Taylor Scott International News
The average annual void period for residential landlords in the UK has dropped to its lowest level since 2002, new research shows. Indeed, the average void period, which is the length of time between rental property tenancies, reported in the first quarter of 2015 was just 2.4 weeks, the lowest since the Paragon Mortgages survey began. In the last quarter of 2014 the average void period was 2.6 weeks, and comparing the first quarter of this year against the first quarter 2014, the length of time a landlord has experienced a void has fallen by 14% from 2.8 weeks. Landlords have been reporting low or falling void periods since 2013, with only a slight fluctuation in the middle 2013 when the average climbed marginally to three weeks. ‘Void periods have been consistently low for some time, which is not unexpected when you also look at what landlords are telling us about the level of demand from tenants,’ said John Heron, director of mortgages at the specialist buy to let mortgage lender. The survey also found that in the first quarter of 2015 some 42% of landlords said in their view tenant demand was either growing or booming and 54% felt demand was stable. ‘The housing market is currently experiencing a shift, with more people choosing to live in the private rented sector. This is supported by the figures released this month by the English Housing Survey which show 4.4 million households are now privately rented, compared with 3.9 million households in the social rented sector. This change in housing dynamics appears to be a continuing and long term trend,’ added Heron. Taylor Scott International
Taylor Scott International, Taylor Scott
