Oct

17

Citylets Property Reports

Filed Under Citylets Rental Reports by admin | Leave a Comment

The Tempest, Citylets Report Issue 7A once in a century storm hit financial markets towards the end of the last quarter. Initially criticism rained down on short-sellers – we were half expecting to see a ‘short-sellers ate my hamster’ headline – but it served little other than to distract from the shortcomings of, among others, governance, regulation, rating agencies and prudential supervision. A twister touched down in September, felling some banks while others ‘too big to fail’ entered the Downing Street bunker. “Come in,” they said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm” – oh, and £37 billion.

As property sales volumes continued to dwindle more people turned to the rental market notably ‘reluctant landlords’ – those looking to let property until the sales market stabilises.  The latest report, The Tempest, shows that while tenant demand has remained strong, very unusually for the third quarter stocks of rental properties stayed high as the supply increased. This may be the first sign that trends seen over the last few years are about to change.

Activity was much higher in September than is normal (especially for two bed flats to rent in Edinburgh ) so, despite the increase in supply, the time-to-let averages were comparable to Q3 2007. Rents of one bed flats appreciated by more than inflation with, as ever, one bed flats in Aberdeen commanding the highest rent (averaging £578) and posting the strongest growth. However, with two bed flats in Aberdeen there are signs that the market may be cooling. Read more in the full report here.