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Private rental sector is ripe for investment
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Research shows PRS is ripe
for investment
Increased demand for rental property is sparking a renewed
interest in the PRS from landlords in some parts of the UK.
Achievable rent levels on residential property have risen in the
last six months, according to 60% of ARLA member agents, and have
outperformed other investment classes consistently for the past two
years.
The average period for which a rental property is empty in
between lets is just 2.7 weeks per year, down from an average four
weeks two years ago.
Ian Potter, Operations Manager at ARLA, said: "Three quarters of
our members are reporting that demand for rental property is
outstripping supply and, with rental returns currently at 5%,
anyone thinking about investing a property to rent could be
well-placed to consider their options in the coming months."
Our research shows that prudent landlords are moving quickly to
expand their portfolios, with almost a quarter (23%) reporting that
they have bought properties in the last year. The most
popular regions for investment are the North West, Midlands and
Central London. In contrast the Rest of London saw the fewest
landlords buying property.
We advise anyone considering investing in a rental property or
portfolio, to first seek advice from a professional, licensed
lettings agent.
Mr Potter continued: "The rental market is, rightly, coming
under increasing scrutiny to ensure that consumers are not
mistreated. Currently, anyone can become a letting agent. To
protect your rights either as a landlord or tenant, it is critical
therefore to check that there are measures - like Client Money
Protection - in place with your chosen agent should things go
wrong."
All ARLA Licensed members have a range of consumer protection
measures in place, for more details see: http://www.arla.co.uk/about-us/why-use-our-members/
Mortgage funds are available for the investor willing to put in
their own money and ARLA has a service to provide landlords with
comparisons of available products. For more information visit: http://www.arla.co.uk/information/mortgage-services/
The Q3 ARLA Review and Index is available at http://www.arla.co.uk/buy-to-let/buy-to-let-review/2011/q3/