Dataloft (now PriceHubble) reposted this
📊 🇬🇧 Does BTR offer a solution? The latest rental affordability figure for July increased yet again, reaching its highest level since our tracker began, at 28.8%. 📈 Our monthly 'Affordability Tracker' for the UK rental market monitors trends in renters' affordability. It's published in the Housing section of the Office for National Statistics' weekly bulletin of real-time indicators, 'Economic Activity and Social Change in the UK'. It was also featured in the Financial Times last week in an article highlighting that rental affordability in the UK is at its ‘worst level in more than 7 years’. Does BTR offer a solution? PriceHubble’s Sandra Jones comments: "This is proof if we need it that we have a problem with housing affordability in the UK, and that renters are paying the price. The simple truth is that rents have been rising faster than earnings. There are a number of explanations. Landlords deciding to exit the market is one, but we know that there are new landlords entering the market too, so that is not the whole story. HMO licencing and the imposition of minimum room sizes has reduced supply, especially in the big cities because renting the ‘box room’ is no longer an option for sharers. That’s a lot of rooms taken out of the system. The appeal of short-term rents is another cause. At the same time, many renters want a spare room to work from home if they can afford it. Rents cannot continue to outpace wages growth like this indefinitely and we already see the rate of growth moderating. These findings underscore the importance of the Build to Rent sector in delivering well-built, well-managed, and affordable long-term housing solutions, especially for the ‘squeezed middle’ in the UK’s broad and diverse renter population”. 🔎 Read the full analysis online: https://lnkd.in/ezWZQTds (Please note: the article is behind a paywall). #RealEstate #PropertyMarket #RentalAffordability #HousingSolutions #BTR #UKHousingMarket #PropertyMarketInsight #PriceHubble #Dataloft