From Russia Today, a few days ago, an aspect of the UK house price boom most householders probably haven't thought of. You do up your house to sell, but so does everyone else. Overall you lose out, because as house prices rise, the differential between the one you have and the house you want to upgrade to widens. But house building costs haven't risen as much as house prices have. That means the 'residual land value', the plot the house sits on, is boosted in price. 30 years ago a UK house cost £51,000 on average, by 2014 it was £182,000 - had it risen in line with wages, it would have cost, in 2014, £105,000. That means an extra value has appeared of £77,000, which given how markets work is what can be charged extra on the land you might build a house on. And who benefits from raised land prices? - the biggest landowners, of whom the Duke of Westminister is one.
http://fooddeserts.org/images/000price.htm
Some facts on this economic theory. In the 1960s the residual value of a house in the UK was 3%, but by 1975 this was 19% (Rodney Lowe, The Welfare State in Brtiain since 1945, 1993, p.242). Nowadays the residual land value is typically around 25% - 30%. Meanwhile, from recent Knoema graphic, the average annual cost per all US households of servicing a mortgage is US$3,300 - but the average of maintenance is $1,600 and of property taxes is $1,600 - so typically you pay more than 100% again to own a house as you do for just the mortgage.
So, get busy every weekend doing up your house if you own one (or rent if from the bank via a mortgage). The wealthy 0.1% needs you to do so, and so does the Chancellor, and the local council, if you need care for the last few years of your life. Keep giving this free labour every Saturday, it's your patriotic duty.
Dr Hillary J. Shaw
Senior Research Fellow - Centre for Urban Research on Austerity
Department of Politics and Public Policy
De Montfort University, Leicester
LE1 9BH
http://dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/academic-staff/business-and-law/hilary-shaw/hillary-shaw.aspx
www.fooddeserts.org