Press Release Summary: The current fall in house prices that are taking place across the UK may not be good news for the majority of current homeowners, but there is one group that is surely giving thanks for their good fortune: landlords.
Press Release Body: The current fall in house prices that are taking place across the UK may not be good news for the majority of current homeowners, but there is one group that is surely giving thanks for their good fortune: landlords.
A BBC report on rental demand reveals that buy-to-let investors have been taking advantage of a trend that has made many would-be homebuyers reluctant to take the risk of purchasing property. Even though a decrease in property prices may make getting a foot on the housing ladder more affordable, many Britons are afraid they will lose out as prices fall even further in the near future - and are choosing to rent instead until the market settles down.
Landlord EuGin Song told the news provider that \"historically, rents and prices are inversely cyclical\". When prices rise, people rush to invest in something that will be valuable. When they fall, people are more likely to turn to renting to safeguard their money, he claimed.
Meanwhile, the buy-to-let property market has been the focus of a lot of recent debate that suggests it may finally be cooling off. These implications may cause investors to hold back on purchasing more properties to let, leading to a situation in which rental demand is greater than supply. Existing landlords win out, because they can increase rents. In fact, recent statistics from The Money Centre reveal that in the past three months, one out of three landlords said they had plans to raise rents - by an average of 6.8 per cent.
London property landlords are among those who are profiting the most from the current market conditions, as new opportunities such as Heathrow\'s Terminal 5 and the 2012 Olympics bring more workers who need accommodation to the capital.
However, other areas of the UK are also seeing hikes. A survey for The Times by Hometrack revealed that Oxford rents rose by 17 per cent in the year to April, while Birmingham rents increased by 16 per cent. Cambridge and Sheffield were identified as other hot spots.
At the same time, even when faced with rising rental costs, there is little evidence to suggest that tenants are losing out when they choose to rent. The National Landlords Association has called for more positive press about private rented accommodation, so that the situation is not viewed as \"second-best\".
\"According to government figures, 81 per cent of tenants are on good terms with their landlords,\" he stated, adding that the buy-to-let sector has made many positive contributions towards helping solve the UK\'s housing crisis.
In any case, there is one issue that must be kept in mind, if past trends can be applied to the future: what goes up, most certainly will - eventually, due to a combination of market factors - come down.
2022
