Housing costs consumed an average of 26% of the gross income of households renting in the private sector in 2023/24, up from 22% five years earlier.
Owner-occupiers with and without mortgages, were also spending more of their gross income on housing than five years ago, but the differences were smaller than for private renters.
Partial owners and social housing tenants were spending no more on housing in the five-year period, but over a 10-year period, their average housing costs have increased from 19% to 33% of their gross income.
Overall, the latest household expenditure survey showed that the average household was earning and spending considerably less in real terms than before the Covid pandemic.
The newest States member, Ross Le Brun, acknowledged that some of the pressure on household budgets was outside local control, but that extensive action was needed to bring down housing costs.
‘Food, fuel and energy prices have all gone up because of global events, but housing is different,’ he said.
‘Housing is probably the biggest factor driving the cost of living here, and it’s one of the few areas we can actually influence locally.
‘The simple truth is that we haven’t built enough homes. When demand is higher than supply, prices and rents go up.
‘If we’re serious about helping people with the cost of living, we need to get more homes built by the States and in the private sector, and look at budget models and building up, utilising land more efficiently so that people can actually afford them.’
The survey found that the average household spent more than £11,000 a year on rent, mortgage interest payments, mortgage capital repayments, Tax on Real Property and parish owners’ rates.
In addition, it spent just over £10,000 on costs related to housing, such as utilities, home improvements and rents on second dwellings, such as university accommodation.
The average cost of buying a home in Guernsey has increased from about eight times average earnings to 16 times average earnings over the past 20 to 25 years.
Deputy Marc Leadbeater said that he believed it would take a decade of sustained action for housing costs to be tackled.
‘We need at least a good, solid 10 years of housing development in Guernsey if we are to even begin to address the escalating cost of housing.
‘Other initiatives such as increasing the provision of free hours of childcare would also benefit households with young families, but I still believe housing to be the most important factor.’
Deputy Le Brun, who put housing at the centre of his successful election campaign earlier in this year, met the Housing Committee last month to present an idea for States-developed starter homes. The committee said it was working on very similar plans, which it hoped to publish shortly.
The survey underlined the spending gap between average households in different types of tenure.
Total annual spending was about £95,000 for owner-occupiers with mortgages, £65,000 for those renting in the private sector, and £40,000 for social housing tenants and partial owners.