Lunchtime news 27 July 2023

A new survey from insurer Scottish Widows shows that graduates are finding it increasingly difficult to get on the housing ladder. Nearly 60 per cent of people who have graduated in the past 10 years have been unable to buy their own home.

Following the announcement two days ago that US housing sales suffered their worst fall in nearly five months, it appears that the rest of the world has the financial jitters. Panic selling and big falls were the order of the day on the world’s stock markets yesterday.

In the UK, the effect of interest rate rises is starting to kick in. According to the British Bankers’ Association, last month’s gross mortgage lending amount of £21.5 billion was only 5 percent higher than the same time last year, suggesting in real terms that lending is decreasing. There were 8 per cent fewer mortgages approved in June 07 than than a year earlier, although the average loan approved was 16 per cent higher, at £159,600.

Also yesterday, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced its shortlist for the Stirling Prize, the £20,000 award to the designers of the building that makes the greatest contribution to British architecture. Of the six buildings nominated, only two are actually in the UK. Is it a coincidence that just a few weeks ago RIBA announced a new policy document calling for an introduction of minimum space standards for all new homes, saying ‘No more shoddy ‘Noddy’ boxes’?