It has always been the British way to want to own your home, after all a Englishman’s home is his castle, so it comes as no surprise when the latest figures show that 1 out of every ten British citizens own more than one property.
According to figures from the Resolution Foundation confirm that the dream of owning your own property is still well and truly alive in Britain today.
The report shows that people with multiple properties rose from 1.6m to 5.2m between 2000 and 2014 – a 30 per cent increase in the proportion of adults who owned more than one home.
The idea of UK property as the investment vehicle of choice is confirmed in this report, moreover it shows that many are looking at this as a long-term investment, as the analysis also suggested that most of these owners are not landlords, with just 3.4 per cent of adults letting property out.
To put this into perspective as far as UK properties go, this equates to 6.6 per cent of adults, or 3.4m people, have extra properties not as let properties but as an investment or use as holiday homes.
The data was comprised using information from both the British Household Panel Survey and the Office for National Statistics, which confirmed whilst first-time buyers are having a tough time of it at the moment and less and less are making it to that first rung on the UK property ladder, the number of second properties being bought has increased dramatically.
Laura Gardiner, senior policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Multiple property ownership is still a minority sport, but a growing one that represents a significant boost to the wealth pots of those lucky enough to own second homes.
“People with second homes not only have an investment that they can turn to in times of need, for instance in later life when care is required, but if the property is rented out they also see a boost to their incomes here and now.”
She added that properties not being used for rental could include “holiday homes, flats that adult kids live in for free, empty properties they’re speculating on, MP’s with London flats and constituency houses, people who’ve inherited their recently deceased parent’s home and haven’t worked out what to do with it yet”.
“It’s really the haves and have nos – there’s a generation of people being locked out of owning their own home and all the benefits that go along with it, and there’s another generation who’s got the leverage to benefit from rising house prices.
“We need to get homes that are for living in and not for investment.
“It’s telling that there’s little incentive to sell – even with an empty house you’re sitting on a rising investment.”
It is worth noting that the vast majority of the people investing in second homes second or third homes were based in the wealthiest areas of the UK, the report added.
Almost six in ten landlords are based in the South East or South West, the East of England and London.
“This is where the young people are struggling to get on to the property ladder which is why towns are banning holiday homes,” added Ms Higgins.
“These people have had years and years of benefit from a rising housing market – but you shouldn’t be making more money off your house than you do from going to work.”
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