Market update!

It’s been a busy start to 2011….

Rugby – nearly all properties let – we’re desperately short of stock. Every new property we’ve taken on this year is let, and we’re only on the 16^th of the month.

Northampton – best start to a year ever – stock is diminishing rapidly. Ongoing tenant demand for good quality properties of all sizes. Also, a massive shortage of properties for the DSS market – about 4,000 to be precise.

The summary is that 2011 has started as 2010 ended – healthy demand from good quality tenants, and a genuine shortage of good quality properties. An interesting comparison is the number of properties available across the whole town – at the start of 2010 it was over 1000, whereas at the start of 2011 it’s just under 600 – a drop of over 40%.

We have a number of landlords who have purchases lined up – there are some decent buys out there and the signs in early 2011 are that the sales market hasn’t significantly picked up from last year. As such the potential for further acquisitions continues. I’m seeing a property next week available for around £80k that should rent for £800 per month – a healthy return for whoever buys it.

The strength of the current market also means that it’s possible to raise rents in certain properties. This won’t happen across the board – the market for 2 bed apartments in Northampton for instance remains saturated, which will put the brakes on the rental price achievable. We also have to balance the potential for any increase against the potential of losing a decent tenant – landlords feel differently about this – some are happy to take the risk, some aren’t. My teams in Northampton and Rugby are however reviewing all tenancies, and will be in touch with all landlords on an individual basis where we feel a rental increase is achievable.

The main challenge for ourselves as an agency remains sourcing properties. Before Christmas we did announce that we were happy to pay a referral fee to existing customers who know of other landlords with an empty property. We’re happy to continue this until the end of February at least, subject to the terms previously posted.

Richard.