The Housing Rachet Racket

“Our conclusion is that UK residential property appears unattractive as an investment. Prices appear to have been bid up by investors seeking ‘safe havens’ to preserve their wealth given record low interest rates. However, the UK residential property market is far from risk-free.” --Coutts [The Queen's Bank]. via HousePriceCrash.

There's a fundamental problem when investors are buying houses to rent out, but in doing so the force the prices of houses up. This makes housing less affordable, forcing more people to rent. Since prices are high, rents are high. But prices are only high because of speculators... and so on.

The figures we hear about how many houses are needed in this country beggar believe. And in the meantime speculators are beggaring those who were previously merely poor.

On Maslow's hierarchy of needs shelter comes at the first level along with clothing, food and other basic requirements for human survival. How did we get to the situation where some people make a living gambling on the basic survival requirements of other people?

Of course in a fairer world more demand would drive more house building. But investment in new housing is chronically low, probably because of the massive over-indebtedness of the private sector, and the high interest rates (wrt to inflation) being charged by the banks. So we not able to meet demand, and this also puts upward pressure on housing. And not only that but our population is rising quite fast.

It's not simply that something must give, it's that something is giving and it is the poorest people in our society being forced into poverty. Well, I call it a society, but that is something of a misnomer isn't it? In our "society" it's every man for himself, and devil take the hindmost. Which is in fact barbarism.

There is a quiet civil war going on in Britain. One group are raiding and pillaging. One group are helplessly being pillaged.  The victims are a vast majority. Sometimes they called themselves "the 99%", and the other side "the 1%". We could all just band together and say NO! I'm no advocate for communism, but the government has a duty to protect it's citizens from hostile forces. The people taking our money and our homes are hostile forces. The government are failing in their duty of care, only they can act to stop the war, by legislating.

We all need to go and see our MPs and tell them face to face that they have to do something differently. Don't just write, as the get dozens of emails every day. Make and appointment and meet them. Tell them that there is no trickle down effect, that speculators and gamblers are robbing us. If enough of take this small action, then we might start to make a difference.