The Law of Rent strikes again!

From the BBC:

Rising rents mean young people are less likely to move to UK cities where average salaries are higher, a report indicates. The number of young people in private rented accommodation who moved for a new job has almost halved in 20 years.

Despite the higher wages available, financial incentives for moving are lower, say researchers.

"Pay gains are being swallowed up by high housing costs," said Lindsay Judge of the Resolution Foundation. "For young people in particular, there are real advantages to moving when it comes to trying new roles and developing skills - and housing should not be a barrier that prevents them doing this."

Although unemployment has fallen, the Resolution Foundation found that rents had climbed the fastest in higher-paying areas of the UK. Private rents have risen by almost 90% in the UK's highest-paying local authority areas, while rents have increased by just over 70% among the lowest-paying local authority areas.

In 1997*, after housing costs were deducted from salaries, private renters moving from a low-paying area such as East Devon to a mid-paying area such as Bristol would have received an average financial gain of about 16%. Today, the financial gain would be a mere 1%.

I trust this is no surprise to anybody who reads this blog, this is all entirely as predicted.

* In 1997, the UK government made no-fault evictions much easier under s21 Housing Act. This was the last vestige of Georgism Lite that kept rents and prices down for most of the 20th century. Banks were suddenly falling over themselves to offer buy-to-let mortgages, knowing is would be much easier to sell the home with vacant possession if they wanted their money back in a hurry, and the rest is history...

But back in 1997, rents had not yet rebounded to their full market rate and you could still improve your net income by moving to a higher wage area. That quest is now pretty futile.