A director of Savills Private Finance, confirms why people are renting, "The stagnant housing market is making it virtually impossible for many people to sell - at least at prices they are happy with,"
The experts say that the rental market is not doing well overall, and nowadays, a landlord has to be very flexible, competitive on price, the property must be decorated with neutral colours and ready to move into immediately.
A Director of residential lettings at Knight Frank says that 'accidental' landlords have pushed their stock levels up by about 25 per cent. And research from the National Landlords Association (NLA) showed that the number of landlords increased the most ever, since records began, in the third quarter of the previous year. Supply is outnumbering demand, hence the problems letting.
Director of operations at the NLA suggests this trend is continuing. "It is likely that if property prices keep falling we will see more people choosing to hold on to their asset and let their property rather than sell it."
On the up side, for a person renting, the market is very competitive with plenty of choice and letting agents have hugely increased stock levels, some as high as three times more than a year ago.
The head of lettings at Savills says, "They are significantly higher than a year ago, with the number of properties doubling, if not trebling - partly due to the rise in accidental landlords coming new to the market." With the abundance of rental properties comes the pressure to reduce rents, most obviously at the top end of the rental market.
"At the top end of the London market, there is a huge variety of stock for people to look at, so this is a highly competitive market," says an estate agent. "In some areas, landlords are, having to look at rent reductions of 20 per cent to 40 per cent per week." Figures from his company, Knight Frank, show that rents are only 4 per cent more than they were a number of years ago and similar to levels during last year.
'Accidental' landlords are at a disadvantage to the experienced 'buy-to-let' landlords who know the market well and who invest wisely in properties they know to be in demand in certain areas. The Property Finder website gives this advice, "landlords who have not had the power to choose an appropriate property will find it difficult to cover their costs".
Before you dismiss renting your property speak to your local letting agent and find out as much as you can about what is in demand and what the going rates are - do plenty of research; your property might be ideal.
Michael_Challiner
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