Falling house sales mean young people will struggle to get on housing ladder, says TUC

Responding to new Land Registry figures published today (Thursday) that show the volume of house sales has been falling sharply, with the January total 18 per cent lower than the previous year, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“The need to put down high deposits, combined with a slow growth in wages, has left an indelible mark on would-be home owners who are being pushed into the poorly regulated private sector.

“The next government will need to tackle the housing shortage that has hit both private ownership and social housing.

“Secure, well-paid jobs are certainly part of the solution but they must be combined with affordable housing if would-be buyers, especially first-time buyers, are to realise their dreams of owning their own homes.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The Land Registry for England and Wales is a government agency that registers all property transactions. Their monthly statistics are the most inclusive, because they include the significant number of homes that are bought without mortgage finance. The latest statistics on house sales volumes show 2014 starting well, but from November 2014 sales have continually been lower than those recorded in the comparable month a year earlier.

The latest data shows the volume of sales in England and Wales falling from 65,175 in January 2014 to 53,168, a drop of 18 per cent.

The figures also show a 5.3 per cent price increase in the year to March 2015, although it is driven by above averages rises in London (11.3 per cent), the south-east (10.1 per cent) and the East of England (8.4 per cent). The number of first time buyers fell by 16 per cent in the past year (source: Council of Mortgage Lenders).

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk
- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews