Buy-To-Let investment has been a difficult way for private landlords to make a profit in the past few years, so it is more important than ever that investors locate the areas with the highest levels of tenant demand in order to avoid costly and lengthy void periods.
The property marketplace TheHouseShop.com reviewed us their annual data which highlights us the top 5 rental hotspots of 2017 are:
- London;
- Birmingham;
- Bristol;
- Leeds;
- Manchester.
The annual data from each area was further broken down by age, listing type, property type and the number of bedrooms, in order to better understand the property news and what is actually driving tenant demand in each area.
Now let’s get down to numbers.
When the data of the enquiries was broken down by age, quite a few peculiar facts were revealed. Bristol saw the majority of the enquiries for property in the area came from the Millennial demographic with over two thirds, (63.64%).
In comparison, Manchester saw the majority of enquiries from Generation X, (35-50-year-olds) with 71.43% and Birmingham had the highest number of Baby Boomer (51-69-year-olds) enquiries at 34.55%.
London also saw a high number of Millennials (18-34-year-olds), making up over half (50.65%) of enquiries on rental property listings in the city over the year, helping it become the number one area for total enquiries.
One possible explanation for this could be the fantastic career opportunities for this age group in the capital. London came in 4th place as a 2017 Millennial Hotspot in a recent report carried out by TheHouseShop.com, which further highlighted the excellent employment opportunities available for young professionals in the city.
“Our annual data shows that London was the area that received the most enquiries on property listings available to rent, followed by Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Manchester. The data varied from region to region depending on what our users were looking for, which has helped to build a clearer picture of the rental market in each city.” – Nick Marr, Co-Founder of TheHouseShop.com
“This data can be utilised by Buy-To-Let landlords, as they can use it to gain a better understanding of the local rental market for each of the top 5 areas, should they consider expanding their property portfolio in 2018 by choosing to invest in one of these areas.”
Let’s look deeper into data:
Once the data was broken down by property type, TheHouseShop found that there was a marked difference in demand for houses over flats and vice versa depending on the area. For example, London saw a higher number of enquiries for flats at 69.79% whereas visitors making enquiries on a property to rent in Leeds preferred houses at 59.57%. This could point to densely populated areas such as London having a property stock with a large number of flats available to rent, compared to smaller cities like Leeds where there are more houses available.
After viewing the data for the total number of bedrooms per property type we found that London had a large number of enquiries for 1-bedroom flats (41.65%) and 3-bedroom houses (34.53%).
Birmingham had even larger enquiries for a 1-bedroom flat 60.98% and the percentage of enquiries for a 3-bedroom house was 46.43%.
Bristol had the largest number of enquiries for a 2-bed flat out of all the top 5 popular areas for 2017 with over half of visitors (53.03%), making enquiries on property listings available to rent.
Leeds experienced the largest number of enquiries for a 1-bedroom flat at a staggering 81.95%, so Buy-To-Landlords looking to invest in Leeds should definitely consider viewing this property type due to being exceedingly popular with renters in the area.
How property investors can use the data to minimise void periods?
This data can help Landlord’s work out which types of property and which areas they should invest in should they be thinking of purchasing property in these areas. An investors nightmare is to be paying off a hefty mortgage without any tenants supplying a rental income, because they find out too late they have chosen to invest in a property type with a small tenant demand. That’s why local knowledge is a must.
According to HouseBuyers4You.co.uk the first autumn budget, presented by Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, highlights what are the changes to stamp duty land tax (SDLT) that real estate agents, property developers, buy-to-let investors and even first-time buyers should bear in mind for they will affect housing trends and rent throughout the entire country:
What are the PROS of these recent changes?
- Property valued under £300,000 and under will pay 0 no stamp duty;
- Properties between £300,000 and £500,000 must pay only 5% stamp duty;
- The stamp duty cut will allow buyers to save some funds;
- Increased amount of funds will benefit first time home buyers.
What are the CONS of these recent changes?
- The rise in demand will increase the value of property in 2018;
- The current demand due not enough homes being built in the UK will also pump up prices;
- As prices grow, funds saved due to stamp duty will be lost to some extent, depending on how fast people are able to invest;
- Current property owners could take advantage by charing more.
Final remarks and takeaways:
In the ever-changing environment of property investment, tax fluctuations have a solid effect on profit margins. The dynamic change of real estate trends throughout Europe means that UK homeowners, landlords and property developers should focus on areas where margins are relevantly higher. This report aims to show that if planning to invest. a thorough research is absolutely crucial.
Although TheHouseShop.com’s data has revealed the top 5 areas with the highest tenant demand in 2017, these areas are already starting to decline as new hotspot and popular areas are emerging in the rental market. Landlords would do well to keep an eye on the rental market across the country to help them suss out the best areas for high tenant demand.
