Union claims thousands of people are being priced out of the market.
Phase out expensive private sector landlords funded by taxpayers to provide houses for rent, that's the call from the GMB.
The union claims the move will generate an extra £1 billion in Housing Benefit which will be paid to people in work by 2018.
Average house prices in Scotland are now 5.8 times average wages for full time workers in living in London GMB Congress in Nottingham was told today.
In Aberdeen, Perth and Kinross, Edinburgh and Aberdeenshire average house prices in are now more than seven times average wages for full time workers resident in those boroughs.
There are only a small number of areas where average house prices are near four times average wages for full time workers which is considered to be the prudent level for taking out a mortgage.
Average house prices are now 6.3 average wages for full time workers in living in England and Wales.
GMB Congress in Nottingham today agreed new strategic policies for the housing market as a whole set out in a new report on housing. This makes radical and realistic proposals for a comprehensive housing strategy for an incoming Labour Government. The special CEC report is attached as a pdf at foot of this release.
Ratio of average house prices to average earning by area in Scotland:
|
|
|
Average house prices (£) |
Median Gross Annual Pay - full-time employees (£ | Ratio |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
England & Wales |
£172,069 |
£27,193 |
6.3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Scotland |
£153,352 |
£26,456 |
5.8 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
£205,365 |
£27,992 |
7.3 |
|
|
2 |
£180,886 |
£24,678 |
7.3 |
|
|
3 |
£214,736 |
£29,706 |
7.2 |
|
|
4 |
£212,787 |
£29,665 |
7.2 |
|
|
5 |
£219,731 |
£31,086 |
7.1 |
|
|
6 |
£216,372 |
£31,172 |
6.9 |
|
|
7 |
£194,584 |
£28,054 |
6.9 |
|
|
8 |
£157,690 |
£23,883 |
6.6 |
|
|
9 |
£173,372 |
£27,614 |
6.3 |
|
|
10 |
£159,143 |
£25,392 |
6.3 |
|
|
11 |
£154,232 |
£25,025 |
6.2 |
|
|
12 |
£148,267 |
£24,460 |
6.1 |
|
|
13 |
£141,203 |
£23,802 |
5.9 |
|
|
14 |
£135,304 |
£24,487 |
5.5 |
|
|
15 |
£132,838 |
£25,095 |
5.3 |
|
|
16 |
£122,472 |
£23,297 |
5.3 |
|
|
17 |
£121,884 |
£23,392 |
5.2 |
|
|
18 |
£134,399 |
£25,931 |
5.2 |
|
|
19 |
£128,340 |
£25,435 |
5.0 |
|
|
20 |
£122,586 |
£24,509 |
5.0 |
|
|
21 |
£124,496 |
£25,112 |
5.0 |
|
|
22 |
£121,687 |
£25,995 |
4.7 |
|
|
23 |
£136,238 |
£29,498 |
4.6 |
|
|
24 |
£124,504 |
£29,107 |
4.3 |
|
|
25 |
£111,254 |
£26,161 |
4.3 |
|
|
26 |
£108,037 |
£25,473 |
4.2 |
|
|
27 |
£100,072 |
£24,309 |
4.1 |
|
|
28 |
£116,353 |
£28,453 |
4.1 |
|
|
29 |
£105,987 |
£26,479 |
4.0 |
|
|
30 |
£100,024 |
£25,996 |
3.8 |
|
|
31 |
£107,645 |
£28,939 |
3.7 |
|
|
|
West Dunbartonshire |
£111,914 |
x |
n/a |
Harry Donaldson, Secretary GMB Scotland speaking at GMB Congress, said
“These figures show that GMB members are priced out of the owner occupied housing market. They need houses for rent.
We need to phase out expensive private sector landlords funded by taxpayers to provide these houses for rent. Rachel Reeves told Congress that an extra £1 billion in Housing Benefit will be paid to people in work by 2018.
The country needs a target for new build homes of 250,000 per year plus a minimum of 30,000 empty homes brought back into use. At least 80,000 of the target need to be in the social housing sector. This cannot be done without a major programme of Council house building.
An incoming Labour Government from 2015 will need to make affordable housing a central part of its economic and social strategy. It will have to work with devolved administrations to secure this strategy. Some of the strategic and institutional changes will take time to put into full effect but the intention needs to be clear from the start with an immediate emergency programme and legislative action from the first session of the new Parliament.”
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