Bo’ness’s continuing housing shortage is putting the town’s
(and Scotland’s) repute as a nation of homeowners ‘under threat’, as the number
of houses being built continues to be woefully inadequate in meeting the ever
demanding needs of the growing population in the town.
In fact, I was talking to some friends the other day at a
get together and the subject of the Bo’ness property market came
up in the conversation after the weather and politics. It was said that it used
to be that if you went out to work and did the right thing, you would expect
that relatively quickly you would be buying a house, you would go on holiday
every year and you would save for a pension. But now things seem to have
changed.
At least 30,000 new homes are needed each year in Scotland
to tackle the chronic housing shortage this Country has.
As you can see from the graph above (courtesy of the
Office of National Statistics), only 18,285 properties were built in
2015 in Scotland as a whole (split down 12,050 built by private builders, 3,060
built by Housing Associations and a paltry 1,160 council houses). Also, and perhaps more concerning, is the
fact that the last time we build more than 30,000 homes a year was in 1977 (the
year of the punk explosion and the Queen’s silver (yes, silver!) jubilee
depending on your taste) and we have only built 21,000 homes per year on
average over the last 10 years.
The current Scottish Government is helping – they are
committed to see the building of 6,000 homes per year on average and are on
track to deliver this. However, this
still leaves another 24,000 homes per year to build.
The picture in Bo’ness is similar to the Scottish wide
trend.
There are simply not enough houses in Bo’ness and the
shortage of supply has meant Bo’ness property values have
continued to rise, meaning they are 2.1% higher than 12 months ago despite the BREXIT
impact on the housing market.
I was taught at school that it is all about supply and
demand, this economics game. The demand for Bo’ness property has
been particular strong for properties in the good areas of the town
and it is my considered opinion that it is likely to continue this year, driven
by growing demand among buyers (both Bo’ness home buyers and Bo’ness landlords
alike). You see, Bo’ness’s economy is quite varied which will help it weather
the current economic uncertainties that we are going through.
…and of supply, well we have spoken about the lack of new
building in the town holding things back, but there is another issue relating to
supply. Of the existing properties already built, the concern is the
number of properties on the market and for sale. The number
of properties currently for sale in Bo’ness has reduced over
time!
With demand for Bo’ness property rising,
minimal new homes being built and less properties coming onto the
market, that can only mean one thing, now is a good time to be a homeowner or
landlord in Bo’ness.
If you would like a chat to find out more about
investment property and property management in Bo’ness please pick up the phone
(01506 828096), pop in (6 Vicar Street, Falkirk) or email (robert@thekeyplace.co.uk).
#bo’ness
#boness #property #buytolet #realestate #ownermanagedbusiness #retirement
#retirementplanning #privaterentedsector #prs #firsttimebuyers #lettingagents
#housebuilding #housingcompletions
No comments:
Post a Comment