Government accused of propping up prices
Britain's first-time buyers have taken to the streets for the first time to protest against high property prices and government policies which they say prop them up. They want tax breaks for foreign buyers that distort the market ended and say investors are 'cannibalising' the sector.
Their demonstration coincides with the release of figures which show first-time buyers are spending the biggest share of their income on mortgage payments for 16 years.
Buyers lobbyist group PricedOut held its protest in Brighton on Sunday to coincide with Chancellor Gordon Brown's visit to the city's annual arts festival. It follows last year's first-time buyers' protests in Spain when thousands demonstrated against spiralling property prices. The British organisation says government policy encourages speculation in the market, which drives prices higher.
'Government mishandling of the pension system has encouraged people to over-invest in the property sector, effectively putting all their eggs in one basket,' a PricedOut spokesperson said. 'The removal of housing costs from the inflation target kept interest rates too low for too long. Failure to act on undersupply of housing has led to building rates languishing to their lowest levels post-second world war.' The protesters want the government to intervene in the housing market to put the interests of first-time buyers ahead of those of investors.
'Unfortunately, the sheer scale of buy-to-let has led to it cannibalising the home-buyer sector,' the PricedOut spokesperson said.
'Despite falling returns and increasing reliance on capital gains to make a profit, the sector continues to grow to the detriment of UK home buyers.'