Education
International students add £600 million to London’s private rented sector
The 107,000 international students studying in London contribute some £600 million in rental income to the capital’s rental market, new research has found. The wealthiest Chinese, Russian and Malaysian students typically spend up to £1,500 per week to live in plush addresses in Mayfair, Knightsbridge and South Kensington, says the report from private rental market lettings firm E J Harris. Using data from their own client instructions over the last three years and drawing on figures from the Government’s Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the firm analysed the number and country of origin of foreign students in the capital, where they choose to live, the type of properties they let and how much they spend in the private rental sector. There are some 107,000 international students studying in London, 40,000 from continental Europe and 67,000 from the rest of the world. Overall they spend £1.32 billion on tuition fees, some £1.36 billion on accommodation and subsistence of which £600 million goes on private lets or halls of residence costs and £121 million through friends and family visiting them in London whilst they study. By country of origin, the largest group of international students studying and living in London come from China who make up 18% of all foreign students in the capital, followed by students from the USA at 9%, India 7%, Hong Kong 5%, Malaysia 4% and Nigeria 4%. Other significant foreign student nationalities are people from Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Pakistan and Canada. On an annual basis some 20% of the firm's clients in inner London are students. Of these 50% are foreign students, the balance are British students. They are normally 18 to 22 years of age from affluent families. The report suggest that the accommodation for these students is predominantly provided by the bank of mum and dad although some receive special grants from their respective countries. The wealthiest overseas students tend to prefer living in Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Marylebone and South Kensington, whilst others and British students tend to live in Notting Hill, Bayswater, Shepherds Bush and Kingston Upon Thames. The most affluent international student clients are from China, Thailand, Russia, Malaysia and Nigeria. The top spenders can afford to pay £1,500 per week for an apartment in Knightsbridge or Mayfair. For example, on Old Brompton Road, just by the underground station, there is an apartment building extremely popular with affluent overseas students. However, the majority of overseas students typically pay £500 to £600 per week for a two bedroom apartment in Notting Hill, South Kensington, Shepherds Bush or Bayswater. In Shepherds Bush the Sinclair Mansions apartment building is very popular with students and whenever a flat becomes available there are up to 500 enquiries from students from around the world wanting to secure the let. 'There are over 100,000 international students studying and living in London and their numbers are rising. University applications from overseas students are… Continue reading
UK home builders facing a severe shortage of workers
It is not a lack of materials, sites or ability that is preventing house builders in the UK from meeting targets but a lack of workers, according to some of the country’s largest home firms. If 200,000 new homes are to be built by 2020, a target pledged by the government, recruitment in the industry would have to take a sharp upturn from current numbers, especially for the most highly skilled workers. ‘Whilst we as an industry are committed to the target of more affordable homes available to first time buyers, Weston Homes has had to really ramp up its recruitment in order to meet these targets,’ said Bob Weston, the firm’s chairman and chief executive. ‘We currently have a shortfall within the industry of skilled tradesmen, construction managers and fabricators, especially those with many years’ experience providing the quality we expect,’ he added. He pointed out that Weston Homes has recently sent 6,500 letters to local schools, attempting to attract more young people into apprenticeships and eventually the construction industry to meet the shortfall. In the last month Weston Homes has taken on 23 new recruits into its apprenticeship scheme, who join in to the around 20% of employees studying for NVQ’s, attending ILM management training or on sponsored day release courses. ‘It takes two years to train skilled workers and five years to train our best recruits to management level, though of course development lasts a lifetime. Finding someone with 20 plus years of experience is becoming increasingly rare and difficult,’ Weston said. ‘We have always been committed to getting more young people involved in the industry, and with these new affordable home targets we will need, as an industry, to open our doors to bright young apprentices,’ he added. Recent research from the Federation of Master Builders said that 66% of small and medium construction firms have had to turn down work because they don't have enough workers and the biggest shortages are for bricklayers and carpenters. The shortages all around the UK, with the east of England suffering from a short supply of plasterers, while the West Midlands is struggling to find scaffolders. Northern Ireland has the greatest need for general labourers. Firms said the main problem was difficulty in finding apprentices, and a lack of apprenticeships has held back potential new entrants to the jobs market with a belief that many are bowing to pressure from their parents to stay in full time education. ‘The lack of experienced multi skilled workers is a huge concern for my business, as it could affect our future growth plans. We urgently need tradespeople that are trained in more than one area, such as plumbing, tiling and joinery for bathroom installations but we just aren’t seeing the candidates come through,’ said Tony Passmore, chief executive of the Leeds based Passmore Group. The Home Builders Federation (HBF) agreed that recruiting and training people was now… Continue reading
Majority would pay more to buy or rent in a school catchment area
Some 95% of buyers and 81% of renters in the UK would pay up to 25% more to live in a home in close proximity to a school, new research has found. Also, 38% of buyers and 42% of renters would take a lesser property to be within desired catchment area, according to the survey from online estate agents Urban. Surveying both those looking for property to purchase as well as those looking for a rental home confirms how important the school catchment area is for parents when they move home. Indeed, the school catchment area was the top concern for tenants when choosing a property. Double the number of prospective tenants would put school catchment area at 30% over being in close proximity to a town at 15%, with this also ranking significantly higher than the desire to be near to a station at 17%. These results reveal that parents' needs are widely put on the backburner when compared to those of their children, with people often taking on a far longer commute to be able to ensure that their child has the very best education and shortest journey to school. With residing close to a school the prominent concern for many, the survey also asked those that were buying a property, whether they would consider renting if they cannot sell their own property with 52% saying that they would do so. ‘Quantifying the influence that being in close proximity to a school has on house hunters has been truly eye opening. The results of the survey show that most people would stretch their budget quite considerably, whilst many would also downgrade their property choice, for the sake of a school,’ said the firm’s founder Adam Male. ‘The results make for particularly interesting reading for those selling a property within a school catchment area. When marketing the property, these findings show that real focus should be given to the location of the property in relation to the nearest school, highlighting the benefits provided as part of the enrolment process and the ease of school run, for example,’ he added. Continue reading
