The housing landscape continues to change as homeownership levels fall. With young people now more interested in renting, the build to rent sector must meet the demand.
1 in 4 households set to rent
It is no surprise then that a recent report from Knight Frank, suggests that 1 in 4 households will be living in private rented accommodation by 2021.
Approximately 5 million (21%) of all UK households are in private rented accommodation. Due to rising house prices, renting is the only option for some. More and more of the younger generation are now considering renting long term as a suitable option for their needs. The number of renters has doubled over the last 10 years. The latest report from Knight Frank estimates that the number of private renters will grow by around 800,000 over the next five years to 5.79 million (24%) renters.
According to the most recent annual report from the estate agency, there are currently 14.3 million owner-occupiers in the UK, along with 4.3 million social tenants.
Flexibility and Simplicity
The research was performed by YouGov on behalf of Knight Frank. They surveyed over 10,000 tenants and 26 major investors. YouGov found that although three-quarters of renters in the UK are currently living in homes owned by private landlords, they will increasingly rent from large-scale corporate landlords such as City firms and Property companies.
The survey found that 68% of renters believe they will still not own a home in 3 years’ time. 21% of respondents felt that renting suited their lifestyle. They also felt like they wouldn’t be able to afford a deposit.
8% of participants are not interested in the responsibility of owning a home. Followed by 6% stating that their career requires the flexibility that comes with renting.
Head of Lettings at Fife Properties, Richard Cook said “The Private Rented Sector has continued to grow over the years. Demand for affordable, flexible accommodation continues to rise. The private rented sector is firmly established as the best option as social housing can’t keep up. Coupled with the increase in the Scottish Governments increasing appetite to regulate the industry equates to the need for Landlords to increasing use Letting Agents to keep up. Fife Properties is one of the first in Scotland to qualify to the Government’s New Standards for letting agent’s due to come in 2018. Book a FREE consultation with Richard on letting your property at https://www.fifeproperties.co.uk/property-valuation/