A BCU academic has highlighted the challenges currently facing the housing market, including the ever-rising house prices, in a new book.
Posted 14 March 2022
Seeking solutions to the housing crisis
Dr Steve McCabe, Associate Professor at the Centre for Brexit Studies, has co-authored Stop House Prices Rising! – The Essential First Fix for the Broken Housing Market alongside Conall Boyle.
The book, out now, focuses on how to stop house prices rising faster, especially when compared to the average income of working people.
Within the book, Boyle and McCabe propose a number of far-reaching, innovative and hugely significant solutions.
“There are many things wrong with housing in the UK – they are some of the smallest in Europe, they’re poorly built and the vast majority are unable to cope well with climate change,” Steve explains.
“There’s universal agreement that the British housing market is broken and urgently needs fixing.
“However, while house-prices keep rising these problems will worsen. Rising prices makes almost any kind of home unaffordable, even those for those on average incomes.”
Addressing the current housing situation
The book looks into a number of proposed solutions, including the potential of replacing council tax and stamp duty with a standard rate across the country.
“Since the price of houses, especially in high-priced areas, is predominantly based on plot value, this campaign advocates taxing away plot-venues,” Steve explains.
“With sufficient political support, this could commence within a year. The effect on house prices would be immediate.”
In the meantime, however, the book states that housing prices will inevitably continue to rise, with a potential financial crisis set to emerge.
“Recent purchasers may find the costs of their mortgage rise dramatically there may be a return to the grim days of the mid 1990s when negative equity and repossessions were prominent,” Steve says.
