The Diocesan Commission for Justice and Peace last week issued a very detailed report about the situation of the property market, expressing its deep concern about “the endemic and uncontrollable speculative practices” that are crippling so many people, especially the young, who want to buy the house they would like to live in.

It also called on the “political and social players to adopt this issue as a top priority for immediate concerted action, if they truly believe in social inclusion and a sustainable standard of living based upon the foundation of the family as the main contributor to a healthy society”.

The commission emphasised that a truly anti-poverty and sustainable standard of living approach cannot exclude housing from the collective aspects of the common good, which also includes the right to work, food, education and health.

Giving examples on how the price of property has spiralled up over the past years, basing its figures on a previous report issued by the Building Industry Consultative Council, the commission made it clear that young couples today find it extremely hard, not to say impossible, to buy property at the going rates and still lead a decent life with what remains from their salaries.

It also concludes that, in the long run, it would be a better option for people to buy property rather than rent it – mostly because the rent to be paid out would still be too high for middle-income earners, and also because at the end of the day, it is better to pay up the loan, even if this takes half a life-time, and end up being the owners of the house rather than spend a similar amount in rent and finish up with nothing.

What was said in the commission’s report is not something new; if anything, it confirmed, in the statistics given, the problems that people today have to face in buying their property and the burdens they have to carry for so many years because of this decision.

It is no wonder that the young couples aiming to get married and live in a house they own are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. If they manage to find the “right” house for them and choose to take the plunge and buy it, they end up working half the time to pay the loan they take, and will have little money left to fill it up with and pay for other expenses such as food, the education of their children, telephone and electricity bills and so on.

Many still opt for this solution, even though they know that it will be a heavy burden they will have to carry for the rest of their working life. Paying a loan over 35 years, as mentioned in the commission’s report, will actually mean that the couple will finish their commitment close to retirement age.

The problem is further exacerbated when the woman stops working, at least for some time, when the couple has children. Paying the house loan and keeping up with the other expenses with two salaries coming in is one thing, trying to do so on only one salary is next to impossible.

This, of course, adds to the burden of maintaining a family and could also be one of the reasons why couples end their relationship.

The thing is that the situation is not getting any better. It is getting worse because prices keep going up. According to the BICC report quoted by the commission, the average price for apartments during 2005 increased by 20 per cent after an average increase of 16 per cent in 2004, while the average price for maisonettes increased by 15 per cent when compared to prices in 2004, when prices had increased by 17 per cent from a year earlier.

The commission is right in calling upon the authorities to do something. The problem is: what?