Soaring private rentals reflect pressure on first-time buyers
I was brought up with the mantra that rent was dead money. When I started work it was reasonable to expect to be able to get a mortgage soon after you got your first full time job.
I increasingly reflect that these attitudes for most people are part of a retreating world view. There is now very little choice for many but to rent and if attitudes are changing in that context, on the basis tht you can’t push water uphill, that might not be a bad thing. This article reveals:
“The number of people renting privately-owned accommodation in England has increased by 55% in the past six years, reflecting the struggle many aspiring homeowners have faced trying to buy their first home.
Figures published by the communities and local government department in its annual English housing survey show the number of private renters increased from 2.15 million in 2003-04 to 3.35 million in 2009-10. The number of tenants in social housing fell slightly from 3.92 million to 3.67 million (a drop of 6.5%) over the same period, while the total number of owner-occupiers fell from 14.54 million to 14.52 million, a drop of 0.18%.”
It goes on to suggest that many now accept renting will be the norm – bringing an end or that distinctive British institution – a property owning democracy. How this will impact on other behaviours and attitudes is an interesting reflection. Certainly many other EU countries get by fine on this basis.
We do however face an ongoing problem if we are to make the transition to a rent based society of increasing housing supply, particularly in rural places, otherwise we will be caught by a perfect storm of unaffordable mortgages and too few properties to rent. Or are we already there?