Whilst this may seem logical, I think that it is missing a more fundamental shift in our housing psyche.
There were though two interesting reports issued by the CML recently which highlighted two facts that caught my eye:
– Buy-to-let lending of £16.4bn for 2012 an increase of 19% on 2011
– 216,500 first-time buyers in 2012 an increase of 12% on 2011
I know that statistics can be made to show anything we want them to, but in simplistic terms the above implies that they can both grow and live in harmony.
The real question though is, are we trying to create a bigger first-time buyer market than there really is? We have seen many articles on “Generation Rent” with data from this implying:
– More people are happy to rent than previously thought
– People will not give up holidays and other priorities to save for a deposit
– People are delaying home purchase until they are older by choice
We also have greater work immigration plus working contracts and procedures that preclude home ownership in the short-term. All the above are helping to grow the buy-to-let market, not the buy-to-let market creating this client profile.
What it is showing is that, whilst home ownership is still important to us, we are moving more towards a German housing model. That doesn’t mean that we should stop looking at first-time buyer solutions, but it should be in tandem with how buy-to-let is working.
Therefore should the question be – how do we change our business models to service the new housing model, rather than keep on promoting the old ways?
Martin Reynolds is chief executive at SimplyBiz Mortgages
