Hello,
I hope you’ve had a great week. We had a fantastic time participating in The Landlord Investment Show on Tuesday. The venue was packed full of all manner of property experts and investors from around the UK.
With so much being done remotely nowadays, it was very refreshing to see our investors face-to-face. We are always happy to meet for a chat if you are considering investing in one of our properties, or even to join you on a trip to one of the development sites if that would be helpful.
Now, let’s take a look at all the headlines that caught our attention this week. I always try to summarise the links to save you from having to click through.
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Property News This Week
- Huge Jump in BTL Landlords Setting up limited Companies – Paragon Bank has recently released a survey of 700 participants showing a significant uptick in landlords planning to purchase their next BTL property through a limited company, with 62% confirming this, up from 50% last quarter. The number of landlords planning this strategy is now at a 3-year high. While more larger portfolio landlords intend to use this tax-saving method, the survey shows that a significant portion of smaller landlords is also following suit at just under 50%. The survey also revealed that just 14% of participants were intending to increase their portfolio in the next 12 months, possibly due to increasing house prices, lack of affordable stock and increasing pressure from the government eating into profits. It is therefore expected that more landlords will be looking to reduce their costs as time goes on.
- Are Modular Homes a Solution to the UK Housing Crisis? – Throughout the pandemic, the UK market not only remained buoyant but actually thrived as demand hit the roof – and house prices quickly followed. However, there are now signs of an inevitable slow down as the cost of living crisis begins to sink in. With undersupply and affordability being two of the biggest reasons for the heat of the current market, we now need to find new alternatives to bring back hope to the thousands of prospective new buyers who would give their right arm to finally get on the ladder. Modular homes may be the answer. These factory-built houses reduce building waste and abolish the need for lengthy planning applications. With construction done inside a factory, there is no delay from adverse weather conditions and the price is significantly lower than the average UK home. If that isn’t enough, a switch to modular construction could also radically reduce the carbon footprint of home construction. Could this be the solution we have been waiting for?
- Greg Clark Named as New Housing Secretary – After urging the Prime Minister to resign, Michael Gove was the next government official to fall on his sword as he was swiftly axed by Boris Johnson. In his place, Greg Clark has now been named as the new Housing Secretary. Clark first served as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government five years ago, holding the position for a little over a year. He then moved on to the position of Business Secretary, serving Theresa May’s government for 3 years between July 2016 and July 2019. In September 2019, his whip was removed by Boris Johnson after he voted against the EU Withdrawal Bill. This changeover comes as Johnson is set to outline his own departure as Prime Minister. He reportedly plans to stay in his post until a replacement is appointed in Autumn.
- Halifax Reports Highest House Price Growth Since 2004 – New data from Halifax has revealed that house prices have increased by 13% since this time last year, which evidences the highest annual growth in 18 years. Property experts are warning that the bubble may burst as the UK property market is now “defying logic” as it continues to boom despite inflation and massive financial pressures being piled onto the average household. Even as the cost-of-living crisis hits household finances hard, house prices still saw the biggest monthly rise in June than has been seen in 15 years. Halifax has remarked that the market is behaving in a gravity-defying manner, with all reasonable predictions based on logic seemingly bypassed as heavy demand and critical undersupply continue to charge house prices. The average house price now sits at £294,845, which is nearly 12 times the average UK full salary of £24,600.
That is all we have for you this week. If you have any comments or questions on this week’s news summary then please feel free to send us an email at [email protected] – if not, see you next week.
