Citylets Rental Report Q4 2008 Summary

Tables Turned

Other than the fall in commodity prices good news was in very short supply over the last quarter as the collapse of Lehman Brothers (and fears over insurance giant AIG) triggered yet more turmoil in global financial markets. As the economic slowdown began to bite property prices fell further, unemployment started to climb, an increasing number of companies called in the administrators and, bombarded by bad news, consumer confidence sank.

Demand for rental property in Scotland remained relatively healthy through the quarter but following on from last quarter stocks rose as supply increased with more 'reluctant landlords' entering the lettings market. The time-to-let averages held up well with a significant change only seen for one bed flats. This may be indicative of a trend towards sharing, as people look to reduce their monthly outgoings for the year ahead. The price of a barrel of oil halved over the quarter to end the year $100 lower than the summers high and, perhaps reflecting lower North Sea oil & gas activity, rental growth for one bed flats in Aberdeen slowed sharply to 1.0%.

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