Line 18: Find out if your area has a housing crisis

Line 18: Find out if your area has a housing crisis

What's really going on in Britain's housing market? Why have all our efforts to try to confront the housing crisis had so little success?

Might it have something to do with the fact that we are trying to confront the wrong crisis?

New research commissioned by Sky News shows that the country is currently facing not one single housing crisis, but five drastically different types of crisis, playing out simultaneously across the country.

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They are:

:: A supply crisis: The traditional housing crisis most often referred to by politicians, with not enough homes to fill the demand

:: An under-occupation (distribution) crisis: In many parts of the country there are more than enough bedrooms for every potential household, but many of those bedrooms are left empty in big homes, pushing some potential homeowners out of the market.

:: A demand crisis: With some areas of the country facing weak income growth and a slow local economy, there are many regions and towns with more homes than buyers.

:: A quality crisis: For many homes, the big problem is neither supply nor demand but the state of the building. Much of the country's accommodation has fallen into disrepair.

:: An affordability (access to credit) crisis: In many regions buyers are struggling to get onto the ladder because they simply can't raise the necessary funds. Meanwhile in some areas cheap credit for the well-off has pushed up house prices disproportionately.

Our research has found that many areas of the country are facing all of these crises simultaneously.

But how about your area? Use the map to see how your local authority stacks up. Which housing crisis are you facing?

Scroll down below the map to learn more about each of the different crisis types.

The map

We've ranked each local authority area from 1 to 390 for each type of crisis. The higher the ranking, the more serious a housing problem in that area.

For example, Newham has a ranking of 1 for 'Lack of Supply'. This means Newham has the poorest housing supply in the entire country.



Tap on the square in the top left and then use the tick boxes on the left hand side to look each housing crisis type in more detail. The lighter the colour of the marker, the more badly impacted that area is.

Lack of supply

Lack of supply is frequently thought to be a national issue.

It is this, all too often, that politicians and journalists refer to when they discuss the UK housing crisis. Not enough homes being built, too few coming onto the market etc.

However our analysis has shown that this is, in fact, very much a London-centric issue, with a few other hotspots.

Some 18 of the top 20 local authorities are in London - or in the commuter belt.

Slough, ranked at number 16, is the highest non-London market. Oxford is number 20. Much of the supply issues here stem from being unable to expand on to green belt land.

Across the wider south of England, it tends to be the urban town and city markets that appear higher in the rankings.

Some rural areas might also have a lack of supply, but have nearby urban markets with large private rental sectors within their local authority area.

People may opt to move to these neighbouring areas and so the extent of a lack of supply in these locations may not be clearly measurable as the demand is displaced.

Manchester sits just outside the top 20 (ranking at 21) thanks to strong population growth but a lower score on affordability and vacant homes.

It is also in very close proximity to very lowly ranked areas, suggesting the lack of supply is very localised in geography and probably price

The research commissioned by Sky News used the following parameters to measure supply:

:: Comparison of population growth versus dwelling growth between 2001-2016

:: Percent of dwellings that are over-occupied

:: Percent of dwellings that are vacant

:: Comparison of rent for one-bed in a two-bed flat compared to median full-time earnings

The top ten worst affected areas by a lack of supply:

1. Newham, London

2. Tower Hamlets, London

3. Brent, London

4. Hounslow, London

5. Barking and Dagenham, London

6. Waltham Forest, London

7. Islington, London

8. Lambeth, London

9. Greenwich, London

10. Redbridge, London

Under-occupation

In some areas (and some argue across the country) the housing problem is not an outright lack of supply, but poor distribution.

Some people have more housing than they regularly need, while others have too little.

Those areas with large amounts of under-used housing tend to be those with high rates of older residents and home improvement.

Most of the areas are found in rural or coastal locations, away from major employment markets.

Rutland is ranked highest thanks to the highest rate of under-occupied housing and the highest beds per person ratio in the country.

Some of the highest ranked areas cover national parks including Derbyshire Dales, Ryedale, West Devon, South Hams etc.

There are also two districts, Chiltern and South Bucks, near London.

Chiltern has very high levels of under-occupied housing and census data showed 1.26 bedrooms for every household resident in the district.

