Buy to let yields won’t surrender to economic woes

Buy to let rentals are still steaming ahead thanks to a property drought - and yields are likely to continue to rise for landlords, claim letting agents. The latest private rental market review from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows yields have now increased every month since April 2009. Rents are also still on the up, but at a slower rate than earlier in the year. London is still providing better rents and yields for landlords than elsewhere in the country. Letting agents blame a general lack of confidence in the economy and mortgage lenders starving borrowers of funds for the shift from buying to renting homes. As the financial climate worsens, more renters want to let rather than commit to buying a home. Although demand is outpacing supply, more homes came to the market in the three months ending October 31 than in the previous 21 months. RICS reckons part of the reason is homes failing to sell are forcing owners to move and let - and they are renting out their former homes behind them. RICS spokesman James Scott-Lee said: "The disappointing economic message communicated by the Chancellor in his Autumn Statement and the prospect of further job losses is likely to underpin the residential lettings market. "Despite resistance to rising rent levels from tenants, in some places, the imbalance between demand and supply for rented property suggests that for the foreseeable future landlords will have a good if not increasing return on their investments." Meanwhile, around a 1 million private tenants are struggling to pay their rent, new research claims. The British Social Attitudes study on housing produced for the National Centre for Social Research suggested a third of tenants cannot afford rising rents. Another third of people believe private rents are too expensive, while 43% of social housing tenants reckon renting a private home costs too much. Download the full RICS Residential Lettings Survey [LINK: http://www.rics.org/site/scripts/download_info.aspx?downloadID=7727&fileID=10304 ]

Landlord blog

Siobhan Smith

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