High net immigration since 2020 has added £15,270 to the price of the average English home, according to new research from the Centre for Policy Studies. Add that to the tally of problems accumulated thanks to the surge…
Had net migration been kept to the tens of thousands since 2020, the average house would cost £275,650 rather than £290,920, 5.2% cheaper. With zero net migration, the gap rises to £19,370…
The CPS purports that this migration-driven demand explains why house prices held up despite high interest rates, when forecasters expected them to fall. The numbers in the report explain that 1.1 million homes were built in England between 2021 and 2025, and homes per 1,000 people still fell from 441 to 439. London has 422 homes per 1,000 people against a Western European average of 545…
Meanwhile, Angela Rayner has rebranded Labour’s manifesto 300,000-a-year pledge as a “stretch target.” Report author Ben Hopkinson said today:
“That is money straight out of the pockets of first-time buyers and renters, and it helps explain why house prices have stayed so stubbornly high even as interest rates rose… Planning and migration have both contributed enormously to the housing crisis we currently find ourselves in.”
Double trouble…
Kemi Badenoch at the 1922-ConHome bash last night:
“I did praise [Burnham] for his stamina, it was amazing. All I had to do was sit back and lie there. I didn’t have to do anything at all…”