Rent or buy? The challenge of access to housing

Everyone needs a place they call home and housing costs are usually your largest outgoing. Many aspire to buy, but rising house prices, while good news for existing owners, put homeownership beyond the reach of others. This free course, Rent or buy? The challenge of access to housing, addresses some of the most important decisions that households must make: buy or rent? Why is housing viewed as a safe investment? Are house prices too high? How can we tell and what makes them change? This free course can help you with your own housing decisions, as well as understand the politics that often drive the housing market.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 Buy or rent?
• 1 Buy or rent?
• 2 Are house prices too high?
• 2 Are house prices too high?
• 2.1 Changes in nominal house prices
• 2.2 Changes in real house prices
• 2.3 Homes as investments
• 2.4 Homes as a leveraged investment
• 2.5 Measuring affordability
• 2.6 The house price-to-income ratio
• 2.7 Housing affordability in the UK
• 3 Choosing a mortgage
• 3 Choosing a mortgage
• 3.1 Different types of mortgage
• 3.2 Different types of mortgage interest
• 3.3 Choosing a suitable mortgage
• 3.4 Additional costs of buying a home
• 3.5 Comparing mortgage costs
• 3.6 Making home purchase more affordable
• 3.7 Other ways to cut mortgage costs
• 4 The household balance sheet
• 4 The household balance sheet
• 4.1 Income and assets
• 4.2 Balance sheet ratios
• 4.3 The impact of home buying on the balance sheet
• 4.4 A detailed example: before the purchase
• 4.5 A detailed example: after the purchase
• 4.6 Interest-only mortgages and the balance sheet
• 5 What makes house prices change?
• 5 What makes house prices change?
• 5.1 A model of the housing market
• 5.2 The housing market – external influences
• 5.3 Demand and supply in action
• Conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgements