One of the key factors that determine the price of anything
is the demand and supply of the item that is being bought and sold. When it
comes to property, demand can change overnight, but it takes years and years to
build new properties, thus increasing the supply.
The Conservatives have pledged to build over 1 million homes
by 2020. I am of the opinion that as a country, irrespective of which party, we
have not built enough homes for decades, and if the gap between the number of
households forming and the number of new homes being built continues to grow,
we are in danger of not being able to house our children or grand children. I
believe the country is past the time for another grand statement of ambition by
another Housing Minister. Surely it’s right to give normal Grantham families
back the hope of a secure home, be that rented or owned? As a town, we need to
exert pressure on our local MP Nick Boles, so they can make sure
Westminster is held accountable, to ensure there is a comprehensive plan, with
enough investment, that can actually get these homes built.
To give you an idea of the sorts of numbers we are talking
about, in the Lincolnshire County Council area in 2005, 3,910 properties were
built. In 2006 that rose to 4,410 and a year later in 2007, it peaked at 4,760.
By 2014, that figure had dropped by a massive 55.67% to 2,110 properties built.
The outcome
of too few homes being built in Grantham means the working people of the town are
being priced out of buying their first home and renters are not getting
the quality they deserve for their money. The local authority isn’t building
the estates they were after the war and housing associations are having their
budgets tightened year on year, meaning they have less money to spend on
building new properties. I know of many Grantham youngsters, who are living
with their parents for longer because they cannot afford to get onto the
housing ladder and growing families are unable to buy the bigger homes they
need.
I talk to
many Grantham business people and they tell me they need a flexible and mobile
workforce, but the high cost of moving home and lack of decent and affordable
housing are barriers to attracting and retaining employees. Furthermore,
building new homes is a powerful source of growth, creating jobs across the
county and supporting hundreds of Grantham businesses. It is true that
landlords have taken up the mantle and over the last 15 years have bought a large
number of properties. The Government need to be thankful to all those Grantham
landlords, who own the 3,325 rental properties in the town. Most local
landlords only have a handful of rented properties (to aid their retirement), and
without them, I honestly don’t know who would house all the extra people in Grantham!
Moving
forward, those Grantham landlords have many pitfalls, both in the short term
and medium term. For instance, were you aware that the rules of changes for new
tenancies from the 1st October 2015 (with some imposing penalties
including loosing the right to require the tenant to vacate, if they are done
incorrectly) or in the medium term, the planned change in the way buy to let’s
are taxed?
More than
ever, the days of buying any old property in Grantham and you would be set for
life are gone. Now, it’s all about ensuring you stay the right side of the law,
buying the right property (and that might mean even selling some to buy
others), so you build the right portfolio for you as a landlord. One source of
info on all of these issues, where you will find other articles similar to this
on the Grantham property market, is the Grantham Property Blog
