Year on year the lettings market has seen a steady increase on rental income and demand. So how has COVID-19 affected this for landlords?
As you can see from the statistics produced from Rightmove it is no surprise that the demand over the pandemic saw numbers initially dip year on year. This was no surprise with the lockdown that was introduced towards the end of March. The market however recovered extremely quickly from the middle of April, reaching over 40% increase year on year in June.
The increase has been consistent across all rental property types and sizes, from furnished studio flats to unfurnished 4/5 bedroom family homes. We have seen lots of tenants choosing Bath as a desirable location. A good proportion of these tenants have come from London and after speaking to these tenants it is the flexibility of working from home that is allowing them to leave the capital. This increase in demand and relatively stable supply of properties has meant there has been an increase in asking rents, by over 2.1% in the UK compared to 2019. People are tending to try and get some outside space if possible, however with this at a premium, especially in the city, most tenants have opted to being close to a park or open green space.
A big change that we have seen is the way properties are being marketed and how tenants are deciding where to live. The use of video viewings has become a regular part of marketing and finding tenants. In order to reduce contact and viewings every tenant that now enquires about a property receives a comprehensive video tour of the property as well as detailed photographs and floorplan that is provided in the marketing brochure. The video viewing helps a tenant to get a better feel for a property and a number of properties have been let from just seeing the video.
Aspire to Move has remained open throughout the year and have let properties even during the pandemic to key workers so we would agree with these statistics. Since lockdown was lifted we have seen a large increase in demand for rental properties. Many properties are let within the first day of coming to the market and receiving multiple offers sometimes over and above the rental price advertised. So with the demand being high and stamp duty reductions now might be the perfect time to add to your portfolio?
If you would like some buy to let advice please give us a call on 01225 444333 and we would love to assist.
