A brand new report released this week from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has really made me realise that the UK is moving towards a European property model.
The new report found that rental attitudes are in fact changing. When asked about attitudes to renting and whether consumers would rather buy than rent, the majority of respondents (67.2 per-cent) felt that people were being forced to rent a finding that we as expert lettings agents in Sheffield would agree with.
The boom in buy to let is being blamed on a lack of mortgage availability and partly down to the large deposits required, but in my opinion this is down to several other accompanying factors.
People are looking for flexibility and a lack of commitment nowadays, and are putting their lifestyle in front of being tied down with a mortgage. What’s more, the market is currently saturated with high quality properties available for rent in Sheffield in great locations, removing the need for a mortgage.
It is highly likely that the rentals market will move towards a more continental model seen in countries like France and Germany, where leases are offered on a five or ten year basis as opposed to the six and twelve month leases currently offered in the UK.
It is my firm belief that in France and Germany, property ownership is not considered so important. Providing that you have somewhere to live, the emphasis for them is on living life to the full, a viewpoint slowly being accepted by the British.
