By Paula Planelles Manzanaro Property Correspondent
The number of people rent residential property increased by almost 25 per cent last year compared with 2010, according to a study published by the estate agency Countrywide. The difficulties in home buyers attmepting to get loans from the banks have caused the rise of tenants across the country, reaching 275,000 in 2011. Londoners have seen an increase of rents by 20 per cent.
Rental activity increased by almost a quarter last year, as mortgage lending was squeezed in the United Kingdom. In the capital rents have seen increases of up to 20 per cent, according to a report by Savills, the upmarket estate agency. As a consequence of the increase of demand, the length of time rental homes are marketed before being occupied has decreased to 13.6 days on average in 2011, compared with 14.8 days in 2010. Properties in London are rented even faster, being just 12.2 days in the market, according to the report by Countrywide.
First-time buyers have been superseded by buy-to-let investors, who have increased their share of house stock by 42 per cent since 2007, according to an article published by the Financial Times. This represents the 19 per cent of the total £4.3tn value of residential property sales. According to the report by Savills, the number of home owners in the country has fallen by 2 per cent, with the lowest level of housing output since 1923.
Renting is the new trend in the country’s property market. Nick Cunning, commercial director at Countrywide, commented that “we are in the midst of rental boom as renting has become the new norm. With a record number of tenants entering the private rental sector, there is a vast shortage of properties available in all areas of the UK”. This fact could raise the rent prices within this year, Mr. Cunning added.
The study unveils that couples under the age of 35 were the largest proportion of new tenants, with a quarter of all the applications, according to a report in the Financial Times. However, families have also joined the new wave of occupants.
