Recent research from the Resolution Foundation has confirmed what many in the rental sector already knew: years of high house prices and falling real-terms wages are pushing more and more people into the rental sector for the long term.
The research concludes that at least a third of millennials face living in rented accommodation for their entire lives, and many more are abandoning the idea of owning a home completely.
Subsequent research from YouGov confirms these findings, with 83% of young people considering rising house prices to be a serious issue – an increase of 5% in the last five years. Clearly, this is an issue which is not going away.
The roots of this problem are varied. The lack of quality new homes being built across the UK is part of it, as is the aforementioned ongoing real-terms wage squeeze which makes saving for a deposit untenable for many. The combination of all these factors has created a worsening picture for young people.
With all that in mind, it is no surprise that reports from ARLA this week confirmed that demand across the rental market remains steady. There is no chance that the majority of renters will be able to exit the market, meaning that landlords can rest assured that void periods are likely to remain low – especially in the busiest rental markets such as the North West and South East.
In fact, the number of registered tenants increased by 8% in March, according to ARLA, and 23% experienced an increase in the rent they had to pay. This is obviously a good time to be a landlord, and, according to the previously discussed research, it is likely that this state of affairs will continue well into the future due to supply being too low and house prices continuing to rise.
Are you a landlord concerned you are not making the most of your rental property? Get in touch with our team today to discuss how we can help you.
