Report says shortage of homes in London will stunt job growth
LONDON’S housing shortage is set to become severe enough to harm job creation in the capital, a report claimed this morning.
Living conditions will become more cramped with young people forced to stay in the rental market for even longer, according to Cluttons, a group of consultants and chartered surveyors.
“Large increases in demand for London housing over the next decade and beyond will not be matched by a rise in supply,” the report says.
While London is home to even more workers than at the economy’s last peak in 2007, the supply of housing has ground to a halt.
House building is still only at three-quarters of the level it was between 2000 and 2007, it says, even though around 400,000 jobs have been created in London since the turn of the century.
Private renting in the capital has doubled over the past two decades as sky high house prices have prevented workers from taking their first steps onto the property ladder.
“Decision makers have to question whether London’s potential to maintain its position as a world city is being curtailed by such a limited supply of housing stock,” said Cluttons’ Julian Briant. “The answer can only be yes.”
Tony Pidgley of the house-building Berkeley Group argued that 80,000 new jobs could be created by plugging the gap in London’s housing shortfall.
“Eye-watering house prices in London are already putting a huge strain on the cost of living,” added Duncan Stott of Priced Out, a group calling for more affordable housing in the UK.
“The prospect of prices rising even higher is of deep concern to the priced out generation.”