To Buy or Not to Buy?
New research has found that it is cheaper to buy than it is to rent in more than one-third of cities in the UK.
The Government's Housing and Planning Bill
What may be even more welcome news for those yet to make it onto the property ladder, is the Government's announcement of its landmark Housing and Planning Bill which will help deliver its ambition of achieving 1 million new homes by 2020. The Bill sets out a number of initiatives aimed at supporting home building and home ownership, including new affordable starter homes; automatic planning permission in principle on brownfield sites; and planning reforms for small builders.
In another bid to boost house building, the Prime Minister also announced earlier this week that the temporary rule introduced in 2013 to allow conversion of disused offices into homes without the need for planning permission will become a permanent change. He also announced that councils must provide local plans for new homes in their area by 2017, failing which the Government will be forced, in consultation with local communities, to produce those plans for them.
Summary
To buy or not to buy? With the concerns around current rental prices, the increase in new property listings and all the initiatives to boost home building, it would appear that the more pertinent question is: when to buy?