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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOUSING BY DEPUTY P.V.F. LE CLAIRE OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 29th JANUARY 2008
Question
On 4th December 2007 it was alleged by Deputy G.P. Southern of St. Helier that J category house purchases represented 7% of the market, despite the fact that this sector equated to only 2% of the population. Does the Minister agree with these calculations and, if so, does he consider that this is affecting the movement within the housing market and the availability of housing in Jersey?
Answer
It is true to say that j's' purchase on average 7% of properties, and that the 1,700 j's' working in the island comprise just 2% of the total population of 89,300. it is equally the case that the total population includes a range of people who cannot buy, or would normally not buy, for example, 9,000 people are not locally qualified for housing purposes, 30,000 are under 16 or over 16, and many more local people will likely live with each other and purchase jointly. As such, while some comparison of these percentages may be instructive, it should not be taken too far.
Ultimately, it continues to hold that the vast majority of purchases - over 90% - are made by people qualified under the Housing Law following a long period of residence, and it is this fact that is most pertinent in understanding changes in house prices.