Rental market in UK boosted by low home prices

Seoul News.Net
Monday 18th August, 2008

In the UK, the number of properties up for rent has jumped with home owners deciding to rent rather than sell in a depressed market.

The slump in house sales has forced many more people to become either landlords or tenants.

The international credit crunch and the subsequent drying up of finance for new mortgages has produced the sharpest housing market slump seen since World War II.

The number of house sales has already fallen by 50% in the past year and with mortgage approvals already down by 70% it looks likely that sales will fall even further in the coming months.

With many potential tenants in the market, the landlord owners are currently reaping windfalls through increased rents, which may not last.

Property firms are predicting that rents in central London may fall by up to 5% this year because of an oversupply of forced landlords.

Email this story to a friend

Have your say on this story

Your name/nickname	(optional)
Message
Image verification	(enter the verification code from the image above)