Scottish letting agents give us their views on their local market.
“We have seen a massive increase in demand for rental property in Aberdeen. Pre-lockdown typically we would let 10 to 15 properties in the quiet months and 20 to 25 in the busy months. Instead, thanks to online viewings, walk through videos and interactive virtual tours, we let 47 properties in June, 47 in July, 39 in August, and 26 by mid-September (time of writing). The learning points are clear: state-of-the-art marketing combined with proactive follow up calls will keep the right properties tenanted. With the exception of some early check-outs during lockdown, tenancies in general are getting longer, which shows that tenants are feeling more at home and the long-term rental industry is here to stay.”
“The market is fluctuating. Demand was unseasonably strong from July to mid-September. However, there has been a recent reduction in activity levels, which may be attributable to the threat of a second lockdown. Nevertheless, it remains common for us to receive over 20 notes of interest overnight when we list a West End property with a virtual tour. With such high demand, landlords are routinely achieving ambitious asking rents. Aggregate rent arrears are steady. We await the end of the furlough scheme next month with interest.”
“The loosening of lockdown restrictions over Q3 allowed for the Edinburgh rental market to awaken from its slumber. As a result, we have seen exponential growth and a flurry of activity both from a landlord & investor perspective, along with a vast increase in tenant enquiries and move-ins to vacant stock. The BTL mortgage market has also got back on track, with lenders continuing to offer favourable terms, especially on higher returning properties across the central belt. With the most recent government updates leaning towards further restrictions, could the market again slump into hibernation?”
“The lift of lockdown restrictions brought good market activity and steady level of secured tenancies. The upward trend has continued over the last 3 months, with September showing the highest number of lets for us in Aberdeen City for the year to date. One bedroom properties along with the larger family homes continue to be under high demand, with vast oversupply of two bedroom flats. The HMO market has suffered this year due to the lack of students moving to the area and we are finding that they are opting for one bedroom flats over shared accommodation.”
“Q2 & Q3 have undoubtedly been tough for us all but necessity is the mother of invention and the beneficial adaptations of our processes e.g. virtual viewings, will continue as the new norm. Due to lockdown restrictions we entered Q3 with a record number of properties on the market. Excess supply in the Edinburgh rental market depressed rents by as much as 10% for some properties. The floodgates of pent-up demand were opened as restrictions lifted and most available properties rented within 4 weeks. We experienced a second wave of tenants serving notice as the scaling back of the furlough scheme impacted the job market. These properties rented quickly and saw rents return to pre-COVID levels.”
“Demand still continues to outstrip supply and rental values have continued to rise during Q3. With a booming sales market, we have found that numerous “reluctant landlords” have opted to sell their rental properties, so current stock levels are at an all-time low. The letting industry is relying more on digital technology, with Zoom meetings, online referencing and remote lease signings. Thankfully, our fears surrounding rent arrears proved wholly unfounded, but we further anticipate issues when the Government’s furlough scheme ends in October.”
“We’ve certainly faced challenging times during the Covid-19 pandemic, however, as a business we are extremely resilient and continuing on, albeit in a different operating structure. We’ve seen fantastic demand for properties as lockdown restrictions start to ease, and currently we are sitting at 97% occupancy, a first for us! We’ve seen a slight uplift in rents, whilst supply has been short and demand still strong.”
“Since the restrictions put in place to temper the Covid-19 global pandemic began to ease, the demand from tenants has seen properties being viewed and reserved within 48 hours of being on the market due to the number of tenants moving for work, returning home to the city or looking for better accommodation should we go into lockdown again. We have also seen through our offices in Aberdeen, Stirling and Glasgow, higher than normal enquiries from investors of all sizes looking to buy property for the Scottish PRS, with the vast majority of those new investors coming from overseas.”
“Q3 2020 has been beyond buoyant with the bounce back from the lockdown easing, seeing a very strong demand from tenants. HMO student stock suddenly started to be in hot demand with students making the decision to return to Edinburgh for term starting, and with more 1-3 bed stock in the market being snapped up, rents returned to a near normal level from pre-lockdown. Our level of activity has been pretty much on course with last year, with our vacating properties average for the quarter being exactly the same compared to 2019, whereas properties moving in was up 30% - a symptom of tenants moving back to the city and pre-lockdown stock levels returning. We are confident that the market will settle moving in to Q4.”
