Fact. There aren’t enough homes in Lancaster. The expected answer is clearly to build more property in Lancaster – but that, unfortunately for those badly seeking to buy or rent a home in Lancaster, takes a lot of time and massive amounts of money.
Talking to a Lancaster client of mine recently, the subject of the housing crisis was mentioned and how research shows that there are 1,955 empty homes in the Lancaster Council area yet there are 2063 people registered on the council housing waiting list. It is a long queue. It begs the question, why not put these homes back into the housing system and help ease the Lancaster housing crisis?
Nationally, the picture is very similar with 1,206,376 families on council house waiting lists with 676,304 homes empty.
How many Lancaster homes are really empty?
Every October on one specific day, each local authority must report every property that is empty, even if it’s only been so for a week.
When you look deeper into the numbers, many of these Lancaster properties are either awaiting new homeowners or, in the case of rental properties, new tenants. Also most certainly, some properties are being refurbished and renovated, some are deceased estates, while other properties have homeowners that have moved out and are in the process of being sold (e.g., a part exchange property).
We looked closer at the numbers and of those 1,955 Lancaster homes lying empty, only 658 properties were empty for more than six months.
Many people cite all the empty council houses, yet … Of the 658 long-term vacant Lancaster properties (those empty for more than six months), only 59 belong to the council.
The fact is that the number of genuinely long-term empty properties is only a tiny drop in the ocean of the 59,978 properties in the area covered by Lancaster City Council and, even if every one of those empty homes were filled with tenants tomorrow, it would only meet a small fraction of Lancaster housing needs.
So, what does this mean for all the homeowners and landlords of Lancaster?
This scarcity of available homes contributes to the maintenance of high rents, which presents a favourable situation for Lancaster landlords who are investing in buy-to-let properties. Simultaneously, it also serves to keep Lancaster house prices at a relatively elevated level.
The implications of this situation are particularly evident in the context of Lancaster’s rental market, where the demand for properties is exceptionally high.
Due to the challenges faced by young individuals in affording homeownership and the financial constraints limiting the construction of new council houses by local authorities, the growth of the rental market becomes an undeniable reality.
Consequently, landlords predominantly focus their investments on the lower end of the housing market, such as starter homes, further fortifying property prices.
This cyclical pattern sustains the entire market as sellers, propelled by the increasing demand, progress up the property ladder, thereby enabling others to purchase homes and continuing the process in a chain-like manner.
Sadly my client’s thoughts of using these homes to help ease the council waiting list isn’t as simple as he thought. Nobody has yet found a workable solution. All I do know is that mortgage rates are higher, rents are higher, yet we all still need somewhere to call home.
My name is Michelle Gallagher. If i can help you with anything property related, please get in touch. At JDG we are here to help.
Thanks for reading
Michelle
