PricedOut Newsletter, March - June 2008

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:19:24 GMT

PricedOut Newsletter, March - June 2008

Thanks for your interest in the PricedOut campaign, here's our latest news.

In this newsletter:

Media - We’ve had increasing interest from the media we need your help to cover all the press requests we get.
Lobbying & Recent Housing News - We met with Iain Wright (Junior Housing Minister) as part of the Review of the Private Rented Sector and are aiming to meet with Caroline Flint (Housing Minister) soon. Plus our views on the recent fall in house prices.
Property Tools - Web sites to help you take advantage of falling house prices.
Taking Action and our next protest - How can you make a difference?

Media

PricedOut continues to attract a lot of media interest. Press interest in the campaign has increased as house prices have begun to fall, with the media interested in our reaction. Our reaction tends to be, "Good news that house prices are adjusting to affordable levels, no we don't want a recession, but we do want the Government and banks to recognise the many mistakes that allowed house prices to get out of control!"

We feel that press interest in the campaign is testament to the fact that we represent a significant number of people in the UK from all walks of life who find themselves either priced out of the property market, or negatively affected in some way by the shortage of affordable housing.

Our recent press appearances include Radio Five's Wake Up to Money programme, a BBC housing documentary set to air in July and BBC News 24, as well as additional articles in print.

The press often want to find people in particular scenarios, for example: people facing re-possession, key-workers, etc. If you are willing to share your views and/or experiences with the press, we'd always love to hear from you, and ask you to contact Katy@pricedout.org.uk.

Lobbying & Recent Housing News

A team from PricedOut met with Iain Wright (Junior Housing Minister) to bring our views to the Government's Review of the Private Rented Sector. We are aware that a lot of investors and developers will be making themselves heard loud and clear, and we want to make sure that our alternative views are heard strongly too. This includes continuing to campaign for better rights for tenants, an issue that is central to the campaign. A full report on this meeting can be found here.

We're watching Gordon Brown's 3 million new affordable homes target, which he's already admitted is looking a little shaky. We believe that building more homes is a high priority, particularly affordable homes, and will continue to campaign the Government on keeping this promise.

We were a little outraged at Gordon Brown's announcement that he was introducing more shared ownership schemes in the same week that Carline Flint accidentally leaked a document stating that house prices are set to fall 5-10% this year. While more affordable housing is always good, trying to get first time buyers to access these schemes at a time when the market is so vulnerable is, at best, irresponsible. We are also opposed to any scheme that uses public money to prop up prices at unaffordable levels.

We are still keen to get involved at a local Government level via the development of Regional Spatial Strategies. If you'd like to represent PricedOut at a local level in this way, please let us know.

Property Tools

If you want to negotiate a better price take a look at the following web sites:

Property Bee (www.property-bee.com) - Track price changes on the Rightmove site.
Property Snake (www.propertysnake.co.uk) - Track price changes by postcode.

Taking Action & Our Next Protest

We are planning a publicity stunt on Parliament Square soon and will keep you posted. We'd love to see as many people there as possible if you're able to join us - details to follow. Our plan is to use this to generate additional press interest in the campaign and use this to build awareness.

How can you make a difference?

Please write to your MP about your views on housing, especially if housing is an area of interest to them. Otherwise try writing to Vince Cable, who often airs his views on the housing affordability crisis in Parliament.

You could also try writing to one or more of the Housing Ministers:

Caroline Flint (Housing Minister - Labour)
Grant Shapps (Shadow Housing Minister - Conservative)
Lembit Opik (Shadow Housing Minister - Lib Dem)

To find out more about your MP, including their registered interests and parliamentary speeches, visit TheyWorkForYou.com (www.theyworkforyou.com).

Press appearances - in London and other areas. We’re unable to attend all of the press opportunities we’re offered - please let us know if you'd be willing to appear on TV or radio on behalf of PricedOut.
Join our next protest!
Represent PricedOut in your area at a local Government level by representing us via Regional Spatial Strategies, forums which consult on planning and housing developments.

Please email us (Katy@pricedout.org.uk) if you’re able to get involved with any of the above and please stay involved in the campaign - thank you.

Until next time...

The PricedOut team