23/06/2009 - Rents hit by property oversupply
An oversupply of properties to let is continuing to force down rents, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
In fact, it says, the rate of fall is accelerating, with a record 55% more of its members reporting falls during the three months to the end of April.
That is the most since the survey began in 1999, up from 48% during the previous quarter, and mirrors the first drop in property yields - rent as a percentage of a property's value - since April 2007. Nevertheless, many are more upbeat about the future, predicting a slowing rate of fall as the market picks up and sellers put their homes up for sale rather then let them.
Says RICS spokesman Jeremy Leaf: "The downward pressure on rents should ease in the coming months, providing some good news for landlords." Markets are weakest in London - 85% more reporting a fall - and Scotland, where 80% more report falling rents for both houses and flats, up from 58% during the previous quarter.
Copyright © Press Association 2009
Related links
|
