There I was, out with the family at Grosvenor
Park last weekend, when a smart gentleman approached me. ‘Hello’, he said, ‘You
are the person writes that Property Blog aren’t you? We have met before at that
Business Networking event in Royal Tunbridge Wells a few months ago’. I did
then recognise him and, whilst I wont mention his name, he runs a small but
perfectly formed well known independent retailers in the town ... It’s amazing
who you see when out walking! Anyway, I was at a loose end for five or ten minutes
as the other half was sorting things with the family, so we had a chat.
He wanted to know my thoughts on the future
of the Royal Tunbridge Wells property market, and I would now like to share
with you that conversation, my Royal Tunbridge Wells property Blog reading
friends. People are always going to need a roof over their heads and
somewhere to live will never go out of fashion – it’s a necessity for every
single person. The 22 to 30 year olds of the town have a choice to what type of
roof they have ... they rent from the Council, they can rent from a private
landlord or finally they can get a mortgage and buy one. In the 1970’s/80’s and
90’s, the expected thing was to save like mad for two years for the deposit
(going without luxuries) whilst living at home or renting a cheap two up two
down, then buy your first house. However, more recently fewer Royal Tunbridge
Wells youngsters have been buying, choosing to rent instead – mainly from
private landlords (as Councils have been selling off council housing on the Right
to Buy Schemes). The numbers are truly staggering ... and I want to share them with
you.
Roll the clock back 20 years and Royal Tunbridge Wells was a
different place. There were 35,352 households in Royal Tunbridge Wells and 24,178
of those were owner occupied. Move to the present, and with all the building in
the town, the total number of households has increased by 22.79% to 43,410 and
quite surprising (to me at least), the number of owner-occupiers has increased
to 28,530 (although as a proportion, it is only 65.7% compared to 68.3% twenty
years ago).
However, it’s rented sector that is truly fascinating … twenty
years ago, only 3,972 properties were privately rented in Royal Tunbridge Wells
... and now its 7,524, a rise of 3,552.
The twentysomethings
of Royal Tunbridge Wells housing difficulties haven’t been helped by the local
authority selling off council housing, with the number of council houses
dropping from 4,617 to 532 over the same twenty-year period. Demand for decent
rented property remains high, as Cameron’s much vaunted house building program
is years away and has decades of under investment to catch up on before it
starts to affect demand. Even with the Buy to Let tax rule changes over the
coming few years (which will see the maximum tax relief available to landlords
drop from 45% to 20%), private landlords still have an important role to play
in housing the people of Royal Tunbridge Wells and those who educate themselves
and treat it as a business will survive and prosper.
The best way Royal Tunbridge Wells landlords can protect their
income from property (and mitigate the affects of the tax rises) is to keep the
homes they let out in Grade A condition. I have found, especially over the last
three or four years, Royal Tunbridge Wells tenants have ever growing demands
from their rental property, but many are prepared to pay ‘top dollar‘ for houses
and apartments that meet their high expectations. You must not forget, letting
property in Royal Tunbridge Wells (in fact anywhere) is a business, so all
private landlords should also seek the advice, opinion and commentary of
property professionals.
... And just as the other half had
sorted the family, he asked ‘What of the news of Stamp Duty changes for
Landlords coming in April?’ My thoughts are with such low supply
(i.e. numbers of property for sale), and high demand it is hard to imagine Royal
Tunbridge Wells property values will see much impact – but I predict, ever so
slightly, the proportion of owner occupiers should increase slightly compared
to buy to let landlords in the coming decade as the the housing market should
return to balance. For more in-depth thoughts on the Royal Tunbridge Wells Property
Market, which have a library of similar articles like this, all on the Royal
Tunbridge Wells Property Market, please visit my blog
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