SALCOMBE HOUSING NEEDS SURVEY

 

SUMMARY

 

To investigate the affordable housing need for local people of Salcombe.

The Town Council designed a Parish Plan questionnaire, which was then analysed by the Corporate Consultation Service at Devon County Council. The Rural Housing
Enabler agreed to include the new, Northern Housing Consortium’s Housing Needs Survey as part of the Parish Plan questionnaire. The Housing Needs Survey was one
of the first Northern Housing Consortium surveys to be conducted, in Devon, alongside the Parish Plan. The Parish Plan did ask questions regarding housing need but did
not provide a filter in order that only those households in need completed the detailed Housing Needs Survey.

This report draws together information from the 3 reports provided by the Northern Housing Consortium, these are the Strategic Overview Report, the Community
Contextual Information and the tables from the analysis of each individual question within the survey. This data has been supplemented by data from the 2001 Census
data from the Land Registry and from Council Tax records. Some linkage has also been made to the questions in the Parish Plan relating to housing need

 

CONCLUSIONS

• 40 households claimed to be in some type of housing need of which 27 were current households in need of alternative housing.
• House prices in Salcombe parish are significantly higher for the overall average in South Hams and Devon.

·       There is a severe lack of affordable accommodation across all property sizes.

·       There is a shortage of family sized accommodation within the social housing stock.

·       Compared to the overall profile in the District Salcombe is under-represented at Council Tax Bands A to C.

·       The biggest demand is for 2 and 3 bedroom houses and starter homes for rent.

·       Of those households in current need the majority are on moderate incomes and a significant minority on low incomes.

·       There is a strong connection with Salcombe with the majority of those in current need wishing to remain in Salcombe.

• Affordability is therefore an important issue for those wanting to rent and buy. Although there are a few households with relatively high incomes the majority
  have gross incomes that could only afford a moderate rent (£50.00 to £99.00 per week) or a small equity stake in Shared Ownership. So although there is
  an aspiration to purchase the majority of the households could not afford to purchase on the open market or through shared ownership.

·       There may be scope for gaining social rented homes through transfers. Of those households living in the parish who say they need alternative
accommodation, 5 are currently living in social rented homes.

• There are 9 current households and 5 hidden households or households wanting to return, who wished to rent from an RSL.
  The majority of these are already registered with South Hams District Council, the exception being those hidden households
  (newly forming household’s e.g. adult children living with parents).

·       15 households in current need wished to buy on the open market.

• A significant number of 9 hidden households (newly forming household’s e.g. adult children living with parents) were interested in shared ownership or self build.
• There is a significant minority of older people requiring adaptations to their homes.

 

SURVEY DISTRIBUTION AND RESPONSE

 

The Town Council distributed the Parish Plan questionnaire to 1713 households in Salcombe Parish in June 2004 for return by the end of July 2004.
There was a 31% (550 forms) response rate to the Parish Plan Questionnaire.

 

There was a further response to the Housing Needs Survey from 370 households this represents a response rate of 22%.

Of the 370 households who responded 40 households claimed to be in Housing need. Of these 27 were current households in need of alternative housing,
10 were hidden households needing to move and 3 were households wishing to return.

 

A short profile for the 330 not in housing need but who completed the housing needs form has been included for the sake of completeness.
Additional interrogation of the raw data is needed to understand further the profile of the 40 households in need.

 

KEY FINDINGS

 

1.0 PROFILE OF HOUSING IN SALCOMBE

1.1 Need

Of those households who replied to the Housing needs survey:

 

40 households claimed to be in some type of housing need.

 

• 27 were current households in need of alternative housing.
• 10 were hidden households who need to move (this is mainly newly forming households such as adult children within the parental home).
• 3 were households which had left Salcombe but who wished to return.

 

Although 20 households in the parish report that 38 people have moved away in the past 5 years because of difficulties in finding a suitable home.

