Homes

My name‿ is Rachel. My partner‿ and‿ I bought‿ a flat las(t) year,│ an(d) the nine years we spen(t) saving the deposit taught me more‿ about the housing market than‿ any economics course could have.

Affordability is the whole‿ issue,│ and‿ it‿ is rarely discussed‿ honestly│ because the beneficiaries‿ of the status quo are the ones│ who write‿ about‿ it. Prices‿ in my city^ci-dy have‿ outpaced wages for two decades,│ which means that‿ equity has been transferred from my generation to my parents' for no reason‿ other than timing. Renting‿ is not‿ inherently irrational;│ it‿ is‿ a rational response to a market‿ in│ which buying‿ only makes sense│ if prices continue to climb. If‿ interes(t) rates were to rise‿ another two points,│ a good number‿ of las(t) year's buyers would be in genuine difficulty,│ an(d) speculation would be exposed for what‿ it‿ is.

We compromised‿ an(d) settled thirty^thir-dy minutes from the centre,│ an(d) the mortgage will be paid│ until‿ I am sixty-three. Whether that was‿ a viable decision depends‿ on‿ a variable nobody controls. My parents bought‿ a house for the price‿ of‿ a car‿ an(d) believe we simply need to work harder,│ which‿ is‿ a comfortable position to hold│ when you are the beneficiary. I am not sure the argument‿ is‿ about‿ effort‿ any more;│ it‿ is‿ about│ who underwrites the risk,│ and‿ at the moment‿ it‿ is‿ us. What‿ I resent‿ is the assumption│ that my generation‿ is merely less frugal.