UK population is expected to exceed 75 million—invest now and be in the right place at the right time! According to a recent report at the back end of 2007 by Professor David Coleman from Oxford University, the UK population was expected to increase by over 15 million within the next 45 years. Colman was basing his calculations on the Office of National Statistics, who recently altered their forecasts by increasing their estimates by over 30% extra a year. So what does this mean? Government policy at present is working on around 200,000 new homes a year, but can this be achieved and for how long? Regardless, even if we meet these requirements, this would only amount to nine million new homes, a short fall of six million. So what happens next?
It is little wonder that the government is therefore moving and thinking towards the private rental sector. In the last newsletter, we spoke about the government "think tanks" that where looking to emulate other countries such as France and Germany since they have a high proportion of rental properties. If you review current government strategy of landlord licensing, HIPS and utility certificates for landlords, you will see a general move to professionalise the landlord industry. So how does this help us?
Quite simply, make sure that you are set up for the push towards the growth in rental markets. Spend the time, effort and expense to become a professional investor and landlord, and learn to run your portfolio as a business treating the tenants as customers not tenants. Make sure that your portfolio is good quality, cash-flowing and regularly maintained with limited voids. Also, as the government pushes society more into accepting and appreciating landlords, make sure that your business is set up to handle the surge in this industry. |