 

1.2 Property Prices

• House prices in Salcombe parish are significantly higher for the overall average in South Hams and Devon. Table 1 below shows that while the
  percentage difference does fluctuate due to the relatively small number of sales in Salcombe over the past 4 quarters the Salcombe has been up to
  90% more expensive than South Hams and 125% higher than Devon’s overall average.
• The average actual sale price for this postcode area of Salcombe according to Land Registry records (July - September 04) range from £438,571 for
  a terraced property to £421,000 for a detached property. The average sale price overall for this postcode area during this period was £414,685, based
  on 27 sales in the quarter. This compares with an overall average property price for Devon in the same period of £215,908 and for South Hams of £261,576.

 

Table 1: Overall Average Property Price (Source: Land Registry)

PERIOD	SALCOMBE PARISH	SOUTH HAMS DISTRICT (SHD)	% higher than SHD	DEVON COUNTY	% higher than Devon
July – Sep 04	414,685 (27)*	261,576	59%	215, 908	92%
April – Jun 04	278,933 (15)	224,249	24%	197,857	81%
Jan – Mar 04	428,919 (26)	225 405	90%	190,313	125%
Oct – Dec 03	334,172 (26)	218, 801	53%	182, 049	84%

*Sales during the period

 

1.3 Income Levels

• The high property price sits alongside low incomes for those in Housing Need. The income profile for the ward shows that 53% of households
  are likely to earn less than £14,999 per annum. Source: CDS, data derived from Experian Likely Gross Household Income data by ward for 2003.
• Of those households in current need the majority are on moderate incomes with 58% having incomes of less than £1249.99 per month. In addition
  a significant minority 22% have a gross monthly household income of less than £834.99.

 

1.4 Second Homes

• The Council Tax Register showed that In June 2004 44.5% of homes in the parish were second homes, a total of 763 properties were second homes.

 

1.5 Council Tax Bands

• There is a severe lack of affordable accommodation across all property sizes. The information reveals that
  Salcombe compared to the overall profile of the district is under-represented at Bands A to C which make up
  25% (compared to 51.7% of the District) the least expensive bands and Bands D to F are over represented in
  Salcombe (57% compared to 41.3%). Source: South Hams DC Council Tax records.

 

1.6 Tenure Type

• The current parish tenure profile is dominated by the owner occupied sector. Of those completing the Housing Needs Survey 93% of properties
  were owner occupied/private rented or tied accommodation. This may be a distortion arising from the lack of a filter between the Parish Plan Survey
  and the Housing Needs Survey. The 2001 census for Salcombe shows owner occupied households to represent 78% compared with 68.9% in
  England and Wales. (Based on 722 owner’s occupiers among 929 households with residents).
• Registered Social Landlord (RSL) stock in the parish comprises 122 properties with over 50% of those being one bed or bed-sit properties
  and only 16% 3 or more bed properties. This indicates a serious shortage of family sized accommodation.

 

1.7 Turnover and sales of Housing

• The RSL accommodation saw only 18 lettings in the 12 months to the end of 2003 of which 15 were 1 bed flats. This reflects the higher number
  of sheltered housing units and one-bedroom units in Salcombe.
• There had been no Right To Buy or Right To Acquire Sales in the 12 months to end of 2003.
• There have been no RSL new build properties in the last five years.
• The total number of properties sold in the 12 months to the end of 2003 was 68. This compares with Table 1, which shows an increase in
  sales with 94 sales in the 12 months since October 2003. Of the 68 sold in the 12 months to the end of 2003 62% were
  over £250,000, 34% between £150,000 and £249,000 and 4% between £70,000 and £149,000. No properties sold for less
  than £70,000 in that period. The increase in the overall average property price over the past 12 months suggests the problem of high house prices has worsened.

 

1.8 Population Profile

• The resident population of Salcombe, as measured in the 2001 Census, was 1,893.
• The profile shows a variation from the profile for England and Wales as a whole with a higher percentage of older people.
  The categories for 75 year olds and over form 16.7% of the population compared with 7.6 for England and Wales and 10.3% for South Hams.
  Conversely younger people are under represented with under 16s forming 11.7% of the population compared with 20.2% in England and Wales and 18.4%
  in South Hams.
• Salcombe’s ethnic profile shows it to be 99.8% White based on 927 white households out of 929 (Source: 2001 Census ONS).

