Is the UK Obsessed with Home Ownership?

Is the UK Obsessed with Home Ownership?

Yes, yes and a thousand times yes.

Talking about the property industry is a British hobby and a conversation starter when hanging out with friends or family.

Right after talking about how many of the four seasons, you’ve noticed in a single day.

It’s the UK. It’s possible to have all four in a single afternoon!

Not sure about you, but I have heard or said myself

• Oh number 55 has a for sale board, quick let me check on Rightmove how much it’s on for, mine might be worth tons more.
• Girl, have you thought about this shared ownership scheme? I heard it’s expensive
• Hmmm such as such has moved in with their mum and dad again after their divorce, it’s tough out here (cough, cough that’s me!!)

Not only are the UK obsessed with home ownership, but we’re also obsessed with the property industry in general.

Every aspect of it from

• buying
• selling
• investing
• decorating it

I have a unique perspective in that I have been a landlord, tenant, homeowner and work in the property industry.

First as a Real Estate Virtual Assistant and secondly as a Viewing Assistant / Estate Agent for a very well known UK agency.

I hear almost daily the motivations for people moving home.

I am clearly not the guru on absolutely all things property, but due to the jobs that I do, I can speak to as little as 100 people in a month or 250 people, viewing properties to buy.

Maybe one of these reasons resonates with you.

11 Reasons UK is Obsessed With Home Ownership

Most of the reasons given feed into our dreams and goals of achieving more and being a provider for our families.

It would not surprise me as almost all resonates with me!

So let me share my two pence worth on what makes the UK obsessed with home ownership.

1 – Government Given Rights

In the 1980s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher brought about the Housing Act 1980” which gave council house tenants in England and Wales the Right to Buy their homes from the local authority.

A council tenant is usually a person that is unable to afford to buy a property and they rely on their local council to provide them with housing.

They range from all walks of life; the reasons for a person to claim social housing are vast.

But ultimately, if the extremely underprivileged people in society can now afford to buy their own home… then so can anyone.

Absolutely anyone.

To me, this was the birth of how the UK became obsessed with home ownership.

The government has declared to the fabulous people of the United Kingdom:

(Read in the voice of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher)

A man’s right to work as he will to spend what he earns to own property to have the State as servant and not as master these are the British inheritance.

They are the essence of a free economy. And on that freedom, all our other freedoms depend.

1975 Oct 10, Margaret Thatcher, Speech to Conservative Party Conference 

2 – British Dream

So the British Dream doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily as the American Dream.

But that does not mean it doesn’t exist.

Our last Prime Minister Theresa May reiterated the British Dream at a Party Conference in 2017.

She defined the British Dream as “home ownership, having a secure job and a living standard higher than your parents.“

It’s ingrained into each person living in the UK that to achieve the dream life, one aspect is, to aspire to own a home!

In 1995–96, 65% of those aged 25–34 with incomes in the middle 20% for their age owned their own home.

Twenty years later, that figure was just 27%.

Financially comfortable, happy and safe is what we want for ourselves and our children.

There I was thinking that was an idea I had all by myself, nope.

Girl, it’s the UK government secretly sprinkling thoughts of home ownership through the airwaves, ha ha ha.

The UK has a culture of financial improvement and that includes owning property.

Let’s not turn this into a university lecture lol.

I just want to ensure I break it down, so you are in no doubt because you might have a home ownership obsession.

3 – No blacks, no dogs, no Irish

Between 1948 and 1970 nearly half a million people moved from the Caribbean to Britain upon an invitation from the British Government.

My mother and father’s parents (my grandparents) came to the UK from Jamaica during that era.

They left behind family and friends, heat, sun, warmth, sun… did I say the sun?

Upon arriving in The Mother Country, they discovered the streets were not paved with gold, but with discrimination and racism.

Both of my grandparents, although neither was introduced until my parents married, both had similar journeys to buying property.

They found renting to be very challenging, conditions very poor and cramped.

Financial institutions were less inclined to lend large mortgages, so they saved money through a pardner scheme to obtain a deposit to get mortgages or purchased properties in cash.

