Scottish letting agents give us their views on their local market.
“Q1 of 2019 has seen a strong start to the year. The market is definitely showing signs of picking up and we have seen more viewings and more leases so far this year that we had at this stage last year; March in particular has seen twice as many new tenants moving in as did in March 2018. Some older stock is coming off the market and being put up for sale, but we are also seeing a healthy number of new properties coming to the leasing market which always helps to keep things fresh.”
“Whilst 2018 was a year which saw huge change in the PRS, with the welcome introduction of the Letting Agent Code of Practice and the bedding in of the PRT lease, 2019 has started strongly, with a palpable new interest from BTL investors wanting to enter the Buy-to-Let market. Set against this is a general trend from the BTL investors of the mid 2000’s to want to leave the sector due to the legislative environment of the sector appearing onerous. On the positive side, this does mean that there are opportunities for this new ‘generation’ of BTL investors who are entering the industry at a time where expectation of standards of presentation is higher, PRS regulations are more stringent and agents are more respected thanks to the LACoP.”
“The first quarter of this year sees us preparing for the comings and goings at our student flats. Having perfected this process over the past decade we are now waiting to see what effect the new Private Residential Tenancy will have on the student lets market. For the last few years we have been preparing for this change by offering our landlords short term lets and festival lets alongside our established long term lets, to ensure that we are flexible enough to cover most eventualities as well as increasing the annual revenue. Thankfully the early signs in the students market are that it will be business as usual with most students now taking properties from June to secure good quality accommodation for the next academic year.”
“The first quarter of 2019 has been a very busy time at GPL with an increase in productivity year in year, which reflects the demand for quality property in sought after areas. As fully registered and qualified letting agents we embrace the professionalism that is expected of us and look forward to the next quarter with relish. We are finding tenants exercising their rights to terminate their PRT lease on 28 days’ notice and move on, and some landlords are finding this difficult to get to terms with.”
“We experienced another period of solid growth in Edinburgh, with rent levels consistently buoyant, despite a calmer end of 2018. It has been a healthy start to 2019, with 1 & 2 bed properties up to c£1000pcm continuing to perform well and there has been excellent demand for family homes. Despite the political uncertainty ahead, we anticipate the trends to continue upwards this year in Edinburgh with an increasing population to this thriving city and a lack of supply, as more “accidental landlords” sell up and the holiday let market continues to detract from the long term market. The opportunity for new landlord investment remains compelling, despite changes to legislation and tax.”
“The Edinburgh rental market in 2018 saw an upward trend of rising rents and a very strong demand for tenancies. However, the start of 2019 has seen this trend start to falter slightly. Properties in historically popular parts of the city are taking longer to let, with tenants having more choice and more time to decide where they choose to live. 2019 may possibly have seen the first signs of a cooling market; time will tell. It will be those landlords who ensure that their properties are well presented and realistically priced, that continue to benefit from the still strong demand for quality homes.”
“Q1 was typically busy with an emphasis on student HMO properties. Demand was again high with marketed rents circa 5% up YOY (and up c.35% since Q1 2014!). One and two beds have seen strong demand too. PRT’s are working well, but unknown future end dates are causing an unintended consequence of students not being able to let properties as early as previously with SAT’s, but pro-active planning has largely overcome this. New investor and landlord activity is good despite current political landscape, but not unexpected given rent rises and steady capital growth. Q2 looks set to be even busier at Cullen!”
“Despite ongoing political and economic uncertainty, the state of PRS in Edinburgh continues to be buoyant. Tenant demand levels remain robust especially for HMO’s and 1 bed properties, and it will be interesting to see how the HMO market works since the introduction of the PRT. We are seeing evidence of a slowdown at the top of the market, with professional high value properties seeming to take longer to let and some reduction in rents. I would say the outlook for the PRS in Scotland remains good, with the number of households in the sector projected to grow by 61,000 by 2021. Edinburgh as a city is well insulated against short term volatility in the market due to an expanding population and the highest levels of projected GDP and employment growth than anywhere in Scotland.”
“The Perth rental market remains active in the spring after a very busy winter period. 1 and 2 bedroom flats remain as popular as ever, and healthy rents of between £400 and £700 are being achieved without too much difficulty. Further afield, the Perthshire rental market remains very active as the area remains popular with tenants based locally and from further afield. Going forward, I expect the rental market to remain strong throughout 2019.”
“We found January was quieter in lettings than in previous years and this carried on into February. March has seen a steady increase in activity with properties starting to let quickly again, although as there is a larger stock of 1 and 2 beds flats to choose from, potential tenants are viewing several properties before making a decision. The new PRT lease has not helped agents or students with HMO planning due to the uncertainty of stock availability and we feel the Government need to look at this as we are not on a level playing field with universities who do not have to adhere to the same regulations letting agents do.”
“The first quarter of 2019 started relatively slow, following on the back of a quiet Q4 2018. We have seen plenty of potential investors looking to move into the buy to let market, and the number of rental properties available has been growing. However, the market has seen less movement amongst tenants. Whilst this is creating longer existing tenancies, it has resulted in a slightly longer average time to let. Whilst people are trying to get on with business as usual, speculation on how Brexit may affect the property market is making people slightly cautious.”
“Q1 2019 has seen us off the blocks to a speeding start with the impact of the new private rented tenancy starting to reflect in the market. The number of our properties turning over in Q1 was up 100% against last year, with tenants exercising their right under the PRT to leave with 28 days’ notice - and in some cases landlords serving notice to repossess – suggesting a quickening pace in the Edinburgh market. Rents have stayed steady and tenant demand remains healthy but we are seeing landlords having to compete on the product they put to market - raising standards and increasing competition for landlords means we are seeing tenants ‘shopping around’ much more than they have in recent years - particularly across the 2 bed market where rents seem to be levelling out to minimise voids.”
“Q1 2019 has been off to a steady start. The number of enquiries per property has risen hopefully showing a rise in demand. If a rental property is presented well and priced correctly, there is no reason why it will not rent in less than 30 days. We are starting to get a lot of student HMO enquires for August and September 2019. Although there has been a lot of purpose-built student accommodation in the city, a lot of students still prefer the more traditional style of property.”
“Q1 has seen a busy start to the year at Northwood Aberdeen. Time to let (void periods) continues to fall for well-presented properties that are competitively priced and the overall market continues to show signs of stability. Demand for rental properties in the city is positive, however, there is still plenty of supply meaning that landlords must maintain a high standard to compete in the market. The impact of recent changes in legislation has seen a shift in landlord expectations with regard to their investments and Northwood Aberdeen have been advising their clients accordingly. With a plentiful supply of properties for sale in Aberdeen there are also new opportunities for landlords investing in the Aberdeen market for the first time. We anticipate a very busy summer period with enquires already being received for student properties that will be available later this year.”
“The first quarter of 2019 has seen a steady strong growth with re-let times now being in cases reduced to 7 days, thus giving the investor/landlord more monthly rental returns. We have seen enquires for student accommodation coming far earlier than the start of term times and rents have increased by 4% from last year. With regards main stream rentals, demand is outstripping supply, which is providing a positive outlook for landlords with properties in good renter areas and quality stock.”
“The new PRT is beginning to impact the HMO market. Already we are seeing properties coming up for let with no immediate demand for them, meaning that landlords are facing the prospect of no rent for potentially 2-3 months. In addition the festival short term market will also struggle as there are going to be fewer properties available, though it is disappointing to see that some purportedly reputable agents are still not adhering to the law by creating fixed term leases and ignoring notice periods. The Scottish Government and other bodies need to take action against this and unregistered agents.”
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