Lettings market boosted by mortgage woes

News Category: Marketing

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Landlords and letting agents have benefited from a 56.4 per cent increase in rental demand over the last 12 months, according to new research.

Figures published by letting agent Your Move showed the significant demand for rented accommodation which has emerged since the onset of the economic downturn.

David Newnes, managing director of the firm, commented that despite house price falls, many property buyers were unable to secure mortgage finance.

"While the mortgage market was still in dire straits, the drop in lending boosted the lettings market," he said.

Mr Newnes' comments support recent research by the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association which revealed that 58 per cent of first-time buyers were unable to get a mortgage in the final quarter of 2008.

Some 80 per cent of these would-be homebuyers switched to renting instead, the study found.

Mr Newnes also described the residential lettings sector in 2009 as being a "diamond in the rough" in terms of the overall property market last year.

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