I was reading a report the other day produced by the
Halifax, about the UK property market and why more and more of the younger
generation seem to be renting rather than buying. I find it fascinating that
over the last 10 - 15 years, the British obsession of buying a house almost as
soon as you left school, and the fact that if you rented you were seen as a
second class citizen, has turned on its head to a point where the hopes and
dreams to own a nice home will be replaced by the ambition simply to live in
one.
In the latter half of the 20th Century, you left school,
got a job, bought a small house and kept buying and selling property,
constantly upgrading until eventually they carried you out in a box. However,
the perceived shame and stigma of renting is no longer the case, as it seems
that the British are now beginning to accept a lifetime of renting. This is a
very important consideration for both Penicuik homeowners and Penicuik
landlords as it will transform the way the Penicuik property ladder looks in
the future and I might ask whether or not it will exist at all for some people?
The make up of households is one important factor, especially in the Penicuik
property market. The normal stereotypical married couple, two kids and dog of
the 1970’s and 80’s has changed. More and more we have the need for larger
houses where two families come together after divorces (+ kids) and need a
property to house everyone through to an increase in the number of one person
households.
Looking at the data for Penicuik, of the 901 private
rental properties in the Penicuik Locality, 27.62% of those rented properties
are one person households (249 properties). However, when we compare the number
of one person Penicuik households who have bought their own property with a
mortgage (i.e. therefore they are still in work), of the 4,705 owner occupied
households in the area, only 355 of those properties are a one person household
(i.e. 7.54%). Compared to a decade ago, this explosion in demand for decent
high quality rental properties that one person households require has not been
met with an increase in supply of such properties. More and more I
believe Penicuik landlords need to consider this change in the make up of Penicuik
households, as I believe this could be an opportunity.
It is true that the Government’s introduction in 2013 of
the Help to Buy scheme, where first time buyers only needed a 5% deposit,
changed the perception of peoples’ ability to buy without having to save ten’s
of thousands of pounds for a deposit. However, it might surprise you, 95%
mortgages were re-introduced within six months of the Credit Crunch in late
2009, so again it comes down to people’s own perception. Many youngsters think
they won’t get a mortgage, so don’t even bother trying.
Coming back to the deposit, it’s still a fact that once
you start renting it becomes that much harder to save for a deposit, regardless
of the size. Interestingly, 7 out of 8 renters polled by the Halifax (86% to be
exact) refuse to sacrifice the quality of accommodation they currently live in
to reduce the amount of rent they pay in order to save for a
deposit. This is the crux and the real reason why people aren’t
buying but renting... and why demand for renting will continue to grow in the
future (i.e. good news for landlords). Penicuik tenants can upgrade the quality
and size of the property they live in for a minimal rent increase. The average
rent of a two bed property in Penicuik is £700pm, but a three bed is only £150pm
more at £850pm, whilst the average four bed rent is £1,000pm. If you had to
make that jump when buying, the monthly mortgage payments would be
stratospherically more than that! Without any social pressure and better
quality rental properties compared to a decade ago, we will become a nation of
renters within the next generation, as the UK is becoming more like Europe,
where renting is ‘the norm’.
Who is going to supply all these properties to rent?
Landlords! Whether you are an existing landlord looking to grow your portfolio
or looking to become a ‘first time landlord’, my thoughts are take advice from
as many people as possible. However, as the majority of landlords buy their buy
to let properties in the same town they live, you will need specific advice
about Penicuik itself.
One place for such quality advice and opinion
is the Penicuik Property Blog www.thepenicuikpropertyblog.co.uk.
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