Housing system branded '˜broken' as property values rise £28 per day

A leading homeless charity has condemned the 'broken' housing system after new research found that the average home in Britain added £28 per day to its value during 2017.

Average house prices were found to have increased by £9,652 across the year

Director of Shelter Scotland Graeme Brown said the research conduced by the property website Zoopla was “really bad news” for first time buyers.

Zoopla found that Scotland saw the most dramatic growth in property values when compared with the rest of the UK.

Property values in Scotland have increased by 8.44 per cent over the past year to reach an average of £191,915, according to Zoopla’s calculations.

In England, average values have increased by 3.21 per cent to reach £328,380.

In Wales, a typical home is now worth 2.94 per cent more than at the start of the year, at £185,378. The north-east of England is the only region where average property values were found to be lower than in January, with a 0.35 per cent decrease.

The residential property market is now valued at a total of £8.29 trillion, marking a rise of 3.5 per cent or £280 billion since the start of the year, Zoopla found.

It analysed property data between 1 January and 12 December and found that average values had increased by £9,652 - equating to £28 per day.

Mr Brown said: “Rising house prices on this level are really bad news for most first-time buyers trying to get on the property ladder. They are symptomatic of our broken housing system where demand outstrips supply and home-ownership is pushed further out of reach for people on low incomes and even those on average incomes.

“We need a housing system that delivers truly affordable housing for everyone – a system not based on ever-increasing house prices. We certainly don’t want to go back to the days of boom and bust which caused misery for tens of thousands of families in Scotland.

“The key to Scotland having an effective housing system is to ensure that enough truly affordable homes of the right sort are built in places where people want to live. Then, and only then, will we have the conditions to create a fairer housing system that works for everyone in Scotland.”

Lawrence Hall, a spokesman for Zoopla, said the property market had “proved its resilience” in the face of Brexit uncertainty, adding: “Though good news for homeowners, this continued growth does pose ongoing affordability challenges to those trying to get their foot on the first rung of the property ladder.”