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 its right to give normal Canterbury families
back the hope of a secure home, be that rented or owned? As a city, we need to
exert pressure on our local MP Julian Brazier, 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 Canterbury City Council area in 2006, 470 properties were built.
In 2007 that rose to 570 and a year later in 2008, it peaked at 1,220. By 2014,
that figure had dropped by a massive 55.74% to 540 properties built.
The outcome of too few homes being built in Canterbury means
the working people of the city 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 Canterbury
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 Canterbury 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 Canterbury 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 Canterbury landlords, who own the 5,955 rental properties in the city.
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 Canterbury!
Moving forward, those Canterbury 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 losing 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 Canterbury
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 Canterbury property market, is the Canterbury
Property Blog www.canterburypropertyblog.com
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