This week Linton Chiswick in an article titled Buy-to-let is not dead, came to the interesting conclusion that ‘Buy-to-let’s not dead… it’s just in a funny shape.’. The article puts this down to the contradictory information that is available to evaluate the state of the market at the moment.
Some information indicates that tenants are now in the strongest position with market flooded with accidental landlords desperate to rent out their properties to cover their expenses.
Other statistics seem to show that with a huge fall in interest rates some landlords are in a stronger position than ever. It seems to me that it is a little hard to judge the state of things accurately at the moment. There is however another question the article posed which I believe is far more interesting.
Will this crisis mean that our attitudes to the desirability of owning our own homes will be changed forever? In the Western World we have been having what could be described as a love affair with property for some time now. Will the huge crash and the impact it has had on people put a stop to that?
In the past renting was looked down on as a long term solution to living arrangements. The idea has always been that anyone worth their salt would have their own mortgage. Will this change now that people have been so badly burnt by this crisis? It will be interesting to see.
