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Wed 26 Apr 2017
New statistics released this week from Rightmove show how the UK lettings market may finally be starting to cool down (all charts courtesy of Rightmove).
Landlords and Agents in the lettings arena have seen a large raft of changes to the sector in the past 18 months. We’ve experienced increased regulation (Right to Rent, anti-money laundering, smoke alarms), tax changes (3% extra SDLT on second homes, wear and tear allowance, section 24 of finance act) and the proposed ban on tenancy fees, to name just a few things.
And if you throw article 50 and a snap General Election into the mix, it’s fair to say we are experiencing an increasingly unsettled market.
If we look at the data published by Rightmove, it’s easy to spot the current national letting trends:
Supply: New lettings properties coming to market
In our areas, rents have definitely been rising over the past 18-24 months. This has started to plateau slightly in the past 8 weeks, but we do not expect this to slide at all as we are not seeing the decline in tenant demand, experienced in large parts of the rest of the country.
In summary, it is clear that we are seeing the rental market slow down a bit from the past few years of rapid growth. However the extent to which this is occurring tends to vary regionally. We’re pleased to say that Cambridgeshire remains a very attractive proposition for renters, and as such this is reflected in the performance of our team here, in delivering the best possible service for our clients.
Our feeling about the upcoming General Election is that it won’t have a particularly marked effect on the property market this Summer. We sense a general air of election fatigue in the UK at present, with people of the opinion that life goes on, regardless!
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