The game of homes: Research reveals house prices increase more under labour government

Labour launched its ‘Housing for the Many’ green paper 12 months ago, talking about Britain’s broken housing system under the Conservatives, and promising to make affordable housing a top priority.

But research by Housesimplereveals that while Jeremy Corbyn cries foul over housing affordability, average house prices have actually risen faster under Labour governments than Conservative governments since 1951.

According to house price figures* analysed by Housesimple, spanning 14 Prime Ministers, prices under Labour PMs have increased, on average, 0.72% month-on-month, compared to 0.57% under Conservative PMs.

Labour’s dominance in The Game of Homes is built on Tony Blair’s 10-year tenure as PM, when average UK house prices rocketed, rising from £58,403 in May 1997 to £181,810 in June 2007*. That’s an average increase of £123,407 and equates to a monthly average price rise of 0.94%.

The highest average monthly house price increase under a Labour government came under James Callaghan, from April 1976 to May 1979, when house prices increased on average 1.32% a month.

The highest average monthly price rise in the last 70 years actually came under a Conservative government, led by Sir Edward Heath from June 1970 to March 1974, when prices increased on average 1.8% a month.

Gordon Brown is the only PM since 1951, who resided over a drop in house prices during his time in Downing Street. Average prices were £181,810 when Brown became PM but was 6.7% lower at £168,719 when he was succeeded by David Cameron.

The following table shows average house price rises/falls during the terms of 14 Prime Ministers since 1951, ranked by average monthly price movements:

Prime Minister	Party	Months serving as PM	Increase/(decrease) in avg. house prices during period (£)	Avg. monthly rise in prices (compounding interest)
Sir Edward Heath	Conservative	45	5,476	1.80%
James Callaghan	Labour	37	7,336	1.32%
Tony Blair	Labour	121	123,407	0.94%
Baroness Margaret Thatcher	Conservative	137	35,844	0.77%
Harold Wilson	Labour	25	1,811	0.67%
Sir Alex Douglas-Home	Conservative	12	242	0.66%
Harold Wilson	Labour	68	1,267	0.49%
Harold Macmillan	Conservative	81	922	0.47%
David Cameron	Conservative	74	37,630	0.27%
Sir Anthony Eden	Conservative	21	84	0.20%
Theresa May	Conservative	33	6,345	0.10%
Sir John Major	Conservative	77	3,484	0.09%
Sir Winston Churchill	Conservative	42	46	0.06%
Gordon Brown	Labour	35	-13,091	-0.21%

Sam Mitchell, CEO of online estate agentsHousesimple comments: “In The Game of Homes the stakes are high. In modern British history, we’ve seen an overall increase in homeownership but since 2003 this has declined, especially homeownership amongst 35-44 year olds, priced out of the market and forced to rent for longer. First-time buyers are also less likely to be able to buy the property they want first time around, meaning they need to make one or more steps on the ladder to attain their desired property.

“Depending on who you speak to, Britain’s housing affordability issues are either down to Labour or Conservative policies. Regardless of who you may blame, the fact remains we are in desperate need of more affordable housing, particularly in our major cities, to meet fervent demand.

“Unaffordability is particularly severe in London and the south-east. We are likely to see a steady flow of people, particularly families, leaving the capital in the coming years, in search of more affordable areas. Regions such as the north-west and Yorkshire are likely to be the beneficiaries from an influx of talent from the south. Families are attracted by the combination of thriving local economies, strong job prospects and affordable family housing. Although house prices are now on the rise in these areas, they aren’t soaring at the rate we have witnessed in the south in recent times, and there is still plenty of stock that is fairly priced.”