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 it’s right to give normal Huddersfield
families back the hope of a secure home, be that rented or owned? As a town, we
need to exert pressure on our local MP Barry Sheerman, 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 Kirklees Council area in 2007, 2,660 properties were built. In 2008
that number peaked at 2,680. By 2014, that figure had dropped by a massive 61.19%
to 1,040 properties built.
The outcome
of too few homes being built in Huddersfield means the working people of the town
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 Huddersfield 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 Huddersfield 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 Huddersfield 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 Huddersfield
landlords, who own the 12,973 rental properties in the town. 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 Huddersfield!
Moving
forward, those Huddersfield 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 loosing 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 Huddersfield 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 Huddersfield property market, is the Huddersfield Property Blog http://huddersfieldproperty.blogspot.co.uk/
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