The Uk's "rent Trap" - How Can Land And Housing Investors Provide Solutions?

By Author: Bradley Weiss
Total Articles: 272
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Fewer people are buying than renting homes in 2015. This likely has broader social and economic impacts in Britain - which private sector investment can mitigate.


Home ownership has generally climbed in the UK over the 20th century, in fits and starts and with major disruption in the aftermath of World War Two. But in the past decade, particularly in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, ownership rates have dropped from 69 per cent to 67.5 per cent (from 2004 to 2008) - due to the rapidly rising prices of homes against flat wages and more stringent lending practices. According to Government statistics (Department for Communities & Local Government, English Housing Survey 2012-2013), of the 7.5 million private renters in the UK, two-thirds are unable to save up money for a home-purchase deposit, probably because on average 40 per cent of their income is spent each month on rent.


This is a key consideration for the residential building industry as well as its financial backers. Strategic land developers ...
... work at unlocking areas that contain no housing to get planning authority approvals to build; this is an essential component of increasing the country's inventory of residences. If the supply of homes can rise - a key task that almost no one opposes - then simple economics dictates the price of owning and renting will plateau and perhaps even drop.


The social impact of fewer owners can play out in many ways. Households that fail to get on the property ladders, the so-called Generation Rent said to be in the "rent trap," are arguably disadvantaged as are their children and communities. Some statistics to bear in mind include:


Wealth accumulation - Owners see their investments grow over years in which they occupy their homes. While economic crises can alter this in the short-run, historically homes rise in value even as mortgage-based costs remain relatively static.


Ripple effect - As values of homes rise, those who own feel richer and tend to spend more. Within reason, that is good in that it feeds the broader economy.


Advantages over market-traded investments - The markets tend to be more volatile than home prices. In the two years following the 2008 crisis, market shares traded as much as 50 per cent lower than their peaks, while home prices dropped only 10 to 20 per cent (depending on location). Stocks and bonds have the advantage of liquidity, of course, but the fact that people do not sell based purely on the rise or fall of prices further stabilises against volatility.

Community stability and investment - The rule of thumb is that owners take better care of their buildings and communities, have higher voter participation rates, have children who fare better in school and experience lower antisocial factors (teenage pregnancy, drug use, school dropout rates, etc.).


A number of years ago, an article in The Economist ("Shelter, or burden?" April 16, 2009) presented a pros-cons case for ownership, challenging some of these assumptions. One could argue that ownership simply isn't for everyone, and that ownership creates rigidity in where people live such that they are hesitant to move for job opportunities in other cities or towns.


But one fact affecting approximately one million British households is this: they cannot find an affordable home through either renting or buying because the supply falls woefully short of demand. For them, it’s not an academic debate. There simply aren't enough houses or flats available to make it affordable for working families.


Public policies such as the Help-to-Buy scheme address this problem from a lending standpoint. A counter-argument made to this from many quarters is that looser lending only pushes prices higher. This Government programme needs to be met by the private sector, where most of the building is done. Even then it is almost always a public-private endeavour, given how investors involved in strategic land partnerships must achieve local planning authority approvals to build. But endeavour they do, adding infrastructure to raw land that enables homebuilders to do their work and create new residences.


Investors in housing come from all areas: foreign and domestic, individuals and institutions. For individuals who are looking at real estate investing for the first time, meeting with an independent financial advisor is highly recommended to gain a full perspective on where such assets best fit the investor's individual needs and objectives.