Scottish letting agents give us their views on their local market.
“It’s been a strong start to the year and the pace is beginning to quicken as the new financial year approaches. We fully expect 2018 to be a busy summer with demand for high end, quality properties back at a level we haven’t seen for a couple of years. Flats are still oversupplied, but once size, location and condition are taken into account, people will pay a good rent for the right property, and these properties are moving quickly.”
“The overall property market in Scotland is quite interesting right now. Property prices are now growing much faster than expected with the number of units coming to the market in comparison to demand likely to be the main influencer of this dynamic. Rental prices are also increasing rapidly as landlords raise rents to meet increasing operating costs. Although predicted to continue their upward trend, neither of these dynamics are sustainable and we should be cautious in 2018 as investor appetite could turn and a sell-off to take profits could occur.”
“The first quarter of 2018 has been very active with high levels of qualified applicants across the board. We have seen plenty of activity throughout Edinburgh with plenty of options on the furnished two-bedroom market in particular, whilst the house market has had great activity from tenants, but not many options available. The corporate activity has been very positive as well with many applicants moving from down south or overseas for the quality of life in the capital, value for money and the fantastic schools.”
“Lettings have quickly bounced back following the traditional slower market at the turn of the year. This combined with a reluctance of some landlords to expand their portfolio due to tax changes and/or more complex lending criteria, and other landlords taking the decision to exit the sector, has led to increased competition for good quality rental properties, amidst a backdrop of an improved sales market. Most tenants remain blissfully unaware of the introduction of the Private Residential Tenancy regime. It is even more important for agents to select tenants who are likely to be long term, to avoid some extremely short tenancies.”
“We have seen the Edinburgh rental market strengthen in the 1st quarter and the forecast is for continued growth across the city after a slight seasonal cooling in Q4 2017. The new Scottish lease does not seem to have affected the market at all. There is lack of good rental properties and a growing professional population relocating into a city that offers a great quality of life, is seeing rental values rise and Edinburgh becoming a strong performer in the UK Buy to Let market with attractive rental yields and capital values. The murmurs of a hard or soft Brexit have not affected our positive outlook of the Edinburgh rental market.”
“After a couple of slower than expected weeks after the festive period (less falling outs over the festive period?), demand for rental properties in Central Scotland has been particularly strong this quarter to the extent that we were running out of rental stock at one point. It is early days, but we are beginning to see the impacts of the new Private Rental Tenancy – some good (we are evicting a tenant within the first 6 months; not possible under the old lease regime) and some bad (a tenant gave notice after only 6 days!).”
“Q1 2018 has been one of adjustment following the introduction of the PRT in December. One positive outcome is landlords recognising that tenants are increasingly seeking high quality properties and preparing to invest in their assets; 100% of clients responding to our 2018 survey confirmed they would be likely to invest in improving their property. We have several landlords growing their portfolios through off-market sales, demonstrating maintained market confidence. Following on from 2017, tenant demand remains strong – especially for one and two-bedroom flats – and Edinburgh remains an attractive market for both national and international investors.”
“The rental market in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire is showing signs of improvement, however there is still a large supply of rental properties for tenants to choose from. Properties must be well presented and priced correctly. We have seen an increase in oil companies taking on tenancies for new staff, which is hopefully a sign of the local economy improving”
“Q1 in 2018 has been manic to say the least. The sales market has been relatively stable at the front end and little has deviated from the norm in terms of house price and interest. Our rentals side has been busy as always and the post festive blues seem to do nothing to change the fury of the lettings market. As expected, we begin to see a slight rise in rents moving into spring time, particularly for 3-4 bedrooms properties.”
“Q1 has been extremely busy. Tenant demand across all property types has been very strong. The student viewing season was the most intense ever recorded by Cullen, with up to 100 enquiries for some HMO properties. Student feedback suggests very few HMO properties came to market, possibly as a result of changes in landlord behaviour due to recent legislative changes. Student rents achieved circa 5% YOY increases in response to the demand. Smaller professional flats also performed well with some TTL figures being recorded in hours not days! However, a lack of stock coupled with ever increasing tenant demand is not healthy for a sustainable rental housing market. Build to Rent likely to grow significantly in coming years.”
“As the first quarter of 2018 draws to a close it’s been a reasonably modest start to the year. Changes in legislation have led to a more cautious approach from new landlords, and tenants are much more aware of their rights. We continue to see rents increase across the board, particularly with one bedroom properties seeing the greatest increase. For potential Buy to Let investors there has been relatively little in the way of new stock coming to the market resulting in an increase in purchase price with over 60% of properties going over Home Report valuation. It’s certainly set to be an interesting Q2.”
“The strong demand for rental properties continues, with high levels of tenant enquiries for all areas in West Lothian. Although in the past tenants have noticeably been concerned not to lose out to others in the face of competition, more of them are now taking longer to make decisions. An interesting development is an increase in the number of elderly people renting, including some returning from European Union countries, perhaps influenced by Brexit. Although our recruitment of new landlords continues at a high level, paradoxically we are seeing a greater number of landlords keen to exit the sector, citing concerns about taxation and increasing regulation.”
“The first quarter of 2018 has been busier than expected as landlords get to grips with the changes brought in by the PRT. The PRT has led some landlords to assess the management of their property and, along with the introduction of the letting agent register, more landlords are changing agent than ever before. This has coincided with many Airbnb landlords feeling the winter occupancy crunch and moving over to long-term letting. 2018 is going to be an interesting year!”
“The Edinburgh rental market continues to thrive as we enter Q2. Landlord enquiries remain strong albeit landlords have far more thinking to do today amongst the ongoing regulation changes and continued close competition from agents in the city where demand outstrips supply. There are still a lot of investors looking to buy into the Edinburgh market which is positive, predominantly 1 bed and 2 bed flats in the city centre as these offer the best returns. Good quality properties are being let very quickly and rent values are also very strong, especially in the 1-2 bed market.”
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