Recent analysis has indicated that areas with a higher level of self-employed residents are seeing an uplift in prices.
According to research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and HM Land Registry (HMLR), Hertfordshire district Three Rivers is the country’s largest self-employed ‘hotspot’, making up just under a quarter (23.8%) of the workforce. Over the past two years, the area has seen a growth of 9.6% – this can be compared with UK’s average increase of 7% over the same period.
With 22.3% of the workforce running their own businesses, Chiltern in Buckinghamshire was just behind this. In terms of respective price growth, the area has seen a significant 15.6% uplift in prices over the same two-year period.
However, some have warned that self-employed residents in these areas may be unable to benefit from the price growth; if they don’t meet particular lending criteria, they could have trouble securing a mortgage with their bank.
Sharing his thoughts on this was Richard Tugwell from specialist lender Together. The group intermediary director stated: “While buying at a time of steeply-rising house prices could offer self-employed workers more financial security, many would-be borrowers in these areas are missing out on this significant opportunity because they can’t get a mortgage from their banks.
“Mainstream lenders often rely on computerised systems to check a borrower’s credit history and affordability, meaning those who don’t “tick the right box” can easily fall through the cracks. Unfortunately, the self-employed – who might have irregular income or a shorter trading history – are often victims here, being deemed as ‘too high risk’ for many high street banks to lend to.”