 

2.0 DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY

• The Parish has development potential on sites classified as windfall. It has 1.3 hectares of land available for housing and it is anticipated that
  approximately 35 homes are likely to be built. Of these 24 are likely to be in the affordable sector.
• The survey showed 88.6% support for the development of affordable housing.

 

3.0 PROFILE OF ALL RESPONDANTS COMPLETING THE HOUSING NEEDS SURVEY

3.1 Tenure

• The majority of respondents were owner-occupiers (87% with 72% owning the property outright. Just fewer than 13% lived in shared ownership, rented
  from the Local Authority or a Housing Association, were in private rented accommodation or tied accommodation. This reflects the lack of filtering of those in
  need in the design of the Parish Plan questionnaire.
• Nearly 74% of those completing the survey were in properties with 3 or more bedrooms and the majority were made up of one or two person households (83.2%).

 

3.2 Age Profile

• Overall the age profile of those completing the survey was of an ageing population with a minority of households containing young families. Of the total
  composition of the households who responded 40% were over 65, 39% between 35 and 65, 12% between 16 and 34, 6% between 5 to 15 and 3% under 5.

 

3.3 Disability

• 29 households had some form of disability that affected their housing with 11 of those needing adaptations in their homes.

 

3.4 Household Mobility

• Those that responded indicated a very stable population of older, retired people and a small minority of younger, working households. Nearly 77% had lived in
  Salcombe Parish for more than 10 years and 22% for more than 40 years.

 

3.5 Ethnicity

• The survey showed a 100% white population.

 

4.0 PROFILE OF RESPONDANTS IN HOUSING NEED

4.1 Overview

 

• 27 were current households in need of alternative housing.
• 10 were hidden households who need to move
• 3 were households wishing to return

 

Although 20 households in the parish report that 38 people have moved away in the past 5 years because of difficulties in finding a suitable home.

 

4.2 The Need For Housing

• Of the 27 households identifying the need to move now the main reasons were:
• 6 needing larger accommodation
• 6 needing smaller accommodation
• 4 present home is tied and insecure
• 3 present home is too expensive
• Remainder included those wanting to be closer to employment, to avoid harassment and other reasons.

 

• 24 out of 27 households in current need wished to stay within the parish.

 

• The professions of those wanting accommodation included:
• Those working in rural local services 4
• Teachers 3
• Nurses or Health Workers 2
• Rural Tourism 2
• Horse related Industry 2

 

4.3 Tenure And Type Of Housing Of Required by Those in Housing Need

• Just fewer than 13% lived in shared ownership, rented from the LA or a Housing Association, were in private rented accommodation or tied accommodation.

 

4.4 Location

• Of those in need the vast majority, 21, wanted to stay in Salcombe.

 

4.5 Tenure Preference

• 14 out of 24 households preferred to buy on the open market.
• 9 out of 24 households wished to rent from the Local Authority or Housing Association and one wished to rent privately.
• This is confirmed by the fact that 9 households are on the Local Authority or Registered Social Landlord waiting list and 15 households in need have not registered.
• There appears to be some cross over between the preference to rent and buy as a total of 17 out of households in need were interested in
  Shared Ownership (9) and Self-Build (8). This is confirmed by the Paris Plan survey, which also identified 9 households wanting shared equity and
  9 households interested in self-build.

 

4.6 Property Size/Type

• Of those in need the majority 88% wanted two or more bedrooms.
• 12 households wanted a 2 bed property, 10 wanting a 3 bed property, 1 wanting a 4 bed property and 2 wanting a one bed property
• 58.3% of the households prefer to have a house although just over 20 % would prefer a bungalow, 8% would prefer a flat and 8% require some
  form of retirement or sheltered housing.

 

4.7 Affordability

4.7.1 Income

• Of those in current need 22% have a gross monthly household income of less than £834.99 and 58% less than £1249.99 per month. So although
  there is an aspiration to purchase the majority of the households could not afford to purchase on the open market or and shared ownership may
  only be affordable by acquiring a low level of equity.

