How to keep house prices low for generations to come?
By Brian Milligan (Personal Finance reporter)
18 November 2016
From the section Business
The Evans family is buying a flat that will remain cheap for years to come
Imagine a world in which the price of housing stopped rising as predictably as a hydrogen-
filled balloon. And imagine a country in which houses would be just as affordable in 10 years'
time as they were 10 years ago. There would be no race to buy a home, no fear that prices would
accelerate faster than you can save up for the deposit. Houses would cease to be a means of
profit, and instead become just a place to live. But this is no John Lennon-inspired fantasy. It is
about to come to fruition in the East End of London, in an extraordinary experiment. For the first
time, future property prices will be tied to the rise in wages.
'Life changing'
In a couple of weeks, the first of 23 families will move in to an old mental health hospital in Tower
Hamlets that has been converted into flats. They will pay a third of market value. When they come
to sell, the price they are allowed to charge will be limited by the increase in local wages, as
measured by the Office for National Statistics. Amongst the buyers are Rachael and Nathaniel
Evans and their young son Griffin. Despite their joint income of £33,000, and savings of nearly
£70,000, they have been unable to afford anything in the area. But now, thanks to the local
Community Land Trust (CLT), they will soon be moving into a home of their own. "It is amazing. It
is life-changing for us," says Nathaniel, who has lived in Tower Hamlets all his life. "I imagine
walking into the flat and thinking, 'this is ours,' and we don't have to leave.