House prices and rents set to soar in Boston - England
06-01-2014
The cost of renting a home from a private landlord in Boston is set to rocket by 46 per cent by 2020, according to a new study.
Figures from the National Housing Federation suggest rents could soar to an average of just under £700 a month, with house prices also predicted to rocket by 32 per cent.
Boston’s rent rise far outstrips the national average - predicted to be 39 per cent.
The current average private rent in the borough is £119.54 per week but with a 46 per cent jump would rise to £174.52.
The figures shown the average house price is £134,660 - 8.4 times the average wage.
If prices go up as much as the federation fears, buyers could be facing forking out an average of £177,751 to buy a house in the borough.
The federation is calling for the Government to invest more in affordable housing to tackle to problems. Its figures state the number of working people claiming housing benefit shot up 152 per cent from August 2009 to August 2013/
Harry Drury, director of Thomas Campbell Estate Agents, in Boston, doubts the figures and said he did not expect private rents to increase so sharply as salaries would not be able to keep up.
He said: “The average wage of someone in a private rented property is £15,000 a year, whereas the average of somebody purchasing a property tends to be in excess of £18,000 a year.”
He did, say he expects private rents to rise by 2020 – though only by about 20 per cent – helped by increasing numbers of foreign nationals settling in the area as families, rather than individuals.
He said: “It’s driving up demand and with an increase in demand you will see an increase in prices.”