Pardner Scheme

A pardner scheme was a quicker way for those from the Caribbean to save money amongst themselves to achieve their goals.

One individual is entrusted with managing the money and is called “the banker”.

The other members – “the partners” – contribute a stipulated amount (called a “hand”) either weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

Every week or month, one member receives the total amount (called the “draw”) contributed by all the partners.

In some cases, the banker collects a hand as a service fee.

The order in which members get their draw is selected by the banker, who will give priority to the more established and trusted members.

This is how both my sets of grandparents bought their properties for today’s equivalent of a £1… joke!

It was a struggle for them, as it was for all their friends and other family members at that time. But against all odds, they succeeded.

4 – Bank of Mum and Dad

We want the very best for our children.

Our babies never stop being our babies regardless of old they are (as my parents tell me!).

25–34-year-olds are almost priced out of the market, especially in London, so their parents come to the rescue.

Now individuals or couples that are currently living with parents, are not paying market rent.

They are likely paying Tuppence (good ole Mary Poppins) or helping with household bills, so they may have a small deposit.

But ultimately, parents want to be empty nesters.

They want to turn bedrooms into mancaves, walk-in wardrobes, or leave the house and come back to exactly how they found it!

But that proves a little challenging with the Babies still present.

Enter Bank of Mum and Dad.

I have carried out many second viewings where the single person brings along their parents, for approval.

The single person has fallen head over heels in love with the property.

But because Bank of Mum and Dad are buying with investment eyes, they have killed the single person’s dream… dead!

No offer and no deposit.

Parents know best.

But they want their children to settle in a “nice” area and in a property that is suitable for them, without wasting money on rent.

5 – Status

Owning your property can be seen as a status symbol much like those that have gone to university to get a degree or masters.

The next step is to own a property.

Part of the British Dream, much like the American Dream, is to improve your social class status, to move up in the hierarchical social categories from where your parents are.

At the very least, stay within the same social class.

It’s rare or virtually impossible to move into Elite or Upper-Class status. Unless “one marries well” or works extremely hard at obtaining the right network.

Social class in the United Kingdom varies but is most influenced by factors of wealth, occupation, and education.

Buying property increases your wealth, your social class and therefore your status.

An example of someone we can all relate to that has obtained the British Dream is Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Her mother is a yoga instructor and psychotherapist and her father is a lighting director.

Her parents would be considered Middle Class.

Meghan had built up a network of friends and people of influence that enabled her to not only meet a Prince but to marry him…

This whisked his butt off to the USA (I’m saying nothing!)

6 – Generation Rent

Generation rent is a term used to describe those young adults (18-40) who have been priced out of the housing market.

Unable to buy and having to pay a high percentage of their income on rent.

These individuals have done their best to save and save and save to get a deposit.

They are tired of paying rent; they think it’s dead wasted money.

When the same rent payment can be paid towards a mortgage on their own home, tn some cases, a mortgage is cheaper than paying rent.

Rental property does not offer security.

Let’s not be mistaken, there are lots of benefits to renting a property.

1) No Maintenance Costs or Repair Bills.
2) Access to local Amenities.
3) More Flexibility As to Where to Live.
4) Few Concerns About Decreasing Property Value.
5) Flexibility to Downsize or Upsize

The main downsides are that the tenant is at the mercy of the landlord.

If the landlord needs the property back for whatever reason they deem suitable (under UK law), the tenant has to move and find another location.

This is an inconvenience, especially if you have children that attend school locally, friends, childcare circle and just life is centred around your residence, moving can be a chore!

Owning your own home provides stability like no other.

Mortgage payments are not finite.

There will be a period of 25 – 30 years, then no more payments and the property will be owned outright.

With renting, there is no end period and payments are ongoing, indefinitely.

7 -Profitable

There is no getting around it.

Owning property can be very profitable.

As of today, the 2nd place ranking on the Sunday Times Rich List 2021 are brothers, David and Simon Reuben worth £21.465bn. 

Now clearly there are a little more obsessed with property than most. But you get my point.

Purchase for home equity – Some purchase a property to just get on the property market.

