Citylets Rental Report Q2 2008 Summary

Time to Let

If you are looking to rent a property the message from the data is that you shouldn't hang around when you see one you like. Compared to the same period of last year, properties are renting a lot faster. One and two bed flats are flavour of the quarter with average time-to-lets (TTL's) falling considerably on Q2 2007 – in Edinburgh 20% lower. One bed flats in Edinburgh are averaging just 20 days with nearly a third of all marketed let within a week. In Glasgow, there has been a marked increase in demand which saw the average TTL for two bed properties drop to 31 days – 6 days faster than both Q1'08 and Q2'07. Rents are rising, faster than they have been for some time but at 4.5% not alarmingly so.

It's no surprise that the uplift in demand for rental property in Scotland became more evident in the second quarter. Banks, the masters of risk management, continue to haemorrhage billions, further restrict home loans and, as new mortgage approvals sink to record lows, stock levels of property for sale keep rising. Economic data over the quarter hasn't made for good reading and in Threadneedle Street the Bank is stuck between a rock and a hard place - wanting to cut base rates to help the economy but constrained by the menace of inflation. Oil prices have dropped 10% this month so it'll be interesting to see if they risk a cut.

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