If you’re something of a news junkie, you’ll often find a story or two framed around a shocking statistic detailing just how tough it is for young people to get on the UK property ladder.
The Covid-19 pandemic, according to the statistics, has only served to make it even more difficult for people under 30 to buy their first home, with property prices and demand for homes soaring.
According to estate agent Benham & Reeves, the UK’s house price to income ratio at the start of 2021 was a whopping 9.94 – meaning in simple terms, someone would need 9.94 times their annual salary to buy a home.
Not only that, but a buyer would also need an average of one year’s salary as a deposit, too.
So, yes, the statistics don’t lie.
But is there more to the Generation Rent story than the numbers tell us and does that mean there’s an ongoing opportunity for property investors?
The flexibility of renting
The notion of a ‘job for life’ really doesn’t exist any longer.
Younger people are settling down later in life, too, meaning their 20s and often much of their 30s are spent moving jobs, moving areas – experiencing new places, new people and generally living life.
If anything, the pandemic has heightened that desire, among the Millennial generation in particular, to spend more time simply ‘living’.
The phrase ‘life’s too short’ has been brought home to all of us over the past two years.
Renting provides that generation to move around as they please, with far less hassle than if they were having to sell a home.
And this is reflected in current demand from the end of 2021 and start of 2022:
- UK rents were up 4.6% on average at the end of 2021
- The number of properties available to rent was down 43% on the previous five years
- The average time to rent out a property in the South West was less than 10 days
- Rental price growth is set to rise by another 4.5% in 2022, according to Zoopla
Low supply and high demand mean a massive opportunity for anyone looking to generate an income from property investment and we’re certainly seeing a rise in interest here at Platinum Property Partners.
The affordability of co-living
Here at Platinum, our franchise partners focus their property investments on co-living rental properties – also known by their more official name of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).
With rental prices increasing, renting a room in a co-living property alongside other like-minded people has become an affordable and socially beneficial way to live for many renters.
Co-living is also convenient, adding to its popularity.
After all, what tenant in 2022 wouldn’t be attracted to high-speed WiFi, a modern, fully furnished room and communal area and all bills included in their monthly rent?
And what landlord wouldn’t be happy with the multiple income streams provided by five, six or even more rooms filled with professional renters?
Certainty in an uncertain world
From Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic to the cost-of-living crisis and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine… it’s been an incredibly uncertain and worrying few years for us all.
The idea of ‘home’ has never been more important, and we’re seeing that both through the incredible properties our franchise partners are creating for professional renters and the desire of those renters to live in them.
‘Home’ provides certainty when everything going on around us is far from certain.
And for co-living landlords like our franchise partners, their reward is not only a robust income but also the knowledge that they’re providing a ‘home’ for hard working people when they need it most.
This article comes courtesy of Platinum Property Partners, the specialist property investment franchise with a network of more than 400 franchise partners built over almost 15 years.
