British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Rescuing the Housing Market

6.30pm – 8.30pm, Tuesday, 31 March 2009
followed by a drinks reception
The British Academy, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1

Convenor and chair: Professor Susan J Smith, FBA, Institute of Advanced Study, University of Durham

Speakers:
Professor Christine Whitehead, OBE, London School of Economics & University of Cambridge, Professor Gavin Wood, RMIT University, Melbourne and Peter Sceats, Tradition Property
Discussant: Mark Stephens, Glasgow University

Audio recordings

Welcome: Robin Jackson, Chief Executive & Secretary, British Academy (2.7MB)
Introduction: Professor Susan J Smith (3.5MB)
Presentation 1: Professor Gavin Wood (17.5MB)
Presentation 2: Professor Christine Whitehead (21.0MB)
Presentation 3: Peter Sceats (20.0MB)
Commentary: Mark Stephens (14.5MB)
Question and answer session (31.5MB)

A public discussion that looks beyond the ‘credit crunch’, towards more imaginative ways of sharing the benefits and mitigating the risks of volatile housing markets.

The evening will begin at 6.30pm with a short presentation about the Institute of Advanced Study, University of Durham. The main discussion will begin at 7pm.

Policy makers, housing providers, mortgage lenders and home-occupiers all have an interest in stabilizing housing markets, to ensure the accessibility, affordability and sustainability of all tenure sectors.

To this end, in recent months, all eyes have been on the credit crisis: on the risks to lenders and borrowers of mortgage default, on the social as well as economic costs of home repossession, and on the use of subsidies to bail out the banks and meet rehousing needs. Possible solutions include boosting traditional (social and private) insurances and perhaps a wholesale rekindling of the public rented sector.

But credit risks are only half the housing problem, and traditional solutions may not be enough.

The housing slow-down also highlights the investment risks that home-owners  are exposed to. These are underlined by the fact that so many households are relying on the wealth in their home as an asset base for welfare.  But there is no effective protection against price and liquidity risks in housing markets, even though they may affect at least half the nation’s poor.

So does the UK need home equity insurance? Should people hold less of their wealth in their homes? Could shared ownership be the key to sustainable housing futures? Are there other ways of managing housing resources more effectively? What should governments do next? Is there any role for financial markets? These questions may hold the key to designing more inclusive, affordable, perhaps ‘tenure neutral’ styles of housing provision. The answers will be debated by the panel.

Susan Smith, Gavin Woods, Christine Whitehead, Peter Sceats

The panel discussion was preceded by a presentation (10.5MB) on the University of Durham's Institute of Advanced Study, a member of the Consortium of Institutes of Advanced Studies.

Please note our attendance and seating policy:
This event is free of charge. There is no advance registration for this event and no tickets will be issued.
The rooms for this event will be open from 6.15pm onwards - please do not arrive at the Academy before this time.
The first 100 audience members arriving at the Academy will be offered a seat in our Lecture Room where this event will take place. The next 50 people to arrive will be offered a seat in our Overflow Room which has a video and audio link to the Lecture Room.