Published: 23/08/2017
Recent figures released this week showed that nearly one in four households in Britain will be renting privately by the end of 2021, as climbing house prices and stagnant wages increasingly make home ownership an unrealistic dream for many.
However, it’s not all bad news for renters, the London rental property market continues to act as a brake on the UK as a whole, with rental inflation in the capital now running at -0.6 per cent a year according to the July HomeLet Rental Index.
July was the fourth successive month in which London saw rents fall, and while the pace of decline is now slowing – July’s figure compares to a 2.9 per cent drop in June – the capital’s rental market still looks transformed compared to this time last year, when rents were rising at a rate of 6.6 per cent.
With the buy to let market having seen major changes with new levies and fees that landlords are now facing, it has become an increasingly difficult balancing act between ensuring rents are affordable for tenants whilst covering their own rising costs.
What does this mean for renters?
You don’t have to feel sorry for landlords, if you are out and about looking at properties to rent then it is likely that these properties are being offered at lower prices than the same time last year. If the price is not reflecting this change in the rental market then you can assume there is some scope for negotiation!
So we recommend getting all your references prepared, have your moving in monies ready and present yourself in the best possible way to bag yourself a late summer bargain whilst you can!
Check out our rental properties here: http://empire-estates.com/let/property-to-let/