“The market is busy and everyone needs a place to live and we are seeing quality properties being snapped up at every opportunity and this on its own will improve the housing stock in the PRS with landlords having to ensure that their properties are presented in the best order to stave of the competition and prolong the length of the tenancy. If a tenant doesn’t like the flat, they will just give notice and this will constitute a potential cost to the landlord with a void and remarketing cost coming into play and all this will reduce potential yield.”
“The Perth and Dundee rental markets have been extremely active since the lifting of lockdown. Demand has far outstripped supply at all levels, from 1 bedroom flats to detached villas. Consequently, monthly rents have increased up to 8% in some instances. There is no sign of the current levels of demand dropping anytime soon as available vacant properties remain at a premium.”
“The market since reopening has been buoyant with high levels of tenant demand. We are seeing our occupancy rates back to the expected levels, with rents staying steady after a marginal downturn. The new normal has settled in and PPE along with virtual viewings has been embraced. This has seen the volume of physical viewings reduced and tenant interest triaged. The next few months will be watched with interest as the furlough scheme ends and the wider impact on the economy starts to show.”
“Q3 has continued to demonstrate increased market activity across the whole PRS since the easing of restrictions. We are delighted to be able to report back to nervous landlords, many of whom have suffered financial uncertainty throughout COVID-19, that asking rents are routinely being achieved and properties occupied with minimum voids. It remains to be seen how the looming end of the UK JRS may impact on our tenants’ ability to continue to meet their rental commitments.”
“In strange times like 2020 the last four weeks have seen an influx of rental demand within Glasgow. The lack of stock is causing renters stress. Average let time is two days. The industry however always needs to ensure that the property to rent complies with all letting regulations and that due diligence is done on tenant vetting. No short cuts to put a head on a bed! Rent professionally.”
“After restrictions eased in June, the rental market exploded after almost 3 months of relative inactivity and by the end of Q3 the balance of property supply against tenant demand was back closer to the levels we’re used to in Edinburgh. Our TTLs and voids have returned to 2019 levels and after a spike of agreed rent reductions in Q2, only a quarter of these reductions remain in place.”
“After restrictions were lifted it felt like a cork popping and all of the pent-up property activity, which had stalled in the second quarter, suddenly exploded and we found ourselves in the middle of a boom. Both tenant and landlord enquiries soared with many tenants securing a new home using a virtual or video viewing. “Contactless” letting was new fashion. As we moved through the quarter the fizz began to die down with the market seeming to settle at a steady level. Whilst we are not pre-Covid levels of activity, the property market continues to perform well given the current situation.”
“HMO properties started to move very quickly once restrictions were eased in July. We found that there was a large demand in the traditional student areas and rents generally remained in line with last year’s figures. Whilst we feel that this has been a very positive outcome considering where we were in June, Coronavirus remains a very serious threat to this market as there is still a prospect that universities may have to curtail physical learning if there are further spikes in cases.”
“After the shockwave of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have experienced record levels of activity in the Aberdeen rental market. Times to let and enquiry levels have been strong throughout, with a surge in demand to balance out the plentiful supply. We have not seen the annual influx of student enquiries we would normally experience, with the uncertainty surrounding university courses, however, as schools and universities start to recommence, we are starting to see a steady flow of activity. The pandemic alongside plans within oil and gas services, will see more shifts in the market, however it’s encouraging to see such buoyant activity in Q3.”
“Q3 would normally see a large uptake in properties popular with students and whilst we have seen a reduction in numbers, it has not been sufficient to negatively impact upon rents. Significantly in a period of economic uncertainty, those properties that are of interest to families and single parent households have seen huge demand, however, the renters themselves seem largely unaffected with viewing levels remaining high and demand for properties pushing rents up.”
“Q3 was extremely busy with the return of the student community to the city. The unsurety about the universities’ plans in Q2 meant hectic tenant activity to ‘see’ and take flats from the start of Q3, only now just subsiding. HMO market rents fared very well; 2.5%-4.0% YoY increases despite COVID. 1 and 2 bed rents remained steady with very few rent payment issues. Furlough ending may yet have an impact. Virtual viewings and bespoke tenant assistance plus solution finding resulted in a strong letting season (92% of HMO flats let via virtual viewings). The Edinburgh property rental market has, so far at least, weathered the crisis well, and led to a swift resurgence in investor activity too. Long may it continue.”
I am a Tenant Landlord
