In this market update we will cover:

1. New Zoopla house price data
2. Trends & Statistics for South East England 
3. Is now the right time to invest in property? 
4. Landlord update with Akhil from Our Mortgage Broker

Rental growth outside London hit's 13 year high. Here’s what’s happening…

The rental market across the UK outside of London has risen by over 5% in the last 12 months. This is the biggest increase since Zoopla’s index began in 2008.

Due to the high volume of demand and the lack of stock we have experienced in both sales and lettings, especially within the Home Counties that Avocado operate in, we have seen a massive increase in rental prices. Some properties have achieved as much as 10-20% increase in prices more than ever within certain locations, this seems to be more for three bedroom family homes than any other types of properties.  And with office workers returning, kids heading back to school and the new normal we have all had to get used to, I can only see rental market continuing to thrive throughout the rest of the year.

According to the Zoopla Rental Market Report they have seen a number of positive changes:

  • The market is moving at the fastest rate since 2016
  • 5% Annual change in rents in UK, excluding London. Up from 2.2% in January
  • 32% of salary to cover rent as a  single earner
  • 15 Day average time to let a property in the UK
  • £943 Average rent in the UK

What’s Happening Across the Home Counties?

The market is showing no signs of slowing down even with the lack of stock and spiked rental prices.

A 41% increase in tenant demand shows there is no better time to own a buy to let. The average Yield is currently 5.6% which is fantastic, but why are so many investors releasing assets when 50% of Landlords have seen an increase in rent over the last 12 months?

According to recent statistics 11% of investments have sold compared to only 5% purchased in the last 3 months. Which based upon these statistics and how crazy the property market is at the moment, I can only see the yield getting stronger as the number of properties coming onto the market will continue to decrease, meaning rental prices will continue to increase.

To keep up to date with the local property market across Berkshire, Hampshire & Surrey make sure you’re following our Landlord social media pages @TheLandlordPage where we regularly provide updates & valuable content such as buy to let of the week, local business chat & much, much more.

Why is now a good time to invest? 

There are many positive reasons to invest but the main points for me are the following:

  • Rental demand is at the highest I have ever experienced with rental prices also following
  • Interest rates are just over 1% with certain lenders – I have never witnessed such low rates in my 9 years of Agency
  • Lloyds Bank is opening a lettings Agency which shows they are confident the housing market will continue to stay strong

Akhil from Our Mortgage Broker

The mortgage market is certainly back to normal. Landlords now close to 3000 mortgages to choose from, with more than 200 new deals coming on to the market in the last 60 days including up to 85% loan to value buy to let mortgages. We are continuously witnessing lenders rates begin to drop in both personal name and limited company mortgages products. The current averages are now lower than those recorded in July 2019, meaning landlords coming to the end of two-year fixes might be able to re-mortgage to a cheaper rate.

If you have a property to rent or maybe looking to invest into property for the first time we would love to hear from you, contact us here.