The ugly truth behind our rigged housing system – politicians live in fear of owners

theguardian.com:

So far this year, three of my friends have celebrated buying their first flats in their early 40s, after a decade of saving for a deposit out of the leftovers from extortionate rent, while watching house prices continue to rise.

Buying your first home was once something you did in your 20s but, compared with those 10 or 20 years younger than us, we’re the lucky ones: buying a flat in London zone 3 is just about affordable for people who, while they may not have had parental help, have earned professional salaries in their 30s.

The British infatuation with home ownership has become a national cliche. But to disparage it as an obsession implies that it is a quaint cultural anachronism. In fact, worrying about getting on the housing ladder is one of the most economically rational things you can do. In a country where we don’t build enough homes, and wealth tied up in housing is taxed at absurdly low levels, the home ownership club offers a number of exclusive benefits.

The monthly cost of the average mortgage is cheaper than rent for the equivalent home; private renters spend 36% of their income on housing, compared with 12% for mortgage owners. Rising house prices mean that, by the time you’ve paid off your mortgage, not only will you have somewhere to live cost free, you will have an asset that has inflated significantly in value to pass on to children or grandchildren. And then there is the all-important security of not having to move home at short notice because your landlord decides to up the rent or kick you out.

Boris Johnson’s latest proposal to expand home ownership by asking housing associations to sell off homes to their tenants at a discount, and allowing people to put benefit payments towards a mortgage, is just