Panorama: Immigration Issues

The Panorama programme shown on BBC1 earlier in the week mentioned some issues that could be relevant to the future of the housing market. The main focus of the half-hour show was on the fact that the UK government don't seem to be keeping count of how many immigrants (both legal and illegal) are arriving in the country.

Using the example of Slough in Berkshire, the programme makers noted that migrants arriving from Poland were living in unusual circumstances - with many adults being packed into relatively small houses, while others were living in converted sheds (sheds converted illegally by their landlords).

One figure that was thrown up was that there are thought to be some 500 more people arriving in the UK each day than there are leaving. That really caught my eye because of the potential impact on housing demand. If the figure is correct then it would mean that the net effect of migration alone on the UK population would be to increase it by more than 180,000 people on an annual basis.

Whilst many people who are new to the UK may not be able to afford to purchase a house, they are potential tenants for buy-to-let landlords. Will it be enough to keep levels of demand running high though?