[Finance] Property Prices and Rentals

WATFORD zero · Oct 3, 2020

My son lives in central London and his lease is up on his flat in a couple of months so he has started looking for a new one. He tells me that Letting Agents are all over him with offers and that rental prices are dropping like a stone (even by the week!). As a consequence, he is already looking at far nicer flats and houses, even more central and cheaper than his current one.

He was thinking about buying this time but luckily, when we talked about everything going on at the moment, he agreed he should just rent for another year.

I am wondering if this is the start of a change that is likely to be reflected across major towns, as more people WFH on a more permanent basis and being central to towns becomes less important. If that is the case, surely this change in rental prices will be reflected across property prices soon.

mikeyjh · Oct 3, 2020

WATFORD zero said:
My son lives in central London and his lease is up on his flat in a couple of months so he has started looking for a new one. He tells me that Letting Agents are all over him with offers and that rental prices are dropping like a stone (even by the week!). As a consequence, he is already looking at far nicer flats and houses, even more central and cheaper than his current one.

He was thinking about buying this time but luckily, when we talked about everything going on at the moment, he agreed he should just rent for another year.

I am wondering if this is the start of a change that is likely to be reflected across major towns, as more people WFH on a more permanent basis and being central to towns becomes less important. If that is the case, surely this change in rental prices will be reflected across property prices soon.

I can only speak from my experience, I have houses in the Worthing area and in South Wales. Demand for rentals is insane, I've never seen anything like it - I don't know what's driving this but London is always a bit of a law unto itself. There's no immediate signs that house prices are going to see a big fall but I can't see how that isn't going to happen. Edit - A bit of data to support the rental picture:- https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news...-as-demand-booms-across-the-uk-despite-covid/

Meanwhile, commercial properties are going to be on their a**e, I can see people exiting that market pretty sharpish!!

Live by the sea · Oct 3, 2020

London rentals have been effected much more than Brighton & Hove by coronavirus. This is largely because the most desirable & prime areas of London to live in , ie Mayfair , South Kensington , Chelsea , Hampstead , Belgravia , primrose hill etc rely heavily on foreign buyers & renters and because many of these people are no longer living in London , this has had a massive knock on effect in London .

Brighton is not in that same situation. There might be a slight correction because a number of people have lost their jobs due to Covid but many of these I suspect will be split between the rental market and property owners . So on short there is likely to be much better value def buying in London over the next 6-12 months and renting to a slightly lesser extent . Brighton will get a much smaller dip .

daveinprague · Oct 3, 2020

No tourists = lots of empty apartments here and prices for rentals dropping a lot. as Czechs don't have the same spending power.

AmexRuislip · Oct 3, 2020

WATFORD zero said:
My son lives in central London and his lease is up on his flat in a couple of months so he has started looking for a new one. He tells me that Letting Agents are all over him with offers and that rental prices are dropping like a stone (even by the week!). As a consequence, he is already looking at far nicer flats and houses, even more central and cheaper than his current one.

He was thinking about buying this time but luckily, when we talked about everything going on at the moment, he agreed he should just rent for another year.

I am wondering if this is the start of a change that is likely to be reflected across major towns, as more people WFH on a more permanent basis and being central to towns becomes less important. If that is the case, surely this change in rental prices will be reflected across property prices soon.

In Ruislip its a landlords paradise for flats and houses.
Selling /buying prices are extortionate beyond belief.
We purchased our 1 bed house 20 years ago for £69,000, now selling in the region of £300,000.
Our new neighbour has recently moved into the 1 bed behind us, after moving from renting in Camden, she is WFH.
1 bed houses and flats are in the region of £950 / £1000 to rent pcm around here.
All I know central London is bloody expensive.

Shropshire Seagull · Oct 3, 2020

Property is no different to other commodities that operate under the economic law of supply and demand.

If rental price is falling in London, ask yourself whether this is due to a) over supply or b) falling demand.

My analysis would align to thousands of office workers in London now being allowed to work from home with this new trend likely to extend well beyond the pandemic.
Add to that the massive job losses that are / will be occurring in the entertainment sector [there's a lot of bars, clubs & restaurants in the city]
So if city workers can now avoid the commute or have lost their jobs, where will many choose to live?
No longer in the expensive city conurbation would be my guess ..... so demand falls, and sure as eggs are eggs, price falls will follow. It's the law [of economics].