 

4.7.2 Maximum Price of Property and Deposits

• See Table 2 on the next page. Seventeen households stated they could afford a property of £200,000 or more. This may reflect a distortion due to
  the high number of owner-occupiers who completed the survey and who may have considerable equity in their current property.
• 7 households said they could afford a deposit of £20,000 or more. 2 said they could contribute £15.000 to £19,999 towards the deposit. A more
  detailed profile of these households is needed to understand the age and economic profile of those wishing to buy properties in this higher price
  bracket and how this fits with demand for shared ownership.
• There were 3 households wanting to buy who could afford a deposit of less than £4,999.

 

Table 2           Maximum purchase / rental values for new home tenure preferences

 

                                                                                                     Buy            Rent            Rent

                                                                                                                    private       LA / HA

                        Purchase

                        Less than £50,000                                                    1

                        £50,000 - £69,999                                                     1

                        £70,000 - £99,999                                                     2

                        £100,000 - £149,999                                                 2

                        £150,000 - £199,999                                                 4

                        £200,000 - £249,999                                                 4

                        More than £250,000                                                  3

                        Rental

                        Less than £50                                                                                0                   2

                        £50 - £99.99                                                                                   1                   8

                        £100 - £149.99                                                                               0                   3

                        £150 - £199.99                                                                               0                   0

                        £200 - £249.99                                                                               0                   0

                        More than £250                                                                              0                   0

 

There is scope for gaining social rented homes through transfers. Of those households living in the parish who say they need alternative accommodation, 5 are currently living in social rented homes.

 

 

 

4.7.3 Rent

• See Table 2 above. Of those wishing to rent 8 out of 10 (80%) stated that the maximum rent they could afford was £50 to 99.00 per week.
  One household could afford less than £50 per week and one between £100 and £149 per week.

 

4.8 Hidden Households and Households Who Have Moved Elsewhere

 

Of the 40 households which expressed a housing need:

• 10 were hidden households who need to move (newly forming households).
• 3 were households who wish to return.
• 20 households in the parish report that 38 people have moved away in the past 5 years because of difficulties in finding a suitable home.

 

4.8.1 Profile of Hidden Households (Newly forming households) and Households Who have Moved Elsewhere.

• Of the 10 newly forming households there was an equal split between those with dependant children (4) and those that were all adult with one
  person in work/seeking work (4)
• The professions of these households were: rural local services (4 households); Agriculture or forestry (1 household) and Teaching (one household).
• Of these households 1 wanted a one-bed property, 4 wanted a two bed and 2 wanted a three bed. Of these 8 households 6 preferred a house,
  1 wanted a flat/maisonette/apartment and 1 wanted sheltered housing.
• This does support the fact that 50% of those households were setting up home for the first time. This also cross references with the Parish Plan survey
  which identified 33 households wanting a Starter home to buy and 19 households wanting a Starter home to rent.
• 3 households wished to buy a property and there was a wide range in the maximum price they could afford. 1 household could afford
  between £50,000 and £69,000 (note: there have been no properties on the market for less than £70,000 in the past 12 months).
  1 household could afford between £100,000 and £149,000 and one household between £200,000 and £249,000.
  This suggests that 2 out of the 3 may required some form of shared equity scheme.
• 5 households stated they were interested in shared ownership and 4 in self-build.
• 5 households wished to rent from an RSL (all LA stock has transferred to an RSL) but only 3 were on a waiting list.
• 4 households wishing to rent gave details of the maximum rent they could afford: 1 was less than £50.00 per week;
  1 between £50.00 and £99.00 per week and 2 £100.00 to £149.00 per week.
• Only 3 gave details of their gross household income and those 3 were all above £1,666 per month, which equates to approximately
  £ 20,000 a year, one stated their income was in excess of £39,000 per year.

 

4.8.2 Households Wishing to Return

The main reason for needing alternative accommodation for people that had moved away in the past 5 years were:

·       To find affordable accommodation (45%)

·       To be closer to their job (25%)

·       To find accommodation of a suitable size (15%)

·       To set up home for the first time (10%)

·       To find physically accessible accommodation (5%)

 

The majority of those households who had moved were from single or two person households. Only 5 households were made up of
3 persons or more which could suggest a household with dependant children.