Here at Elliot Leigh, we’re proud to have spent over two decades as one of the leading London rental agencies. Stick around to the end of the article for more information about how we could help you navigate the current trends in the London housing market to get the best value for your assets.
Over the last twelve months, the UK housing market has been through a particularly turbulent period. From raising mortgage rates to the impact of the cost of living crisis – both on renters and landlords – many are concerned about the future of their investments.
Today, we’ll be going over some of the major changes in the UK housing market over the last quarter and what they could mean for London rental properties.
Yes, as of the beginning of this year, for the first time in over a decade, it’s now cheaper to rent an apartment in London than it is to pay back a mortgage.
While both London rental prices and London property prices have always dwarfed the national average, the rising cost of mortgages has recently made renting a far more appealing prospect than it once seemed for many looking to live in the capital.
For London property owners this is something of a double edged sword, because although more demand is always a good thing, balancing rent to pay off the higher cost of mortgages can be something of a challenge.
In this regard, those working with London rental agencies will have a clear advantage as the rental agencies will have better research and data on how and when to adjust rent in order to maximise profits.
Last month, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that the city had surpassed its affordable housing target but nonetheless warned against the risk of rising rents. All of this has led many to question the validity of these housing targets given that they’ve done little to nothing to impact the overall cost of renting in London. Meanwhile, as the aforementioned cost of mortgages rises, landlords are being forced to pass a percentage of that cost on to the renters making the market more expensive and less competitive overall.
Predicting the housing market is never easy and, as a London rental agency, we see it as our job to take sensible precautions rather than to try to second guess what’s down the line. That being said, it’s likely that we’ll see some sort of government policies brought in in the next year or two as part of an attempt to combat these rising costs. How this will affect both renters and landlords is yet to be seen but those working with London rental agencies will doubtless be best placed to handle whatever might come.
For high quality London rental agency services contact Elliot Leigh today on 0208 983 4444.