Neville's Breakfast · Oct 3, 2020

Massive demand for rentals and sales up here in Norfolk. Estate agents are saying that as soon as a property is available to rent it goes. Most of the property that had been up for sale for a while has also gone. It seems there is a sizable shift from London and Essex up to Suffolk and Norfolk where prices are much more reasonable.

The Clamp · Oct 3, 2020

Once people start having their houses repossessed due to the catastrophic double whammy of Brexit and Covid, there’ll be a surge of renters and prices will sky rocket.

Farehamseagull · Oct 3, 2020

Don't know about London but rental prices around Southampton have continued to go up.

Although what I would say is that the level of increase does depend on the type of property. 2/3 bed houses are massively in demand and prices continue to go up rapidly, flats are definitely less popular. Like most areas there have been far too many built around here and there just isn't the same level of demand.

Birdie Boy · Oct 3, 2020

Neville's Breakfast said:
Massive demand for rentals and sales up here in Norfolk. Estate agents are saying that as soon as a property is available to rent it goes. Most of the property that had been up for sale for a while has also gone. It seems there is a sizable shift from London and Essex up to Suffolk and Norfolk where prices are much more reasonable.

Just been to Norfolk for the weekend, looked in some estate agents and they are way cheaper than down here. £400k will get you a very large detached place with land. £200k 2/3 bedroom starter homes. I'm sure there were some even cheaper.

NooBHA · Oct 3, 2020

House Prices in London are fine and pretty steady. If he can afford to buy now he should as loads of great lending deals available.

A glut of properties have become available for rent because loads of Landlords have written off Bad Debt Rents in agreement of non paying tenants vacating properties. The surplus of available properties won't be there for very long.

Live by the sea · Oct 3, 2020

Neville's Breakfast said:
Massive demand for rentals and sales up here in Norfolk. Estate agents are saying that as soon as a property is available to rent it goes. Most of the property that had been up for sale for a while has also gone. It seems there is a sizable shift from London and Essex up to Suffolk and Norfolk where prices are much more reasonable.

Norwich which is probably the nicest city in your part of the country will certainly benefit cos it’s just about within commuting distance to London but is far far cheaper to buy property. Norwich in fact makes central Hove seem very expensive. For £500k u can buy a large detached house in Norwich in a good area . You would only get a terraced house in the equivalent area in central Brighton or central Hove .

vegster · Oct 3, 2020

WATFORD zero said:
My son lives in central London and his lease is up on his flat in a couple of months so he has started looking for a new one. He tells me that Letting Agents are all over him with offers and that rental prices are dropping like a stone (even by the week!). As a consequence, he is already looking at far nicer flats and houses, even more central and cheaper than his current one.

He was thinking about buying this time but luckily, when we talked about everything going on at the moment, he agreed he should just rent for another year.

I am wondering if this is the start of a change that is likely to be reflected across major towns, as more people WFH on a more permanent basis and being central to towns becomes less important. If that is the case, surely this change in rental prices will be reflected across property prices soon.

I can see prices falling overall. There may be demand in our area as people move out of London and WFH,and I think houses with gardens are increasingly popular now after the lockdown. The biggest cause of a slowdown will be consumer confidence if unemployment shoots up as expected, loads of unemployed people will be chasing low paid jobs of Minimum/Living Wage earnings, that isn't good for mortgages. I heard from a pal recently that my local Morrisons has doubled its staff over the last few months from 140 to close to 300 now. Trouble is, most are poorly paid.

Weststander · Oct 3, 2020

WATFORD zero said:
My son lives in central London and his lease is up on his flat in a couple of months so he has started looking for a new one. He tells me that Letting Agents are all over him with offers and that rental prices are dropping like a stone (even by the week!). As a consequence, he is already looking at far nicer flats and houses, even more central and cheaper than his current one.

He was thinking about buying this time but luckily, when we talked about everything going on at the moment, he agreed he should just rent for another year.

I am wondering if this is the start of a change that is likely to be reflected across major towns, as more people WFH on a more permanent basis and being central to towns becomes less important. If that is the case, surely this change in rental prices will be reflected across property prices soon.

