UK in throes of housing crisis: Poll

The UK is drowning in a severe housing crisis with four in 10 of those who do not own a home saying they can never afford one, a new poll finds.

Sixty-nine percent think the country is “in the throes of a housing crisis” and a staggering 71 percent of aspiring property owners feel they will not be able to purchase a home without financial help from family members, according to a poll conducted for The Observer on attitudes to British housing.

Sixty-Seven percent said they would like to buy their own home “one day,” whereas 37 percent believe they will remain incapable of buying a home for good. Another 26 percent said it will take up to five years for them to have enough money to buy a home.

While there is a shortage of affordable homes, demand for social housing is rising. Over 50 percent said immigration and a glut of foreign investment in UK property are causing prices to soar beyond reach.

Fifty-eight percent of Britons want more, not less, social housing in order to be able to endure the crisis.

The findings came as Prime Minister David Cameron has already pledged to build a property-owning democracy.

Last year and before the general election, Cameron promised that Tory housing policies would transform “generation rent” into “generation buy.”

EA