Tenant demand continued to climb during the third quarter of the year,
research by specialist buy-to-let lender Paragon has revealed.
The Private Rented Sector Trends Report for the third quarter gives a detailed overview
of the sector and landlords’ views on performance.
More than four out of
ten landlords (44%) said tenant demand increased during the third
quarter and just 4% thought it declined. When asked for their
forecast of tenant demand for the next 12 months, almost half of
landlords (49%) said they expect it to continue to increase.
Rental income remained
healthy for a third consecutive quarter with 34% of landlords reporting an increase and only 4% saying it had decreased. Of those
landlords who achieved an increase in Q3, 11% said it was between 2%
and 4%.
The report also reveals
a shift in the types of properties that landlords are looking to
purchase. Terrace houses were the most popular choice at 41% followed
by flats (35%) and then bungalows – which have surged in popularity
from 2.7% in Q2 to 10% in Q3.
Nigel Terrington, chief
executive of Paragon, said: "Tenant demand has continued to
increase for a third quarter, which is perhaps not surprising
considering the current squeeze on the UK housing market as a whole.
"More
people than ever before are relying on the private rented sector, so
it is positive to see that landlords are looking to invest in their
portfolios and are also diversifying the types of property in which
they are investing in order to meet tenant demand."
Paragon’s
PRS Trends Report for Q3, from July 1 to September 30, also shows:
- Yields
dropped only very slightly from 6.2% in Q2 to 6.1% in Q3.
- Average
portfolio value increased from £1.42m in Q2 to £1.48m in Q3.
- Continued
improvement in the perception of availability of buy-to-let finance,
with 27% of landlords saying they thought it was at least reasonably
available.
- Average void
period for Q3 was 2.8 weeks.
- One in ten
landlords are currently using social media channels for business
purposes, mainly Twitter and Facebook, to advertise vacant properties
for rent.
Source: www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk
|