Number of empty homes reached five year peak last year

Recently released figures have shown that the number of homes that were left empty reached their highest level in five years in 2008. The number of homes that had been left empty for at least six months in England is said to have increased by 9 percent in the year to April 2008, with the number of private homes that had been left empty for at least this length of time rising to 303,285. This was the highest figure since April of 2003.

The figures were released by the High Street lender, Halifax, and the lender said that the figure equated to around 1.6 percent of all privately owned properties in the UK being left unoccupied. The Halifax added that the increased came after several years of declines. Moreover, the figure was more than double when the number of homes that had been empty for fewer than six months had been added, which took the total soaring up to 613,270.

The data showed that there was a big gap between empty properties in the North and South, with the North West having the highest number of empty properties. There were 66,691 empty property in the North West, which accounted for 22 percent of all unused properties. Officials from the Halifax said that it appeared that the higher levels of empty homes were to be found in more deprived areas, whereas the number of empty homes in more affluent areas seemed to be much lower.

An economist from the Halifax stated: ‘It is concerning that there are over 300,000 private homes in England that have been empty for more than six months and that the number has increased recently following several years of decline. In many cases, high levels of long-term empty homes reflect relatively high levels of deprivation, low average earnings and high unemployment.’

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