Landlords Called Upon To Fill Housing Gap

With new house builds hitting well below 100,000 units during 2009, the call by the British Property Federation for private rented landlords to fill Britain’s growing housing gap is becoming more and more sound.

According to research by Hometrack there is a massive gulf between social housing and home ownership. Even despite property price falls of 20%+ many homeowners are still struggling to afford property and acquire the deposits they need to invest.

However, instead of being able to depend on social housing, a large percentage of homeowners are discovering that they don’t qualify to go on the list and have been left with only one viable option: renting.

Property advisors agree that the initiation of new pension funds and the support of institutional investors are needed to help bail out the public sector whose funding for social housing has all but disappeared.

Speaking on the growing housing shortage director of the BPF Ian Fletcher believes the government can no longer remain muted about the need for a quality private rental sector.

With many homeowners over the last 18 months having faced mortgage difficulty, the need to move to find a new job or the desire for a bigger home for their family beyond what they can afford; the flexibility provided by the buy-to-let market is crucial for the well-being of the economy.

In addition, with only 100,000 properties being built in 2009, it is evident that the government’s ambition for 3 million new homes by 2020 is unlikely to happen, not when funding, investment and delivery is proving unachievable.

Original Article

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Fraser Stirling, Property Mentor Delegate

No matter what the media wants you to believe, property is still the only investment route where you can benefit from an asset that will NEVER go into zero value. Even when I was university I admired properties ability to withstand the economic elements and stay strong, even when other investment forms faltered or failed. X years on, I am now the proud owner of multiple property investments - one of which earns a passive income of £4,680 and my property portfolio is still expanding. Read more