Just who are Westcliff on sea Tenants?

 

Speaking to a Bank Manager the other day in Westcliff, we got talking about the state of the Southend  property market and whether we, as a Country, are turning more and more to the European style of property ownership, where it is the norm to rent as a opposed to automatically buying once you have a job etc.

Even though a recent report by the Halifax stated homeownership remains a goal for 85% of twenty to forty five year olds, there is information emerging that attitudes in the UK towards renting your own home as opposed to owning it have softened, showing more and more, that renting is being seen as a life style choice. In fact it is recognised in learned circles that the cycle of renting is also repeated by the fact that people who grow up primarily in rented accommodation are themselves more likely to rent than buy.

Many people think that the UK should lose its fixation with homeownership and that people would be happier as a result. If this pattern were to continue, then this would suggest that the people entering the housing market are less likely to want to own a home, and are more likely to remain  ‘Renters for Life’, irrespective of changing market conditions, leading to a longer term shift in the home ownership make-up of the country.

The biggest barrier often mentioned to buying a house is the claim that they are not buying property at the moment because of a lack of sufficient wages and by the high level of deposits but like we said a few weeks ago, in Southend on sea, a single person on the average Southend  salary of £25,487p.a., assuming they had a ‘reasonable’ credit history, they would be showered with lenders offering them a 95% mortgage - a ‘reasonable’ credit history means no loan defaults, and no County Court Judgements. Just because you missed just one credit card payment won’t mean you have messed up your credit score and your ability to get a mortgage - and they would only need to find £9,500 as a deposit to buy a decent two bed semi-detached house in Westcliff on sea. It comes down to the perceived capability of the youngsters in Southend to buy nowadays.

Interestingly, when I looked at the Westcliff  figures, the average Southend  tenant has an older profile than the England and Welsh average, I know we have a large number of mature tenants at our agency, but I always thought that was the exception to the rule. Obviously not! - Good news for landlords as they make excellent tenants!

So what does all this mean for Southend landlords and future local landlords? I honestly believe there is a difference between the hope and perceived capability of the younger generation to buy a home. Although homeownership is seen as advantageous by a majority, many tenants admitted in the Halifax report they are not taking the steps they need to purchase their own home.

As the local authority aren’t building any properties in Southend, people still need to live somewhere, and that is why, as I mentioned a few weeks ago in the Leigh Property Blog, the demand for rental properties will only continue to steadily rise in the coming decade.

If want to know where the Southend Property market is heading and where you should or shouldn’t buy, maybe the one place you should visit is the Leigh Property Blog or you can call into our office on the London road for a chat.