PESTLE- Social factors and property

We are into week three of my PESTLE and property series, we have ticked off Political and Economic on our list and next up is Social. The definition of social factors is as follows: 

Social factors that influence investment include age distribution, population growth rate, employment levels, income statistics, education and career trends, and religious beliefs, as well as cultural and social conventions.

The key factors that I would like to focus on are population growth, career trends, employment levels (covered last week as part of the economy) and social conventions. 

The population has been rising and is predicted to rise over the coming years; ONS predict that the population will rise to 70 million by 2029, with the population being recorded as 65.5 in 2017, a 5.5% increase, given that our population is currently 66.5m today (2019). I have a feeling that we might exceed the 70m forecasted a bit earlier than 2029! This is only going to further increase demand for housing. If you then add to this that according to the ONS, 42% of marriages end in divorce, this may not seem relevant to property, but it means that in most cases a family needs two homes rather than one, thus increasing the demand for housing. Finally, we are an ageing population, older people are more likely to be homeowners, meaning that they are living longer and unlikely to be looking to sell their homes anytime soon. This again limits the supply of housing coming on to the market. 

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