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Quote Ref: UKIN01

What the Housing Market Will Look Like in 10 Years

House models on top of coins
21 October 2015

By UKinsuranceNET In Landlord Advice

If you knew the answer to that question, of course, you’re likely to be a far richer person than anyone else we know!

Although it might be anyone’s guess just how the market might look 10 years from now, it is certainly true that novel forms of housing have already appeared or are just over the horizon.

This might lead to more challenging times for anyone involved in the business of housing – not least to those like us who aim to provide appropriate forms of landlord insurance for let property owners:

Japanese hotel pods

  • if the idea of sleeping in what bears an uncomfortable resemblance to a coffin appeals to you, an idea borrowed from the Japanese hotel pod might suit you down to the ground;
  • also known as capsules, these pods, provide enough room to sleep in, but only that – crawl in, lie down and that takes care of all the space there is;
  • for anyone wanting somewhere just to sleep, these pods provide a very cheap alternative to the standard hotel room and may be stacked by the buildings owners into something akin to a honeycomb;
  • although most capsules are fitted out with an electronic console, a television and internet connection, the way they are stacked side by side and one upon the other might remind you of the drawers of corpses found in a busy mortuary.
  • find out about some of the most recent designs in hotel pod accommodation – and more critically perhaps how to use your capsule – at the Gizmag website;

Micro homes

  • micro homes – or the perhaps more aptly named “Tiny Houses” – are described as cabins on wheels, which can be used as space-saving living space or accommodation or small building in your garden;
  • they have been described as an ideal answer for “glamping” holidays, student digs, a spare bedroom for friends or family, or even basic B&B accommodation;
  • there are already a number of British manufacturers of micro housing, with the Little Cabin Company, for instance, suggesting that some of their models might serve as a first home for a young teenager itching for their independence or as a granny flat to set up in your own back garden;
  • only slight more upmarket – and a little more spacious – is the Ecodom micro home, described by Homes and Property magazine on the 17th July 2015 as appearing for auction with a guide price of just £8,000;
  • in fact, the Ecodom achieved £9,500 at the auction, but whether micro homes prove to be the answer to Britain’s current housing shortage of course remains to be seen;

From flat pack furniture to homes

  • not content with having established themselves as the ubiquitous supplier of flat pack furniture, the Swedish giant IKEA has branched out into the manufacture of a whole flat packed house;
  • for anyone who has spent a weekend trying to assemble a simple flat packed wardrobe, the prospect of assembling an entire house in this way is likely to prove more than a little daunting.

Who knows what the housing market might look like in 10 years time – if some of these novel and imaginative new approaches gain ground, however, the future might include new housing, but not as we know it.

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