Your snapshot of the lettings and property market for all of September, focussed on London and the rest of the UK!
- Propertymark is urging agents to conduct Customer Due Diligence for landlords, tenants, guarantors, permitted occupiers, and other relevant parties regardless of the requirements under AML.
- Research by Goodlord reveals only 4 in 10 agents are hopeful of the future of lettings after the White Paper. The white paper aims to abolish section 21 and fixed-term tenancies, as well as allowing tenants to have pets. 8 out of 10 agents expressed concerns about the impact of the White Paper, whilst only 1 in 4 are said to be pessimistic about the future of lettings.
- Paul Shampalina of Landlord Action has warned the Government of a mass exodus of Landlords from the market due to the pressure they are under in the market, expected to worsen with the Renters’ reform bill.
- The Bank of England base rate increases ahead of the country entering a recession, standing at 2.25%
- Data from Hamptons reveals the rise in interest rates is decreasing the profitability of rental properties for mortgaged Landlords. The rising interest rates will mean many face higher outgoings when they look to re-mortgage. Therefore, Landlords are turning away from the capital in order to purchase investments in higher yielding areas. So far this year, 66% of London-based Landlords have invested elsewhere, up from 26% 10 years ago.
- Rental stock has declined more than 40% in the past 3 years, this increases the demand for properties with less available to renters.
- Goodlord reported September to be the highest average rent ever recorded with the average cost of a London property exceeded the £2,000 mark for the first time ever, up 6.7% compared to August. In September voids were down to 17 days nationally and down to just 9 days in London.
Other news in September:
Queen Elizabeth II passed away as the longest serving monarch and King Charles III began his reign.
Liz Truss was announced as the new Prime Minister of Great Britain, to be replaced 50 days later by Rishi Sunak in October following her resignation.