2014-08-19 13:01:20 +0100
To: Kris Hopkins MP
Second Home Levy
Place a levy on the price of newly purchased 'unoccupied dwellings', and increase council tax on existing ones to raise funds for self-build and affordable housing for local people.
Why is this important?
Second homes are no longer acceptable in rural and coastal communities that have severe housing shortages. Less than two thirds of the homes the South West needs each year are being built and the lack of supply is pushing up the region's house prices and rents.
In Dorset the average house price is £261k. To get an 80% mortgage the required annual income is 14 times greater than the average £18.5k
Across the South West, 21,500 new households are expected to form each year between 2013 and 2021
Private rents are expected to rise by 40% in the South West by 2020
The average house price in the region in 2012 was £225,001 - 55% higher than the average for 2002. Wages in the South West have risen by just 26% over the same period
Every new home built in the South West adds £77,000 to the regional economy
1.8 jobs are created directly and in the wider regional economy for every new home built in the South West.
In Dorset the average house price is £261k. To get an 80% mortgage the required annual income is 14 times greater than the average £18.5k
Across the South West, 21,500 new households are expected to form each year between 2013 and 2021
Private rents are expected to rise by 40% in the South West by 2020
The average house price in the region in 2012 was £225,001 - 55% higher than the average for 2002. Wages in the South West have risen by just 26% over the same period
Every new home built in the South West adds £77,000 to the regional economy
1.8 jobs are created directly and in the wider regional economy for every new home built in the South West.
