Property hell is not confined to London. Young Britons are struggling everywhere.

This article, from the UK Observer entitled "Without family money, who can afford a home?" struck a deep chord.

The writer, Matthew Ashton, is a Chartered Architect, in his early 30s, living in Liverpool, UK.  Since his 20s, he had been a tenant, and paying 'dead money' - a term for the money used for rental payments.  Dead, because you are not building up an asset with the money.  Once paid, it is gone.

Matthew laments that property ownership has become more remote for many people his age, especially those without assistance in some form from family, even in North-west England where prices are significantly cheaper than London.

"We're left with a situation where you need to save forever, or so it seems; property prices continue to rise while salaries stagnate, hardly circumstances to facilitate saving."

Matthew goes on to say this:

"Have we abandoned the idea that successive generations might prosper and enjoy greater standards of living than their parents?"

Matthew continues to gives his view on the British system that, in his own words, is 'structurally dysfunctional'.  Read the entire article here.
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Perspectives 
On first look, this is very humbling. Here we have a Chartered Architect who can't even save up enough to afford his own place in Liverpool.  However, let's take a look at some numbers.

Salary of Chartered Architects
This RIBA website gives a good overview.  An architect makes just £33,000 per year, a senior architect makes £40,000 per year.

House Prices in Liverpool 
This part is very interesting.   I used www.zoopla.co.uk and search for house prices in Liverpool. The prices do vary by location, but you can get a one-bedder in downtown Liverpool from £120,000 to £150,000.  I saw some advertisements for small apartments as low as £50,000.

So why is this Chartered Architect struggling to own his home?

Assume a £120,000 home.  If the bank is willing to lend 70%, he would need to raise £36,000 for the 30% downpayment.  If he saves £6,000 a year, that would take just 6 years.

Well, perhaps the writer has genuine difficulties raising the cash due to the fact that his salary has to be used to pay off many things, including his current rent.  Perhaps, his lifestyle also takes up a lot of his disposable income.

Regardless, the view held by Matthew is quite prevalent. Many young working Britons have expressed tremendous frustration that they can unable to get onto the property ladder, that is why they are still renting.

Speaking of which, we don't know areas outside London well, so we have no comments on buying properties in Liverpool.

Happy investing!