UK residential rental market grows - Emerging Real Estate

UK residential rental market grows

29/01/2011

 UK residential rental market grows

A leading letting agent has recently predicted that 2011 will be a strong growth year for the residential rental market in the UK, offering excellent market conditions for landlords.

Rents are rising due to the number of prospective homeowners, particularly first time buyers, being unable to secure finance from mortgage lenders, as well as having concerns about their current job stability. Renting also offers more flexibility on location as well as many people may have to move in order to find work and renting clearly offers increased mobility. Even those on a more secure footing regarding their lending options are often choosing to wait and see how the recession continues to affect them before committing to a property purchase.

It is predicted that the recent Government Comprehensive Spending Review will continue to impact upon this trend – hundreds of thousands of public sector workers are facing the prospect of redundancy this year and as benefit allowances are also slashed, people’s financial situations could change dramatically. The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has recently indicated that their research shows the demand for rental property has soared to its highest level in eight years. The ARLA also report that tenants and landlords are already coming under strain as the job cuts begin.

Tenant demand is therefore increasing as rental becomes a more attractive option for many, and demand could start to exceed supply.  This is all good news for the private rental sector – with increasing demand and rising rents, this is a great time to be a landlord in the UK.

To discuss any of our UK buy-to-let opportunities please do not hesitate to contact us.