Older generation more reluctant to make a move
Trevor Hall appointed to support South East law firm’s continued growth
IN Britain, there are 27m households, of which 17,044,450 are owned, worth a total of £3.92 trillion.
Over the last five years, an average of 86,096 properties sell each month, meaning just over a million UK households move home per year. Therefore, the average British homeowner moves every 16 years five months.
These statistics refute a common hypothesis that British neighbourhoods are becoming more fleeting and transitory.
We might love our home, but most still want to ‘better our lives’ with a bigger house in a better area, which requires us to climb the property ladder. Yet with Newbury house prices having risen by 170.2 per cent in the last 20 years, the cost of going up the next rung on the ladder is prohibitive.
Everyone harks back to the 1980s, when we had an upbeat booming property market as a backcloth and Brits moved home every eight years.
Now, with the average at just over 16 years, this equates to each British homeowner moving around three to four times in their adult lifetime. Or does it? We have all heard the phrase ‘lies, damn lies and statistics’ … well the stats mentioned above hide some amazing features of the property market.
When homeowners get into their 50s and 60s, their tendency to move home drops like a stone.
The average length of time a homeowner without a mortgage moves home is 24 years and seven months. Yet, homeowners with a mortgage move on average every 10 years and 11 weeks.
So, while I cannot determine who has a mortgage and who doesn’t, I have looked at the last 50 property sales in Newbury and have found some interesting findings.
On average, Newbury homeowners only move every 14 years and 19 weeks. Nothing interesting about that you might say, when compared to the national average, yet the devil is in the detail.
Top 25 per cent quickest Newbury home movers move every four years and 17 weeks
The next 25 per cent move every nine years and 12 weeks
The next 25 per cent move every 18 years and 26 weeks
The next 25 per cent move every 25 years
When looking at the properties that fall into the later bands, they tend to be the larger properties where the homeowners have lived for 25/30 years plus.
The lesson we all should learn is that once people get into their 50s and 60s, their propensity to move home drops considerably.
This means the properties on the lower rungs of the property ladder do appear to sell quickly, yet once people get older, their tendency to move diminishes, putting a roadblock on the market.
What is holding the older generation back from selling and downsizing to free up homes for families that desperately need them?
Some of it will be apathy, some of it will be holding on to the home that they brought their family up in.
As a nation, we need to rethink how we can encourage older homeowners to sell their large homes to release them to the younger families that desperately need them.
If you have a property to sell or let in the coming weeks, months and would like to have a chat, without obligation, don’t hesitate to give me a call or drop me line.
AWARD-winning law firm Gardner Leader, with offices across the South East and London, has appointed Trevor Hall as its new finance director to support the company during its sustained growth.
In the last 12 months, the solicitors has welcomed several new employees to the team, recently qualified three trainee solicitors and expanded its office space in Newbury.
A commercially astute finance leader previously at Deloitte, Mr Hall will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s business performance and its financial trajectory.
Having qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte in 2005 and a member of the ICAEW (the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales), he has gained extensive finance experience with Siemens, Man Group and Red Bee Media.
As part of his 17 years in the industry, Mr Hall moved to Dubai in 2013 where he became the finance director for Deloitte
Advisory for the whole Middle East region. After returning home to the UK in November 2018, he worked in advisory until January 2021 when he accepted a role at Gardner Leader.
Mr Hall said: “I’m thrilled to have joined one of the most forward-thinking, friendly and client-focused law firms in the country.
“I have received a warm welcome from everyone in the firm, and I’m very much looking forward to being part of its journey as Gardner Leader continues to expand its service offering.”
In his role as finance director, Mr Hall will be working closely with the board and partner group to continue to develop the practice, provide expert insight and guidance, as well as lead relationships with banks and other external providers.
“Trevor brings with him a wealth of experience gained from working with some of the world’s leading organisations,” said Gardner Leader managing partner Derek Rodgers.
“It’s always been important for us to continue to invest in our people and services to meet the demands of the changing world, and we are pleased to welcome Trevor and his expertise to the senior management team.”
THATCHAM Town have announced a change to their management structure in the youth team as Jamie Povey takes over from the departing Ben Thornton as manager.
A statement from Povey, on the Thatcham site, said: “Firstly, I would like to thank Dave, Stu, Eric and Sylvia for this opportunity to manage the youth team.
“It is a great honour to manage a club that I have been involved with for so many years now.
“I would secondly like to thank Ben for all the time and commitment he has given over the past three years as manager and I am gutted he has stepped down due to personal commitments.
“We had a good three years together and I’ll be forever thankful to him for that – most memorably, winning the Berks & Bucks Cup.
“On a personal level, I am incredibly excited to be given this opportunity and I can’t wait to get back to work and continue to build on the success we have already achieved.
“I am pleased to welcome Isaac Blakey as our new assistant manager and Ben Morton who joins as goalkeeper coach. Rob Smith and Liam Parry will continue their roles as coaches.”
Meanwhile, chairman Dave Melin said: “Ben, Jamie and their supporting coaching staff have been a breath of fresh air in their attitude and approach to the youth team at Thatcham Town FC culminating in the Berks and Bucks Cup triumph.
“Ben leaves the club with our best wishes and I look forward to seeing the continued success of the youth team under the stewardship of Jamie Povey.”