The research commissioned by Sky News used the following parameters to measure under-occupied housing rates:

:: Under-occupied housing

:: Home improvement

:: Households with all residents aged 65+

:: Bedrooms per person

The top ten worst affected areas by under-occupied housing:

1. Rutland, East Midlands

2. Cotswolds, South West

3. Derbyshire Dales, East Midlands

4. Stratford-on-Avon, West Midlands

5. Ryedale, Yorkshire & Humber

6. Chiltern, South East

7. West Devon, South West

8. South Hams, South West

9. Suffolk Coastal, East

10. Hambleton, Yorkshire & Humber

Demand

For many parts of the country the biggest challenge is a lack of demand for properties in that area.

Low levels of income and sluggish income growth can contribute to this - as can a lack of job opportunities in the area and poor transport links to nearby areas that offer better employment prospects.

The most affected areas are found in the weakest economic markets, such as Wales, Northern Ireland, the North East and the South West of Scotland.

The research commissioned by Sky News used the following parameters to identify areas hit by low demand:

:: Demographic measures:

- Population growth of those aged under 18 between 2001-2016

- Population growth of those aged between 18-64 between 2001-2016

- Net international migration

- Net domestic migration

:: Housing market measures:

- House prices versus the peak in prices in 2007 and 2008

- Sales versus pre-recession peak

- Asking price versus achieved price

- Time to sell

:: Economic measures:

- Gross disposable household income (GDHI) per person

- How GDHI changed between 2007-16

- Travel time to large employment area by public transport

- Travel time to large employment area by car

- Unemployment rate

- Economic inactivity rate

The top ten worst affected areas by weak demand:

1. Derry City and Strabane, Northern Ireland

2. Redcar and Cleveland, North East

3. Hyndburn, North West

4. Belfast, Northern Ireland

5. Hartlepool, North East

6. Fermanagh and Omagh, Northern Ireland

7. Pendle, North West

8. North East Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and the Humber

9. Blackpool, North West

10. Blaenau Gwent, Wales

Quality

For some locations, the state of the existing houses is the biggest problem.

This is particularly a problem in less desirable coastal areas where there is not enough investment being put into existing period housing.

The research commissioned by Sky News used the following parameters to measure levels of quality properties.

:: Period Housing Stock (built before 1919)

:: Energy Performance Certificates - Rated F or G

:: Levels of deprivation

:: If it is a flat in converted/shared house

The top ten worst affected areas by quality:

1. Ceredigion, Wales

2. Blackpool, North West

3. Conwy, Wales

4. Scarborough, Yorkshire and Humber

5. Gwynedd, Wales

6. Thanet, South East

7. West Somerset, south west

8. Torbay, South West

9. Argyll and Bute, Scotland

10. Isle of Wight, South East

Affordability

In some areas the difference between the rise in house price and the rise in local wages is causing major pressure for potential homeowners. In short, locals simply can't afford to buy a home.

House prices rose when interest rates fell and banks were happy to give out mortgages. When the credit crunch hit, house prices remained high in some areas but borrowing became more difficult.

Rankings for this crisis type mostly reflect the ratio between the cost of property and the average wage - essentially how affordable housing is for local people.

One of the most affected areas is London. This is because the overall money a landlord receives from rentals is slimmer than elsewhere and a high level of properties are owned by those who for example have second-homes, have buy-to-let properties or are overseas investors.

This makes the area less affordable.

Other areas outside of London which are similarly impacted include Cambridge, Purbeck, the Cotswolds, North Devon and Ryedale.

The research commissioned by Sky News used the following parameters to measure the affordability for those who would need to borrow money to buy.

:: House price to earnings ratio

:: Household spaces with no usual residents

:: Cost of renting versus cost of owning

:: Percent of households in private rented sector

The top ten worst affected areas by access to credit:

1. City of London, London

2. Westminster, London

3. Kensington and Chelsea, London

4. Camden, London

5. Islington, London

6. Hammersmith and Fulham, London

7. Cambridge, East

8. Wandsworth, London

9. Purbeck, South West

10. Tower Hamlets, London

The research was commissioned by Sky News and carried out by Neal Hudson, housing market analyst and director of Residential Analysts.