In the hope that after a few years, because of their fabulous choice of property, their house price might have gone up in value.

Therefore, worth more, they can sell their current home, upsize and get closer to their dream home.

Purchase for investment – There are first time buyers that are unable to buy near where they are currently renting, or near their family or friends.

So, they purchase further afield for investment purposes.

With the money some people save for a deposit in London, it’s possible to buy property cash outside London.

So, renters turn into property investors to get on the property ladder. Hoping to get rental income and property equity.

So, years later, they either re-mortgage, take out the property price increase, or sell altogether and use the proceeds to get the property of their dreams.

8 – Government Financial Assistance

The government with their meddling, are offering first-time buyers a multitude of financial assistance.

My gosh, it feels like free money until you realise you have to pay it all back at some point.

But it’s allowing generation rent, council tenants, other individuals and families to acquire their own home.

The multitude of schemes is almost begging you to purchase a property.

There are currently 17 schemes provided by the UK government to help first-time buyers get their own homes! 

Wow.

That’s amazing.

I was so curious, I had to check out each one just to see if there was anything I could recommend to family or friends.

9 – Lockdown

The UK is Obsessed with Home Ownership now more than ever because of the lockdown.

We were forced to stay in our homes and utilise the space more than we ever have before.

Most of the UK population wasn’t used to working from home.

Suddenly, we were homeschooling, working, exercising and being a family all in the same space at the same time, 24 hours a day.

It. Was. A lot.

Everyone started to realise the importance of outside space.

The need to put the computer somewhere to work from home as well as for the children’s home learning.

The interior design of homes was suddenly prominent when taking zoom calls (forgetting about that large crack that didn’t look so big till your colleague pointed it out!).

How utterly amazing or frustrating it was to live close to a supermarket for an all-important dash to buy every single roll of toilet paper in the shop.

Because, well, why not everyone else is buying it!

The most common answer I get from first-time buyers looking at ground floor flats or 2-bedroom houses is “we just need some outside space, also a place where we can each have a conference call in different rooms and not hear each other speak!

Ha-ha ahhh young love

10 – Regeneration of an area

When the local council started throwing money at local businesses and asked high-end retail establishments to take residence at very affordable rates.

This is where gentrification begins!

Over the last decade, when Waitrose either announced they were opening a new store or had been opened a while, the prices of property would increase.

The same effect would happen with the introduction of coffee shops, gastropubs, farmers markets, art galleries and independent cinemas.

To purchase property at the beginning of gentrification is to know that your home will quickly escalate in price.

This is definitely where the Bank of Mum and Dad would shop for their babies.

After all, this area is up and coming.

Although while it is in the process of up and coming, it can be very monotonous till all the high-end shops arrive.

But these places are gold mines for first-time buyers.  

11 – Social Media and TV

Last and by no means least, everyone’s favourite pass time is checking various social media platforms and watching copious amounts of property programs.

Social media is awesome.

You can find actual people that might share your current situation but have managed to purchase a property.

Not only have they bought a property, but they show you how they did it.

Step by step.

As well as how they renovated and decorated each room.

Giving details of everything bought, thereby giving you the ability to purchase the same items. Influencers have a lot to answer for, about encouraging us to become homeowners.

Television programmes are absolutely fabulous, you can find something to suit all price ranges:

• self builds programmes
• small space programmes
• renovation programmes
• money-saving programmes (to help with deposit savings)

There is no end to these programmes.

I have a few favourites, but the programme that is on the most without having to search very hard is Homes Under the Hammer.

Absolutely love it.

The best bit is hearing how much the person thinks they are going to spend on the refurb, to then hearing the astronomical amounts they spent when finished.

Ahhh good times

Conclusion

So, there you have it, hope I didn’t bore you to death!

I really enjoyed putting this post together.

I can’t wait to hear what your thoughts are regarding the UK obsession with home ownership.

Do you have a point I have not covered? Do you own a home or are you renting?

What would or did encourage you to buy a home? Or I am genuinely curious, everyone has a story, what’s your story? Please comment and share below 😀

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