First published in 1998. The growth of home ownership since the end of the Second World War marks one of the most fundamental social changes to have taken place in Britain. From being a nation of renters at the end of war, Britain has been converted into a nation of home-owners. In 1945 approximately 25% of households in Britain owned their own homes. Today the proportion is just over two-thirds. In the process, the proportion of households renting from private landlords has fallen from 65% to about 8%. As a result, the home ownership market in Britain plays a far more important role today than hitherto: both in housing the population and as a potential source of capital gains and losses. In addition, the home ownership market plays a significant role in the overall health of the economy. This is not to deny the importance of social and private rented housing or the major problems of homelessness. It is simply to assert that the home ownership market now affects two out of three households in Britain, and many more who wish to gain access to it. This book is about the dramatic booms and busts of the home ownership market in Britain during the last twenty years: and their causes and consequences both for the individuals involved and for the economy as a whole. It argues that the home ownership market in Britain, particularly in southern Britain, where the booms and slumps have been experienced most sharply, has been akin to a casino. There have been big winners, but there have also been big losers. The last thirty years have been a roller coaster ride for owners: exhilarating, but potentially highly dangerous, not least for those who fell off, or were thrown off, in the slump of the early 1990s.
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