Are We Ready To Rent?

02 September 2016

Only 65% of the population own their own home, and this number is vastly decreasing. According to housing experts, it has been predicted that by 2041 only 45% of us will own our own homes – that’s only 27 years away!

Renting could seen as becoming the “norm” but are we prepared? 

As the volume of tenants rises, you would expect simple supply and demand to follow this pattern, after all having a place to live is a bit more of a necessity than a luxury. However, the recent stats show that, with the “right to buy” scheme, the number of rental properties in the UK is decreasing. 

This is not something to panic about as building houses seems to happen very quickly nowadays, especially with these flat pack designer homes from Scandinavia. Plus, the new built to rent investment scheme the government has started to introduce. 

So, the question is – is there any need to panic? 

The answer is quite simply, no. Many of our European neighbours are choosing to rent, especially in cities. In fact, only 45% of Germans own a home, and in Berlin, that figure falls to just 14%, and we haven’t always been a nation of home owners. In Victorian Britain, 1 in 5 people had their name on property deeds.