UK voters put building more housing at the top of their priority list for the next government in front of 10 other housing issues, according to research by Zoopla and Ipsos.
The joint research found that just a quarter of voters agree with the statement that ‘the political parties pay a lot of attention to housing’.
The main political party manifestos continue to target 300,000 or more homes a year in England, however, this level hasn’t been reached for over 40 years.
Public opinion is divided about how to fund the building of more affordable housing.
Just over two-fifths (41%) support the idea that increased government borrowing should be used to fund this.
However, only a quarter (26%) are willing to see taxes rise to pay for this, raising the question of how and who should support the funding of future home building at a time when the costs of building have been rising but house prices have stalled.
While homeowners and social renters agree that the top priorities for the incoming government should be building more homes, private renters are relatively more likely to attach higher priority to controlling the pace of rent rises and rental reforms.
Other priorities include homelessness and rough sleeping which ranked as the second priority for the next government, chosen by 41%. This was followed by 39% who selected a reduction in the number of empty homes.
Support for first-time buyers (FTBs) featured joint fourth in the list of priorities at 33%, despite this group being the focus of several housing pledges by political parties.
FTBs struggle with the deposit levels to buy a home, often relying on the bank of mum and data for assistance. Even with support for a deposit, the household income to buy for FTBs currently averages £60,600.
Zoopla executive director Richard Donnell says: “British voters have high expectations from a new Government on housing. The overarching response is ‘build more homes, but other things matter too’.”
“People’s experiences and priorities vary based on their position in the market. Renters want more focus on their priorities including raising housing benefit levels and managing the pace of rental growth, while also improving rights and protections. Rent reforms are on the agenda for all parties but managing rental inflation is best achieved by growing supply through new home building as measures to control rents can reduce new investment.”
“It is clear voters are well aware of the pressures on the housing market with reducing homelessness and rough sleeping and doing more to reduce empty and under-utilised homes in the top 3 priorities.”
“Building more homes has the potential to start addressing many of the priorities identified in our survey with Ipsos. We have been getting closer to the 300,000 homes a year level but breaking through will require need a big political push to deliver the homes the nation needs across all housing tenures.”
