By Craig Smith

We were having a conversation in the office just last week about how the number of tenant enquiries seems to have dropped rapidly. The number of telephone calls receiving asking about properties had fallen but Landlords are still as keen as ever to get their properties let, if there is no tenant there is no rent coming in to cover mortgages, insurance etc.

More Tenants on the Move

But wait, its not as bad as it sounds! By looking at the number of enquiries compared with the last 2 years there is still an increase in the number of tenants on the move. For example, on our website alone, the number of views from August 2009 to August 2011 had risen by more than 12,000. It is the same story comparing the number of views from March 2009 to this year with an increase of more than 13,000!

This doesn’t necessarily mean that there are 13,000+ more tenants moving. More and more people are now using the internet for everything from ordering their weekly shop, to social media, to finding a roof to go over their heads! Perhaps the increase could be blamed on a mix of properties being more easily accessible online and an increase in the number of properties in the rental market.

Higher Demand, Higher Rents?

There have been a number of news reports recently stating how poor the housing market is and that many people cant afford to get themselves onto the property ladder, so perhaps this is why more people are looking to rent instead? It has been reported on the ARLA website over the last couple of weeks that demand seems to be outstripping the supply of rental properties.

Well, we always have properties available and I very much doubt that we’ll ever see a day where we have absolutely nothing left to market but this isn’t quite what is meant by this term. Sometimes we see a high demand for family homes, such as 2 or 3 bed houses and as they get snapped up, the number still available will decrease. This is when tenants may be willing to stretch to pay a little more rent to make sure they get the house they want. At this time of year, there is always lower demand for rental properties and we can prove this by looking at the number of enquiries in October year on year.

Should We Be Worried?

It seems that the only news we see about property in this country is how about how poorly the market is doing and how the country is on its knees. Yes, it is true that a lot more people are trying to spend less wherever possible, not just in the property market but life in general. I don’t think we need to be worried but perhaps just a little more cautious. 

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