A friend of mine owns a few BTL’s in Brighton and Worthing.

He said there’s a new phenomenon of tenants frequently moving on. Countrywide said caused by the new law (a great thing imho) banning all fees and sundry charges on tenants. Giving voids of a month or two.

I wonder if keen landlords are enticing tenants with reduced rents, to fill the empty space.

Chicken Run · Oct 3, 2020

I met a professional single lady this week who is struggling to be accepted by agents & landlords as she is a single person, apparently landlords are worried that if she loses her job there isn’t a partner to cover the rent!

I can’t believe this, she apparently viewed and offered on 10 apartments all over 900 pcm but been declined.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

middletoenail · Oct 3, 2020

For the next 12 months it's likely that WFH for several days a week will be acceptable/the norm, but will this continue afterwards? I think it might be.

From what I've seen (albeit not in UK), you'd be surprised how far advanced UK is when it comes to WFH culture, much better than Asia, and closer to home, France.

WATFORD zero · Oct 3, 2020

NooBHA said:
House Prices in London are fine and pretty steady. If he can afford to buy now he should as loads of great lending deals available.

A glut of properties have become available for rent because loads of Landlords have written off Bad Debt Rents in agreement of non paying tenants vacating properties. The surplus of available properties won't be there for very long.

Hopefully a few weeks longer for my son to get a good deal sorted.

Weststander said:
A friend of mine owns a few BTL’s in Brighton and Worthing.

He said there’s a new phenomenon of tenants frequently moving on. Countrywide said caused by the new law (a great thing imho) banning all fees and sundry charges on tenants. Giving voids of a month or two.

I wonder if keen landlords are enticing tenants with reduced rents, to fill the empty space.

Could be. My son has taken out annual leases and moved for each of the last 3 years and intends to do the same this time, so I'm not even sure whether he's aware of this. I'll have to ask him.

beorhthelm · Oct 3, 2020

couple of things i've read indicate theres a small exodus from large city centres to suburbs, for more rooms (so one can WFH) or outside space. i dont expect it to be long lived though.

the premium for living in centre of major, vibrant cities is for proximity to leisure and work. save time and money on travel, spent on rent. that basic equation isnt going to change unless we have a revolution in how and where people work, and i dont believe that's really going to happen.

Shropshire Seagull · Oct 3, 2020

Chicken Run said:
I met a professional single lady this week who is struggling to be accepted by agents & landlords as she is a single person, apparently landlords are worried that if she loses her job there isn’t a partner to cover the rent!

I can’t believe this, she apparently viewed and offered on 10 apartments all over 900 pcm but been declined.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Add to that risk, the current ban on landlords being able to evict non-paying tenants and you can see the heightened wariness from Landlords seeking new tenants.

I sold my last BTL in Apr-19 and to be honest, I enjoyed my 18 years as a landlord but I'm very happy to be out of it now [e.g. that the tax-allowable mortgage interest has completely gone].

Weststander · Oct 3, 2020

beorhthelm said:
couple of things i've read indicate theres a small exodus from large city centres to suburbs, for more rooms (so one can WFH) or outside space. i dont expect it to be long lived though.

the premium for living in centre of major, vibrant cities is for proximity to leisure and work. save time and money on travel, spent on rent. that basic equation isnt going to change unless we have a revolution in how and where people work, and i dont believe that's really going to happen.

Is that just the age thing?

Late teens, twenties and wannabee older hipsters lured by urban centres or just outside. Then often people radiate outwards once they’ve had enough.

Other than; we know a family who live in the Southover Street area, where they find it stressful to park, have a tiny back garden for the kids and often get woken by vandals/drunks in the night. They can afford to move to Brighton’s suburbs with a nice garden, but the early 40’s Dad prevents it, loathed to say goodbye to his youth and to live in a quiet street.

Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊

[Finance] Property Prices and Rentals

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

New member

Trainee Spy 🕵️‍♂️

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Solly March Fan Club

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Sanity Clause

Well-known member

Member Since Jul 2003

Well-known member

Well-known member

A. Virgo, Football Genius

Well-known member

Well-known member

Share this page