Solving the housing crisis
Housing associations are united by a single purpose – to ensure everyone in the country can live in a quality home that they can afford. We meet shifting housing needs by building more affordable homes and market homes, homes to rent and buy, and essential supported and specialist housing. Last year housing associations in the South West built over 3,000 new homes, and started building over 3,000 more.
In addition, over half (57%) of all new homes started were funded without government investment –that’s because we generate income that doesn’t go to shareholders, so we can reinvest all our profits in homes and communities.
We offer £6 of private investment for every £1 of public money.
Our homes are for everybody – from those most in need, to young people, families and first time buyers, to older and more vulnerable people who may need support. We’ll continue to deliver across the mix to meet changing housing needs.
If you share our sense of purpose, let’s work together to end the housing crisis.
What housing crisis?
The South West faces a combination of high house prices and low wages resulting in an acute housing crisis. With cities, historical towns, many rural communities and long stretches of coast this is a diverse region with pockets of deprivation. This report provides local data on the housing market in the South West and highlights that:
- The average house price is over £256,000 and in some areas it is much higher – house prices in the Cotswolds are almost 50% higher than the regional average
- House prices are more than 10 times the average salary and households would need a pay rise of £33,600 to afford the average home
- The average cost of renting is over £700 a month, swallowing up around 35% of local incomes
- House prices in rural areas are roughly £6,500 higher than in urban areas. At the same time, incomes in these areas are lower, meaning that those living in rural areas face an additional squeeze on their finances
- More than one in five second homes in England are found in the South West
- We aren’t building enough homes in the region. There are 21,000 new households forming each year but less than 19,000 homes were built in 2015