UK Population Growth and its potential impact on the UK Property Market

It has been recently reported that UK Population could rise to over 70 million by the year 2033. This growth would indefinitely have an impact on the UK Property Market.

Let's think about it, more and more of us are living past the age of 65. Therefore if this trend continues you would probably see an increase in the number of Retirement Properties that are sought. Not only that, but there would be increased demand in general for all types of UK Residential Property. The supply of housing would need to increase to meet the demands of an ever expanding population.

The Government still has the target to achieve its pledge of having 3 million new homes built by 2020. However, given the credit crunch and the fragile state of the economy these numbers look like being a tall order to meet. Economically, it makes sense to have these homes in place if indeed the UK Population is predicted to grow at the pace that has been recently reported. It will come down to basic economics, namely supply and demand. If there aren't enough properties available to cope with an increasing population it will not only drive up house prices, but also the rental income of landlords.

In the immediate short term a lot depends on whether the UK is able to exit the current recession. It's still fragile when it comes to buying and selling UK residential property, mostly due to the lack of available credit from the banks. However, added to this is still the uncertainty around unemployment; it's still anticipated to peak around the 3 million mark in 2010.

So it could be that first time buyers play the waiting game which can only be good news for those property landlords seeking tenants.