Page 28 - Future Demands Jan 2021

Over the next thirty years, the club achieved unprecedented success, winning forty two major honours, including a remarkable thirteen First Division championships, and four European Cups – the pinnacle of world club football.
That this came directly after such tough times didn’t escape the canny Scot, and it was Shankley who introduced the famous anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone to the club, with its call for strong togetherness in the face of adversity.
However, as the Kop tells us ‘At the end of the storm, there’s a golden sky, and the sweet silver song of a lark’, and analysis of the BTL data shows us that there is good reason to have hope in our hearts for 2021.
In terms of growth and opportunity, one of the main BTL areas which immediately springs to mind is houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).
Limited company HMOs have certainly been in vogue this year as a growing number of portfolio landlords are tuned into the fact that these
Meanwhile, 2020’s second half results in the housing market proved to be as irrepressible as a Jurgen Klopp teamtalk, and we have seen significant increases in purchase activity due to pent-up demand, and huge numbers taking advantage of the Stamp Duty holiday.
We’re still waiting to see how lockdowns and working habits influence consumer behaviour in the long-term, but the short-term effects extend clearly to the purchase market.
FUTURE DEMANDS
“THE SECTOR, THE DEDICATION, FLEXIBILITY, AND SKILL SHOWN BY OUR PEOPLE IN 2020 HAS BEEN TRULY INSPIRATIONAL”
Snap back to today, and the lyrics of that haunting refrain are indelibly marked on every LFC fan – and if you hadn’t guessed, there’s one sat writing this right now – but its message seems to me perfect for where our industry finds itself.
Across the sector, the dedication, flexibility, and skill shown by our people in 2020 has been truly inspirational. After all, ‘When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark’ has never been more relevant for us, and it would have been easy to wonder if we would ever see the light again.
properties represent the most profitable type of investment for tax purposes, and continue to generate robust rental yields. This is largely due to strong demand from professional tenants and – despite some concern over the summer months – amongst the student population.
This trend has not gone unnoticed within the lending community and we have recently seen some lenders initiate extensions for HMOs and multi-unit freehold blocks (MUFB) to include more bedrooms and units.
Market data shows us flats and city centre locations are likely to have taken a hit in value, as people seek outside space, and new locations become potentially work-from-home viable.
However, research reveals that many major employers are still uncertain if they want to fully embrace the office-less ‘revolution’, and so this value-shift may be a short-term issue. That said, houses appear to be a solid bet, with higher purchase prices seemingly likely to hold, due to their increased desirability.
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