Homesharing and London’s housing market

Homesharing and London’s housing market

Article

London’s housing crisis is the result of failure to build enough homes to keep pace with growing demand. Rising unaffordability is the result, with many families priced out of the market. At the same time, tourism in the capital is booming, with a record 31.5 million visitors in 2015 alone. This has helped to drive up the use of homesharing platforms, which provide accommodation within Londoners’ own homes.

Using data from Airbnb – the capital’s biggest homesharing website – we have assessed the impact of homesharing activity on London’s housing market. Our analysis, the first of its kind to use actual bookings data, finds that homesharing’s impact on housing supply in London is currently negligible.

Research by Airbnb suggests that homesharing makes positive contributions to London’s economy, and this view has been supported by the government. This report argues that enforcement of existing rules must be prioritised, so that support for the sector can be provided in such a way that helps the capital to succeed and thrive – as well as to remain a good place for its residents to call home.

Related items

  1. Adults standing in a circle and talking to each other about their mental wellbeing. There is a staff member sitting to the left of them in the frame sitting next to a table. The community centre is located in Seaton Deleval in the North East of England.

    What is the left for?: The case for a politics of reciprocism

    Liberal democratic capitalism has failed to give many people good lives, and the future looks less promising than the past. 

  2. Wildfires and climate change | Dave Hawkey from IPPR Scotland speaks to Lewis Goodall on LBC

    Europe’s heatwaves and the wildfires in the Cairngorms are a stark reminder that climate extremes are here.  The Scottish government must act now with a clear plan to prepare for what's coming.

  3. “I feel quite unsettled and unsafe”: Young people, belonging, and the broken promise of childhood

    Young people in England feel less secure, supported and connected than a decade ago. Based on nearly 200 conversations, this blog explores why childhood feels more stressful and less joyful.