It took a trip to the Land of Oz to make Dorothy value her home. For the rest of us, it took a global pandemic. During the past two months, our residence — whether that be a mortgage-free house or shared rental flat — has become our entire world: office, restaurant, cinema, gym and shelter, all rolled into one. If we didn’t know the ins and outs of our quarters before, we do now. Many people have developed a more personal understanding of a market that has played a vital role in shaping the British economy for decades.
Housing costs in Britain are some of the highest in the world, more than quadrupling since the 1970s. Failure to increase the UK’s housing stock over the years has made the market increasingly inaccessible to those not supported by the Bank of Mum and Dad, especially in London, where the average home carries one of the heftiest price tags in the world.
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