North West

HOME TRUTHS 2012The housing market in north west England

2 | Home Truths 2012

More homes would boost our local economyWe are simply not building enough homes in the North West.This lack of homes is affecting the lives of young people andfamilies and holding back the regional economy.

The shortage of new homes keeps house prices high andpushes up mortgage deposit costs, even as the economysuffers and wages stay the same. With people unable tobuy their own home, more people are being pushed intothe private rented sector, which in turn is driving up rentsto increasingly unaffordable levels. And as costs soar inthe private rented market, more pressure is heaped on thelimited supply of social rented housing.

The Government’s latest measures to speed up newdevelopment and reduce the unacceptable volume ofempty homes are helpful but more needs to be done.Building more homes would tackle the growing housingcrisis in the North West and kick-start the regionaleconomy. It would help combat the high levels ofunemployment, poverty and deprivation in north westtowns and cities. Housing creates jobs and kick-starts the economy in a way no other industry can.

What the Government should doThe Government and the whole housing industry need totake a long-term view, tackling the market difficultieswith a joined-up approach. Addressing the lack of houses– the supply shortage – is crucial to ensure we have ahealthy, sustainable, affordable housing market across alltenures (home ownership, private rent and social housing)

North West

Home Truths 2012 | 3

that strengthens the economy in the North West andmeets people’s aspirations rather than defeats them.

Housing associations are ready and able to play their partand deliver more homes. The Government has recentlyput in place some welcome, important short-termmeasures, including a debt guarantee. But now broader,long-term solutions are needed.

Housing associations could do much more if there was aready supply of public land available to build on, if theyhad more certainty over rent levels after 2015 so theycould raise the additional finance needed to build, and ifred tape preventing them from using their homes andother assets flexibly and productively was cut.

To stem the urgent housing shortage, the NationalHousing Federation calls for:

■ The rapid release of publicly owned land to housingassociations so they can build homes. For thequickest economic impact the Government mustimmediately release small parcels of brownfield sites,which can be delivered more quickly than larger sites.Each of these could be capable of delivering up to 100new homes. Based on the Government’s own data1,we have already identified land equivalent to threetowns the size of Blackpool that could be built on.

■ The Government should provide certainty on its long-term plans for investing in social housing.Currently housing associations are struggling to planbeyond 2015, when the current programme ends.

HOME TRUTHS 2012

4 | Home Truths 2012

Without certainty that there will be Governmentsupport for new homes, it is too high risk for housingassociations to commit to new development. TheGovernment could create some certainty by retainingthe present rental formula for housing associationsuntil 2020, allowing them to commit to delivering newhomes in the future.

■ The Government must also cut red tape to allowhousing associations to unleash their entrepreneurialskills. For example housing associations need more freedom to be innovative in the use of their assets and their ability to raise finance. The flexibility to take an imaginative approach would allow housingassociations to build more homes.

■ We know people want more homes built, and we need to encourage their voices to be heard abovethose of the NIMBYs. Public support for more homesis vital. That’s why we’ve launched our new campaign,Yes to Homes. Visit www.yestohomes.co.uk to join the campaign.

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Home Truths 2012 | 5

The evidence■ Only 9,600 new homes were built in the North West

in 2011/12, providing homes for just 44% of the 22,000new households expected to form in the region each year.2

■ A 25% deposit on the average home in the regioncosts £38,704, twice the average regional salary. The cost of a mortgage deposit has increased 400% in 10 years.3

■ House prices in the North West have risen more than 3.5 times faster than earnings over the past 10 years.4,5

■ Social housing waiting lists have grown faster in theNorth West than anywhere else in the country in thelast 10 years.2

■ Private sector rents are expected to rise by 46% in the North West over the next 10 years.6

■ The North West has nearly 131,000 empty homes, over 30,000 more than any other region and thehighest proportion of vacant stock in the country.2

HOME TRUTHS 2012

Sources1. National Land Use Database2. Communities and Local Government (CLG) statistics3. National Housing Federation research, using Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), TenantServices Authority (TSA), Land Registry, CLG statistics, or Valuation Office Agency Rent Officersdata for year ending 31 March 20124. Land Registry data, 2001 and 2011 5. Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics 2001 and 20116. Housing Market Analysis for the National Housing Federation, Oxford Economics, August 2012

