Scotland’s flourishing rental sector has changed the dynamic of Scotland’s housing sector with living in rented accommodation now firmly embedded as a long-term lifestyle choice, according to Citylets, Scotland’s certified leading lettings portal.
The results from Citylets Quarterly Report (Issue No. 28) – covering October-December 2013 – shows the private rented sector (PRS) continued to remain strong and sustainable in 2013, underpinning the increasingly significant role the PRS is playing in Scotland.
The average monthly rent rose in Scotland just 1% year-on-year to sit at £678, but interest in rental accommodation – based on website visitors – continues to grow.
Edinburgh and Glasgow continue to enjoy a steady yet growing rental market, but the Citylets report shows renting in Aberdeen is again bucking the national trend with average citywide monthly rents soaring to well over the £1000 mark (up 8.2% annually) and showing no sign of abating.
The AB24 post code in Aberdeen – which takes in Old Aberdeen, Woodside and Tillydrone – recorded Scotland’s highest price rises with rents increasing 18.5% year-on-year. While one bedroom flats in Aberdeen are the most sought after in Scotland – with properties being snapped up just nine days after being put up for let.
RAPID RENTAL EXPANSION
Dan Cookson, Senior Analyst at Citylets, said the statistics from the report underlines the importance the rental sector now plays in Scotland.
Dan said: “When the first issue of the Citylets quarterly report was published in 2007 the housing boom was at its height and the iPhone had yet to be launched.
“It was hard to imagine then the transformation that the private rented sector was about to experience. So much has happened in that time: the explosion of the internet as a tool to source properties, rapid expansion of the rental market, improvements in quality and service, the development of new luxury ‘built to rent’ properties and the blurring of the lines between social housing and private rented housing as Housing Associations and Councils get involved.
“This all points to clear evidence that validates the role the private rented sector now plays in the fabric of Scottish society.
“Living in rental accommodation in Scotland is a desired lifestyle choice that is here to stay.”
Further illustration of the flourishing Scottish rental sector can be found from the number of people viewing the Citylets website (www.citylets.co.uk) to look for accommodation. Visitor traffic was up 19.4% on 2012 to sit at more than four million, more than quadruple the 2007 figures.
Web traffic from mobile devices – including tablets and Citylets’ own dedicated Apps – also grew significantly and accounted for more than 40% of all visits.
Analysis of the 2011 Census findings also showed that between 2001-2011 the number of people in privately rented property doubled, with the sector accounting for 12.4% of all Scottish households. There are now more private rental tenants (619,000) than either council tenants (608,000) or housing association tenants (507,000). Edinburgh has the largest private rental market of any city in Scotland, sitting at 107,256 people.
An illustration of the continued surge of interest in rental property can be found with the new development by Grosvenor of 46 luxury built-for-rent flats at the Foundry in Fountainbridge, which were successfully marketed by DJ Alexanders. This development is groundbreaking in many respects as it proves there is a keen appetite for new, high quality, well managed rental property in the right location.
Grosvenor Project Director Robin Blacklock said: “We have been very encouraged by the take up of the apartments at the Foundry.
“We were confident that we had an attractive product that would appeal to the market but we were initially cautious about the rental levels we might achieve and about the time it would take to let the 46 apartments. In actual fact the development has outperformed our expectations on both counts.”
Rob Trotter, new business and senior property manager of DJ Alexanders, added: “Our tenants have been extremely impressed with the high standard of accommodation and we have been delighted with the higher than expected rents that the properties have achieved.
“This development has certainly pushed Fountainbridge towards the top of the list of most popular, rental locations in central Edinburgh.”
2013 FIGURES
Elsewhere the Citylets report shows that while Edinburgh has seen average rents rise to £822, a small increase of 0.4% year-on-year, one and two-bed flats recorded the biggest annual rises of 2.3% and 3.8% respectively. EH3 saw the biggest annual jump with average rents up 4.5% to sit at £967 -not surprising given this is the Foundry’s postcode district.
Glasgow continued to experience a very stable year with average prices fluctuating very slightly. However, the city saw significant improvements in the time properties take to let, with three bed properties in particular falling by 16 days. Rising demand in the G2 post code area accounted for the highest rent rises in Glasgow, a 9.6% increase year-on-year to sit at £731, as well as the being the fastest areas to let properties. The G12 West End area saw the city’s highest rent levels of £877, up 3.7%. Overall, average rents in Glasgow were up 0.5% to sit at £615.
Dundee has also seen its one (3.2%) and two (1.3%) bed flats record the highest average annual rent increases. The DD1 post code tops the post code average rental price table with the £634 figure up a sizeable 12.2% year-on-year. Demand, as illustrated by the time properties take to let, remain relatively constant although three bed properties saw times fall by nine days reflecting a likely surge in interest for family sized properties in Dundee. There was just a marginal 0.2% rise (up to £528) on average rents compared with 2012.
The Citylets rental report was launched in 2007 and has since become a respected guide for housing professionals including social housing and public policy makers. The report and associated rental maps are available for download here: www.citylets.co.uk/reports
