The issue of shortage of housing within the UK housing market has reached an urgent level and has been at this level for some time now. Houses cannot be built fast enough to meet the needs of the population who now need and will need housing in the future. Many government programmes have been devised and executed, but the problem remains. This has led many to refer to the housing market as being seriously flawed, and in some cases it has been referred to as broken.

The Central Bank’s chief economist recently spoke out in regard to the housing shortage which now plagues the market and how it can possibly be rectified for future generations of Brits. He referred to the number of houses which need to be built per year (200,000) to make a dent in the issue and stop the bleeding. He believes the increase in housing cost is directly tied to the shortage and little else. 

Andy Haldane commented on the housing shortage in critical terms, saying: "The UK housing market is broken. There is a chronic and accumulated imbalance between demand and supply, and it is that which is sending skyward – and has sent skyward – house prices."

Haldane continued with his comments, saying: “There was a good case for more infrastructure investment but that the government could borrow very cheaply from financial markets.”

The issue of housing shortage combined with the increasing demand for affordable housing is causing many to see the window to the property ladder shrink with time. Young people are now living at home for years following formal education and not by choice.