6 | Home Truths 2012

North West

ENGLAND £236,518 £21,346 £50,682 11.1 1,725,905 2,319,386NORTH WEST £154,816 £19,432 £33,175 8.0 113,388 465,178Blackburn with Darwen UA £111,322 £17,066 £23,855 6.5 1 11,379Blackpool UA £106,317 £15,267 £22,782 7.0 5,257 2,066Cheshire East UA £217,802 £20,623 £46,672 10.6 86 18,459Cheshire West & Chester UA £190,825 £20,483 £40,891 9.3 5,637 16,241Halton UA £133,749 £19,365 £28,661 6.9 40 13,752Warrington UA £182,345 £20,961 £39,074 8.7 37 14,022Cumbria £162,414 £17,732 £34,803 9.2 5,917 26,562Allerdale £157,335 £17,399 £33,715 9.0 3 8,553Barrow-in-Furness £111,299 £19,386 £23,850 5.7 2,711 810Carlisle £140,596 £17,586 £30,128 8.0 24 7,393Copeland £129,862 £16,032 £27,828 8.1 0 6,224Eden £201,968 £14,997 £43,279 13.5 0 2,340South Lakeland £224,506 £18,756 £48,108 12.0 3,179 1,242Greater Manchester £148,988 £19,438 £31,926 7.7 86,266 175,635Bolton £127,195 £18,086 £27,256 7.0 0 25,420Bury £141,968 £21,793 £30,422 6.5 8,386 4,320Manchester £145,126 £18,309 £31,098 7.9 17,444 51,980Oldham £120,027 £18,205 £25,720 6.6 1,782 18,707Rochdale £122,854 £19,344 £26,326 6.4 13,709 7,515Salford £127,602 £18,928 £27,343 6.7 10,571 21,098Stockport £186,251 £21,419 £39,911 8.7 11,585 5,781Tameside £121,091 £18,876 £25,948 6.4 0 21,678Trafford £244,720 £22,584 £52,440 10.8 0 15,888Wigan £120,551 £19,573 £25,832 6.2 22,789 3,248Lancashire £148,165 £19,250 £31,750 7.7 10,075 52,534Burnley £89,240 £18,424 £19,123 4.8 0 5,791Chorley £166,989 £20,301 £35,783 8.2 0 5,895Fylde £193,196 £21,549 £41,399 9.0 0 2,435Hyndburn £96,785 £18,148 £20,740 5.3 5 4,863Lancaster £145,463 £18,803 £31,171 7.7 3,807 2,131Pendle £106,389 £17,872 £22,798 6.0 0 4,558Preston £132,708 £17,264 £28,437 7.7 0 10,925Ribble Valley £223,195 £22,339 £47,828 10.0 4 1,841Rossendale £130,203 £18,387 £27,901 7.1 0 4,576South Ribble £154,900 £20,030 £33,193 7.7 0 4,992West Lancashire £191,277 £21,684 £40,988 8.8 6,259 944Wyre £158,644 £18,096 £33,995 8.8 0 3,583Merseyside £142,461 £19,989 £30,527 7.1 72 134,528Knowsley £116,190 £20,166 £24,898 5.8 0 17,997Liverpool £128,093 £19,344 £27,449 6.6 72 58,041St. Helens £119,907 £20,296 £25,694 5.9 0 17,282Sefton £159,461 £20,290 £34,170 7.9 0 18,727Wirral £163,091 £20,124 £34,948 8.1 0 22,481

Footnotes to tables1. Land Registry, 20112. Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), 20113. Communities and Local Government Housing Statistics Live Tables, 2011 and 20124. Homes and Communities Agency, Regulatory and Statistical Return, 20115. Homes and Communities Agency completions data, 2010/11

Average(mean)

house prices2011¹

Average(median)incomes

2011²

Grossannualincome

needed for a mortgage

(75% at3.5x)1

Ratio ofhouse

prices toincomes1,2

Total local

authorityhomes

2011³

Totalhousing

associationhomes

20114

Home Truths 2012 | 7

HOME TRUTHS 2012

49,196 19,220 0% 1,837,042 146,388 176,660 -22,283 -6.5%4,120 12,190 -2% 233,902 15,659 34,549 -3,565 -6.6%

