Golf courses use more land than UK homes
EVERY home in England would fit on the same small amount of land we devote to full-sized golf courses, according to a shocking analysis of the UK’s housing shortage.
On estimates from Colin Wiles of Inside Housing and the housing charity Shelter, roughly 1.1 per cent of the country is used on full-size golf courses – the same area the government says is taken up by domestic buildings. Smaller courses mean the full golf footprint is more than twice as large. The finding comes as further figures show house prices driven upward by inadequate supply.
A new survey today by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) shows how demand is rocketing in every part of Great Britain. Last month, 57 per cent more surveyors said prices are climbing than dropping, the highest number since 2002.
In London, the market is especially strong: 100 per cent of surveyors report that prices are on the increase, outstripping even other buoyant regions. The south east was close behind, with 80 per cent more surveyors recording average prices on the rise.
Rics chief economist Simon Rubinsohn said: “The amount of homes currently up for sale is still nowhere near enough to keep up with demand and – in order for the market to function correctly – this imbalance urgently needs to be addressed. Housebuilding starts have picked-up recently but we are still well behind in terms of the amount of properties needed.”