The current state of the housing market is not something to sing about. The sales market is shaky at best with Prime London property one of the few areas in the country showing any sort of growth.
Prices in Central London are being supported by London’s status as a safe haven for wealthy foreign buyers in these troubled times, those buyers are also benefitting from Sterling’s relative weakness making property in London comparably cheap. Lucky them, but what about the rest of us? With buyers struggling to get mortgages, and demand thin on the ground, things are looking a little bleak for buyers and sellers alike.
James Gough, owner of Martin & Co Crystal Palace comments “However, it’s not all doom and gloom, the rental market is going from strength to strength with increasing rental demand from would be buyers driving the sector forward.”
According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the traditional spring bounce failed to materialise and house prices have barely moved.
South East London reflects this with prices generally facing a slight downward trajectory. The rental market on the other hand is seeing record breaking tenant enquiries month on month and rising rents.
RICS housing spokesperson Ian Perry said: “Buyer interest in purchasing property remains flat across much of the country and there is little sign of this changing any time soon. Uncertainty over the economic outlook remains as important as the availability of mortgage finance in depressing demand”.
With the dormant housing market the appetite to rent among Londoners is steadily increasing. With demand to rent increasing, rents are being pushed up all over the Capital. South East London is no exception. Crystal Palace, Sydenham and West Norwood have all seen strong rental valuation growth.
According to James Gough, owner of Martin & Co Crystal Palace “the rental market is really healthy at the moment. People in London move house really quite regularly, more so than in other parts of the country. This reflects London’s size and diversity but also the relatively transient state of the London home occupier. When people can’t sell their own house, or buy another, there is little choice but to rent. If you have to move you have to move, and for many people in South East London renting is the only option”.
This economic trend is seeing a transition of the homeowner to an “accidental landlord”. For many accidental landlords the motivating factor is primarily the financial solution that renting out their property provides.
With sellers unable to achieve asking prices and properties staying on the market considerably longer than we are generally used to, the homeowner with a property to sell and a mortgage to pay might well be a worried one.
There is a solution. The opportunity to move in a shorter time period than would otherwise be possible and with the income from rental to cover mortgage repayments, the anxious homeowners world is looking increasingly rosy. It is not hard to see why in this market many homeowners are opting to let their property out until the economy recovers.
New to lettings? Getting valuable advice and educated on the rental process is the first step to take.
Contact Martin & Co Crystal Palace. Lettings is what we do!
Martin & Co is the UK’s number one dedicated letting agent and can provide you with expert information on renting your property out.
Speak to James Gough, owner of Martin & Co Crystal Palace and see if renting your property can broaden your horizons.
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