Kirstie Allsopp, presenter of Location, Location, Location, has sparked rage this weekend over comments made about the ease of getting on the housing ladder. Allsopp’s suggestions that young people could buy their first home if they just tried a bit harder have been branded ignorant and entitled.
Allsopp hosts a variety of home-hunting shows where she helps people upgrade, renovate, downsize or buy their first home. The presenter herself is a homeowner. She bought her first home at the impressive age of 21, with the help of her family. Allsopp explained that she lived at home and saved every penny of her £11,500 salary to gather that crucial deposit that restricts so many from being able to buy.
However, Allsopp bought her first home nearly thirty years ago. The housing market and world of employment have changed drastically since then and young people simply do not have the same privilege. “When I bought my first property, going abroad, [and] the easyJet, coffee, gym, Netflix lifestyle didn’t exist,” she said. Life has become more expensive in the last few decades but is buying a home as simple as giving up all these luxuries?
It is time we abandoned the myth that you can change your life and save thousands by giving up a few simple luxuries. When Allsopp bought her first home, average house prices were £51,000 compared to the £270,000 that they were in November 2021. A basic Netflix subscription costs £5.99 monthly. If I were to give up Netflix and save for a deposit, it would take me 766 years to raise that 20% deposit. I’m not sure that’s really worth it. Even with a tantalisingly cheap house of £120,000, I would still be saving for 167 years for just the deposit. What Allsopp is trying to say is that you could be making “enormous sacrifices” to your lifestyle to save for a house deposit and otherwise, you only have yourself to blame.
As someone who does not have a gym membership and doesn’t spend much money on Starbucks, repetitively hearing this ‘simple and easy’ solution to all your housing problems is incredibly frustrating. Even if someone does have a gym membership, why is that being blamed for their inability to buy a house?
These indulgences are marginal problems for saving when compared to the issues in the housing market. House prices have quadrupled since Allsopp bought her first home but the average income has hardly risen at all. Without a doubt, the main reason young people cannot buy houses is not their luxury indulgences but simply the fact that house prices are not rising in line with salaries.
Finding a permanent job with secure hours is becoming increasingly more difficult and the jobs that are available are incredibly competitive. More and more people are opting to get degrees which means others feel they have to in order to keep up with their cohort. It’s not as simple as being able to live at home and save for a house and to suggest that, makes Ms Allsopp appear blissfully ignorant to the challenges faced by young people. Not everyone is as privileged as she was; not all families can afford to support their children while they save.
Furthermore, young people should not have to sacrifice enjoyment to be able to afford housing, a basic human right. There is a difference between living and surviving which is entirely ignored by all these revolutionary saving methods. The money saved by sacrificing things which we enjoy feels so insignificant compared to the amount of money you’d need for a house. People should not be labelled as irresponsible for going to the gym. And often, it ends up being the same people who criticise gym-goers for not saving their money, who would also criticise someone for contributing to the obesity crisis.
“I’m up in Nottingham right now and there’s a nice three-bedroom home with a long garden on for £320,000. I get enraged when people say they can’t afford to buy. They can.” Unfortunately, Kirstie, I simply cannot. And I’m just one of many young people who will be forced to rent for years to come. Allsopp completely fails to recognise the differences between her situation thirty years ago and first-time buyers now. Her comments are unhelpful to already despondent young people and despite her attempts not to “belittle” anyone, that is exactly what she has done. It’s time we stopped blaming young people for this impossible housing market.
Words by Ella Gilbert