There are five regular reports on the rental sector, some cover the UK and some that cover just England and Wales. Here is a summary of the report headlines and latest data together with Kate Faulkner’s comments below to help landlords and tenants understand the implications of these reports for them:-

Report headlines:-
Paragon Mortgages – “Landlords expand portfolios in Q4 12” – (England, Wales & Scotland)
Homelet – “UK rents still up on last year despite monthly dip” – England, Wales, Scotland & NI)
Acadametrics/LSL BTL – “Tenants’ relief as rents finally fall in November” – (England & Wales)

Kate Faulkner comments:
“All rental indices are now showing rents aren’t rising at the pace they were, and indeed some falls have been seen throughout 2012. This proves two things. Firstly, that rents really do move in line with wage rises/falls, and secondly, that that the private rented sector is working efficiently in favour of the end customer: the tenant.

“Some commentators are using previous rental reports to ‘bash’ landlords via the media and accuse them of profiteering at tenants’ expense. This really isn’t the case. The majority of landlords take good care of their properties and their tenants. If people that think landlords are ‘raking it in’ they should take some time to understand the financials of managing a portfolio. They would soon see that ‘landlord bashing’ isn’t wise. If it wasn’t for good landlords during this recession, there would be an awful lot of people in dire straits from a housing perspective by now.”

View the full Rental Summary Report for January here, which includes:-

• Average Rents
• Landlords Buy to Let Yields/Returns
• Capital Growth for Landlords
• Demand for Rented Properties
• Supply of Rental Properties

What to do next? For more help, from Kate and her team, join Property Checklists for free.

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