116 82 1% 6,359 0 1,010 -268 -21.0%227 131 2% 6,221 700 211 -217 -19.2%201 -113 -1% 8,725 0 1,192 -363 -23.3%293 367 2% 16,079 366 863 -6 -0.5%161 -319 -2% 2,683 0 1,080 -148 -12.1%215 35 0% 10,968 682 1,449 948 80.1%316 -600 -2% 12,430 586 2,398 -134 -4.3%

27 -68 -1% 1,137 0 855 138 19.2%62 -27 -1% 1,485 350 53 -118 -22.6%

124 -245 -3% 4,257 0 707 -1 -0.1%41 -450 -7% 1,357 0 499 -67 -11.8%23 95 4% 1,307 0 178 -18 -9.2%39 95 2% 2,887 236 106 -68 -16.6%

1,318 -7,233 -3% 101,004 12,259 11,777 -511 -2.1%166 -104 0% 26,223 1,496 638 -241 -10.1%

36 -78 -1% 2,648 946 313 -98 -7.2%253 -1,796 -3% 14,398 1,921 3,611 -723 -11.6%

54 -1,562 -7% 6,345 1,184 792 -117 -5.6%164 -1,362 -6% 5,017 2,517 736 582 21.8%256 -253 -1% 16,476 885 2,021 -404 -12.2%

86 -291 -2% 6,961 1,060 433 66 4.6%49 -1,248 -5% 8,786 0 1,823 63 3.6%

103 75 0% 9,631 0 1,019 -2 -0.2%151 -614 -2% 4,519 2,250 391 363 15.9%450 -320 -1% 24,766 1,066 4,446 -3,000 -35.2%

42 -151 -3% 2,027 0 561 -100 -15.1%72 118 2% 851 0 539 -191 -26.2%

114 168 7% 2,866 0 287 151 111.0%23 -38 -1% 4,001 0 327 -2,345 -87.8%27 -67 -1% 2,204 359 150 -65 -11.3%11 -98 -2% 2,637 0 296 -205 -40.9%

5 -164 -1% 2,715 0 990 24 2.5%30 136 8% 735 0 123 -46 -27.2%32 -108 -2% 2,735 0 437 -56 -11.4%23 89 2% 1,644 0 426 58 15.8%29 -341 -5% 2,341 707 67 -136 -14.9%42 136 4% 10 0 243 -89 -26.8%

823 -4,220 -3% 44,667 0 10,123 134 1.3%145 -767 -4% 1,965 0 1,584 410 34.9%194 -3,065 -5% 13,977 0 4,368 89 2.1%

72 -182 -1% 3,464 0 1,366 54 4.1%207 -211 -1% 9,029 0 1,290 -215 -14.3%205 5 0% 16,232 0 1,515 -204 -11.9%

Change inaffordable

housing stock(housing

association andlocal authority)

2006-113,4

Householdson waiting

list 20113

Newaffordable

lettingsmade by

localauthorities

2010/113

Newaffordable

lettingsmade byhousing

associations2010/114

Change inaffordable lettings

(housingassociation andlocal authority)

2006-113,4

NoteThe facts in this booklet use the latest available official government statistical sources at the time ofgoing to print. In some areas, the National Housing Federation has carried out additional analysis todraw out the social and economic implications of the figures. The commentary is our own. Some of thisdata is © Crown copyright.

All newhousing

associationhomes

completed withHCA funding

2010/115

National Housing FederationCity Point701 Chester RoadManchester M32 0RW

Tel: 0161 848 8132 Email: north@housing.org.ukWebsite: www.housing.org.uk

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The National Housing Federation is the voice of affordable housing inEngland. We believe that everyone should have the home they need at a price they can afford. That’s why we represent the work of housingassociations and campaign for better housing. Our members providetwo and a half million homes for more than five million people. Andeach year they invest in a diverse range of neighbourhood projects thathelp create strong, vibrant communities.

The National Housing Federation runs iN business for neighbourhoods in partnership withmembers to promote the neighbourhood work of housing associations.