British housing offers the worst value for money of any advanced economy, according to new research that compares cost, floorspace and quality of existing and new-built homes.
UK spending on housing costs absorbs the largest share of spending of any OECD country except Finland, research by the Resolution Foundation found.
In order to make comparisons between countries that have very different proportions of households that own their homes outright - ie Spain and Italy 49% and 61% of people own their homes, whereas in the UK it's 36%, Germany 26% and Netherlands 9% - researchers at the foundation examined the cost to rent all homes, using 'imputed rents'. In other words, what owners would pay if they rented their home at market rates.
The analysis, using OECD data, found people in the UK "pay more and get less", the Resolution Foundation said, with floorspace in English homes averaging 38 sq metres per person, far less than the US at 66 sq m per person (even New York at 43 sq m), Germany 46 sq m, France 43 sq m and Japan 40 sq m.
Compared to countries with very similar consumption levels, Austria and Canada, British people get 24% and 22% less housing space per person, respectively.
UK housing stock is also the oldest among European countries, with a greater share of homes built before 1946, which the report noted implied they would be more poorly insulated, leading to higher energy bills and a higher risk of damp.
But despite the high cost and low quantity, UK households pay 57% and 36% more - even if adjusting for quality - than counterparts in Austria and Canada.
Close behind the UK in terms of value for money are New Zealand, Australia and Ireland – all countries that the foundation noted are also gripped by housing crises.
“Britain is one of many countries apparently in the midst of a housing crisis, and it can be difficult to separate rhetoric from reality. But by looking at housing costs, floorspace and wider issues of quality, we find that the UK’s expensive, cramped and ageing housing stock offers the worst value for money of any advanced economy," said Adam Corlett, principal economist at the Resolution Foundation.
“Britain’s housing crisis is decades in the making, with successive governments failing to build enough new homes and modernise our existing stock. That now has to change.”