All Posts Tagged With: "average earnings"
Housing is becoming more affordable
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Wed, Nov 18 2009 | 0 Comments
In the United States, we know that home prices have fallen dramatically and therefore, housing has become more affordable. In the United Kingdom the same phenomenon is happening. After the Bank of England reduced interest rates in the country to half a percent, affordability of homes has increased since Q3 2007.
In 2008, the median home price in the United Kingdom fell 16% during 2008 and through this year, it hasn’t improved.
When calculating affordability of housing, there are two things that are taken into account: The rate of interest and the average earnings of citizens in that area. Even though unemployment in the United Kingdom is on the rise just as it is in the United States, housing prices seem to be falling at the same rate or even faster in some areas.
In some of the priciest areas of the United Kingdom, the home affordability percentage has increased. In London, the affordability percentage has come down from 56% to 34%. The number is so low that it is actually below the long term average.
The most affordable areas included Copeland in Cumbria, there the affordability percentage of 22% means that the interest rates are low and the disposable income is higher. Of course, there is always “the other side of the coin” where home affordability is still poor. North Cornwall is the “least affordable” area that was surveyed with 63%. South Buckinghamshire came in at 62%.
Even though affordability is on the rise, it can still be difficult for first time home buyers to get the loans they need for mortgages. In the United States, it is awfully difficult for anyone to get a loan, particularly first time buyers who may not have a lengthy credit report. First time home buyers are also being warned against buying a home right now because of the unsteady job market.
Even worse than the job market in the United Kingdom is the threat of negative equity in their homes. No one wants their home’s mortgage to be considered “underwater.” It is something frightening to consider when buying a home and even worse when you know that you’re paying on a mortgage every month that is now more than the house is worth. In this kind of economy, that is not always feasible…which is why many people have defaulted on their mortgages. For example in the United States, many people in California, Las Vegas and Miami all saw this problem. While other areas did witness negative equity issues, these were the worst. In some cases, the mortgage on their home was double what their house was really worth. When someone is faced with that and they have lost their job, I can understand why they don’t feel as though it is affordable to continue paying on their home.
For more information visit the SOURCE
Related posts:Housing prices are on the decline nationwide
The English population is expected to increase; housing will follow
Tags: rate of interest, south buckinghamshire, north cornwall
Jobs are also hard to come by in the UK
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Wed, Jul 29 2009 | 0 Comments
A report that was issued by the Office for National Statistics said that employment opportunities, employment, as well as the average earnings have fallen in the United Kingdom as of May.
The rate of unemployment increased to 7.1% which equates to around 2.22 million people and in the last quarter alone, an additional 244,000 people lost their jobs. Jobless claims increased and now 1.51 people are looking to make claims on the benefits. Worse yet, those who have been unable to find work (but are actively seeking it) for 12 months or more reached 506,000 at the end of 2008.
There is a difference between public and private sector jobs due to the fact that public sector jobs in the UK have been expanding and private sector jobs have been diminishing over the past year. The public sector saw an increase of 15,000 while the private sector has lost 13,000 jobs when compared to September 2008. Similarly, in the United States, many jobs have been created in the public sector thanks to some of the stimulus spending that has been put forth. Private sector jobs here are becoming quite hard to come by, but it is looking as though there will be some kind of break in the clouds in the future.
In the UK, the number of people who have been working in the manufacturing field has decreased 160,000 to 2.73 million people as of March 2009. Non seasonally adjusted employment for those born in the United Kingdom was down 451,000 while employment among those not born in the UK has increased to 3.81 million between January and March 2009, an increase of 129,000.
Those in the 18-24 age range have been hit the hardest by unemployment in the United Kingdom. There are 676,000 people in that age range that are simply unable to find work.
There were also 13.1 million hours lost in the number of hours worked between January and March 2009. The average number of hours worked per week per employee also fell from 31.6 to 31.3 hours per week. This can be attributed to the lack of overtime opportunities as well as short time working.
The United Kingdom is obviously having some of the same issues that we are facing in the United States. With unemployment up and average salaries falling or staying the same (even with increases in the cost of living), people are having a hard time making ends meet. The world has hit a recession and these two countries aren’t the only ones feeling the pinch. It will likely be months or over a year before some kind of turnaround happens. Some are saying that it will take years before our economy is back to where it was before this recession. I sincerely hope that it will be back to normal soon.
Related posts:The U.S. saw another 284,000 jobs lost in October
Highest paying blue collar jobs
Tags: public sector jobs, national statistics, break in the clouds
