Homes in England are more cramped than those in New York City, according to new analysis that showed UK property offers the worst value for money in the developed world.
The Resolution Foundation found that the UK has the oldest properties in Europe and English homes have less floorspace than many international peers, notably Germany, France and Japan. With 38 square meters on average per person, London homes are even more cramped than those in New York City.
The findings, which also show UK housing costs are also more expensive relative to general prices than in any OECD country, underscore the scale of the housing crisis in Britain. Many younger Britons are struggling to get a foot on the property ladder due to soaring prices, and the issue is rising up the political agenda ahead of an election expected later this year.
“By looking at housing costs, floorspace and wider issues of quality, we find that the UK’s expensive, cramped and aging housing stock offers the worst value for money of any advanced economy,” said Adam Corlett, principal economist at the Resolution Foundation. “Britain’s housing crisis is decades in the making, with successive governments failing to build enough new homes and modernize our existing stock. That now has to change.”
The Resolution Foundation found that if all UK households were “exposed to the full brunt of the housing market, the UK would devote the highest share of overall spending to housing” to every OECD country except Finland.
Some 38% of UK homes were built before 1946, higher than the level of 29% in France, 24% in Germany, 21% in Italy and 11% in Spain. That means British properties by comparison are poorly insulated and come with higher energy bills.
The Battle of Britain during WW2 destroyed a lot of British cities, major ports, and industrial centres, to the point that the rations system continued into the 1950s because the country was broke and rebuilding.
Oh don’t think I was suggesting the UK came out of WWII unscathed. Far from it. However this article is about residential housing. Yes, there were houses destroyed, especially with V1 launches, but most of the bombing were against industrial targets. As you said, ports and industrial centers. Further, Britain never had foreign troops battling on its land in WWI or WWII, which can’t be said for continental Europe.
My point was that residential housing was specifically targeted tactically with the shifting front lines in continental Europe, where that wasn’t the case in the UK.