Rental Report Shows Scottish Rents Sliding - But it’s not all Bad News

EDINBURGH - According to the latest rental report from Scotland’s leading online letting portal Citylets, people renting property are benefitting most from the beleaguered housing market, with a wide choice of properties available and rents continuing to fall across the country.

The latest Citylets quarterly rental report, which covers the period April to June 2009, shows that average rents declined for the second consecutive quarter and are now 3.3% lower than the same period in 2008.

Although high stock levels have forced landlords to lower prices to secure leases, properties are still proving slower to let than in previous years. Thanks to cheaper mortgages, however, many property owners are seeing their overall yields increase.

www.citylets.co.uk was launched in 1999 and is Scotland’s most successful lettings portal. Its quarterly report is the country’s only detailed and independent barometer of the rental market, based on 50,000 annual lettings from over 250 agents. It is now a respected tool among investors, landlords and letting agencies.

The rental report shows that the fall in rents has been widespread across Scotland over the last quarter, but in certain sectors - such as larger student flats - prices have held up well.

The high availability of rental accommodation has also seen significant increases in time-to-lets (TTLs), with properties taking on average 14 days longer to let than a year ago.

Thomas Ashdown, the Entrepreneur behind Citylets Network, said that whilst rental levels are falling, which will be pleasing to tenants, it is not all bad news for landlords.

He said: “Although the continued decline may be of concern, the fact that rents have fallen by only 3.3% year-on-year during the sharpest recession in living memory and with other business sectors experiencing catastrophic collapses, I’d say this is by no means a disaster for the vast majority of landlords.

“That said,” he continued, “the full impact of fast-rising unemployment may yet to be felt, but there are positives to be taken out of this report for both landlords and tenants.”

* A copy of the rental report, including comparison data, is available online at www.citylets.co.uk/reports/

About Citylets:

Launched in 1999 Citylets (www.citylets.co.uk) is Scotland’s most successful lettings portal, facilitating over 45,000 lets annually through over 250 agents. Its quarterly reports are the only detailed and independent barometer of Scotland’s rental market, and are widely respected throughout the industry.

Source: Citylets

Contact: Thomas Ashdown, Citylets, 21 Lansdowne Cresent, Edinburgh, Eh12 5EH, +44(0)131-467-4864