Napoleon might have
felt we were “a nation of Shopkeepers” but it seems that we have in fact become
a nation of homeowners.
In 1921, over 75% of
homes in the UK were rented, with just 25% being owner occupied. Up until the
mid-to-late 1960’s more people rented their home (mostly from the council) than
owned it.
It was only after
this, with the proliferation of house building after the Second World War and
the selling off of council houses, that more people started to buy their own homes
instead of renting them.
The increasing availability
of finance from banks and building societies enabled this trend to accelerate,
which kick-started a huge increase in property prices.
Whilst house prices
remained relatively stable throughout the U.K in the 1950’s and 60’s, they
suddenly leapt 400% in the 70’s and a further 170% in the 80’s before
flat-lining throughout most of the 1990’s (as people suffered from the effects
of Black Wednesday and the 15% interest rates that went with it).
The ‘noughties’
witnessed an overall rise of 109% as the latter half saw house prices drop
after the credit crunch. The after-effects of this can still be seen as we
reach the halfway point of this decade with the average property price in the
U.K a mere 16% up from 2010.
Does this suggest the
growing popularity of buy-to-let is not the cause of ‘rocketing’ house prices?
This makes sense, as most investors use sold data and rental yield projections
to limit what they’re prepared to pay for a property, whereas homeowners are
more willing to stretch their budget for a property that tugs at their heart
strings.
Like the rest of the
U.K, in Chichester this trend towards home ownership has stalled slightly in the
past decade. 33,481 households in Chichester were owner-occupied in 2011, up
from 32,138 in 2001.
However, when you
consider the total number of households grew from 45,796 to 49,848 in this time
(a lot of these new homes were bought by investors) home ownership actually
dropped in Chichester from 70% to 67% from 2001 to 2011.
With this drop in the
percentage of people who own their own home in Chichester, there is an
increasing number of people looking to rent. Some do so out of choice whereas
many more are unable to afford to buy, particularly struggling to save the
necessary deposit required to do so.
Nearly every report
suggests the overall level of home ownership is likely to continue to drop
throughout the country. Whilst I don’t envisage a complete reversal in the
trend of the past 50 years, it is clear that there will be growing demand for
good quality rental property in the area.
Clive Janes, CRJ Lettings
www.crjlettings.co.uk
01243 624 599 / clive@crjlettings.co.uk
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If you are looking for an agent that is well-established, professional and communicative in Chichester, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property.
E-mail me on clive@crjlettings.co.uk or call 01243 624 599.
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