The local authorities have been quite happy as this has taken the strain off them for building social housing. This has been a manageable situation whilst the economy was booming and people could afford the rents. What is happening now is not only are renters facing higher costs in food fuel etc, their landlords who have to pay mortgages which are heading up (due to yet again greed - but of banks - a greed which was wiped billions of their balance sheets which the consumer is now paying for) so when people start to become unable to pay their rents and are evicted where will they go, is there enough social housing in the system to cope? No there isn't!
Interest rates will rise this year and this will only serve to hurt the poor, the rich will benefit from greater returns on their cash, whilst the poor will continue to struggle.
Pretty much pathetic outlook for the majority. And to think Capitalism was meant to save us all....
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