Renters could overtake home owners in 15 years’ time
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In 15 years’ time there could be more renters in the UK than home owners, according to research from Grainger.
Brunswick Research carried out the analysis on behalf of Grainger - the UK’s largest listed specialist residential landlord.
It questioned 2,220 members of the general public about their attitudes to housing.
Its research found that 67% of respondents agree that times are changing, with long term renting becoming a common choice for many people in Britain.
Some 54% of people questioned expect that in 15 years’ time there will be more people in the UK renting their homes than owning.
The survey also suggests that the stigma of renting is dissipating over generations, with 51% of those questioned saying there is too much pressure to buy a house and people should be careful not to rush into buying a home too quickly.
Indeed, renting was perceived by 40% of individuals to be an important first step on the housing ladder.
Nick Jopling , executive property director of Grainger, says: “There is a new housing reality dawning on Britain: the financial crisis has tightened mortgage lending; house prices continue to be uncertain; and, frankly there are simply too few homes for the demand.
“More and more people are renting with many considering renting as an important stepping stone in housing tenure. Young people now consider renting as a step towards home ownership and for as much as 92% of young people it is seen as the only way they can move out from their parents’ homes.”
He says the shortage of housing is set to continue and more needs to be done to avoid the growing crisis and close the gap between supply and demand.
He adds: “That is why we’re calling on the government to speed up the process of unlocking the supply of land for new residential developments through their Public Land Initiative, see through their proposed reforms of the planning system and back the private rented sector as an acceptable housing tenure.”
The survey also found a generational conflict emerging - 40% of adults under 34 years of age blame older generations for pushing up house prices and failing to build enough new homes, while 74% see owning a home as something to aspire to, however only 31% of respondents believe that opportunities for first-time buyers will improve over the next few years.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter says: “Our chronic shortage of housing means the price of private rents are now sky-high. As well as this almost half the properties in the sector are in poor and substandard condition which people have no other choice than to accept.
“This raises some very serious questions about how we create a decent stable private rented sector that meets the needs of the one million families with children currently living there and we urge the government to address this in their upcoming housing strategy”
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Readers' comments (8)
Mark C | 15 Nov 2011 3:39 pm
Is this a trend we should embrace wholeheartedly, or try to carry on the idea ownership is something to strive for as early as possible.
Certainly a healthy rental sector with people only usually investing in property as they get older is a model that has served Germany and many others well.
It means a more flexible and fluid workforce, able to move easily when and where work demands.
Maybe we have been blinkered too much in the past, and now is the time to look differently at housing for the future.
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Matthew Gamble | 15 Nov 2011 3:53 pm
Can anyone answer me this basic nugget. With rents high (and demand outstripping supply this is likely to continue) so people unable to save significant amounts. What does one do when they reach 65/67 and retire and have no where to live other than renting? Expect their gold plated pensions to suppliment their ongoing rent and living style? I just simple don't get it how people will cope?
Or what is it our european counterparts do in their current model?
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AA | 15 Nov 2011 4:29 pm
In the next five years we'll see a housing boom as the tories remove the red tape around greenbelt and brownsites.
Mortgage products are better than last year so its case of excercising patience.
I cant see this country shifting to a european rental style of living. We have more sense over here. Can you imagine paying 30 years of rent. By hook or by crook, people will find the deposits...
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Simon Astley | 15 Nov 2011 5:17 pm
I think its is almost inevitable with pensions becoming 'worthless' that people will have to sell their home and rent. I also think that 15 years is optimistic and that it will be sooner. Politicians and the Public sector are sucking us dry too. There are major social issues just around the corner. What we are seeing now is the tip of the iceberg.
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Rod Moulton | 15 Nov 2011 5:28 pm
I wish I could predict the market in 15 years time - what a load of old tosh this so called research is.
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Luke Atkinson | 16 Nov 2011 10:43 am
@ AA 4.29 - Where on earth does your justification come from for your comment?
A housing boom? Lets see where the housing market goes when interest rates increase.
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Agabus25 | 16 Nov 2011 1:28 pm
We need to remove the stigma that renter = loser which is a real concern in the UK. If you could rent in a well supplied, well maintained market with sensible financial institutions as landlords (hold on that's what we used to have in the 1950s - my house used to be owned by the Pru) it would be cheap, flexible and allow one to follow the German model of buying to occupy only when you are 50+ when you only need a smaller home anyway. While you have a family at home you have a long-term rent. Germany shows that it does work - the problem is that people in the UK want to own largely because they want to create 'wealth' without having to lift a finger.
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Anonymous | 17 Nov 2011 2:43 pm
For all of you that think referencing other European countries and their rental/housing markets is relavant to the UK, think again
Germany has a significant excess of housing due to a building boom following the fall of the berlin wall.It also has a falling population and low birth rate - renting is a viable option as property is cheap and demand low - see the prices of flats in Berlin as an example
The issue in the UK isn't about whether to rent or to buy, it's about supply and demand. Unless you equalise the equation both renting and buying will remain expensive and for many, unaffordable
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