No Bradford doesn't have a housing crisis...

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Nor is it worsening. Yet we keep being told this:

Bradford has an affordable-homes crisis which is worsening year-by-year, the National Housing Federation has warned.

The federation, which represents housing associations, says a rising number of people are being priced out of a property market where the average house price is £142,000 but average annual earnings are £18,500.

Ah, the NHF again. So let's deal with the issue - firstly it's not simply about house price, it's about rents, but let's start with those prices.

According to those nice folk at Zoopla the current average price for houses sold in Bradford is £118,940 which is a slight rise (less than 3%) on the previous year. But if we look at the 'affordable' bit of the market - terraced properties and flats - we find that the average is below £100,000.  Still too much for those on Bradford's average earnings but only two-thirds of the NHF figure.

Which brings us to rents. Again looking at Zoopla we find an average rent of £486 per month - not super cheap but hardly at crisis levels. And again the average for terraced properties is at or around £400 per month.

Moreover, I'm prepared to bet that there are parts of the city where rents are lower still - indeed little different from social rent levels - and we know that you can buy a property (about 60 are on the T& A website right now) at £50,000 or less.

No-one's saying we don;t need to build more houses or even that there aren't problems wrought by a combination of a growing population and low wages. But there isn't a crisis. Not even a little one.

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