UK PM May to host housing meeting on Tuesday - source

LONDON, Oct (Shenzhen: 000069.SZ - news) 16 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May will host a meeting on Tuesday with developers and local housing associations in a bid to encourage the industry to build more homes and tackle soaring prices, an industry source said.

The housing industry says Britain needs to build around 250,000 properties a year just to meet pent-up demand, which has pushed up prices and rents, stopping many younger people from getting onto the property ladder. The target is routinely missed.

PM May has called the housing market broken and vowed to spend an additional two billion pounds ($2.7 billion) to create a new generation of affordable housing. The source, who declined to be named because the meeting is not public, said the meeting was expected to cover a range of issues facing the industry.

May's office declined to comment on the meeting. ($1 = 0.7528 pounds) (Reporting by Kate Holton and William James; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)