19/04/2009
By Rosemary Gallagher
DEMAND for corporate residential property rentals in Edinburgh and Glasgow is down 50% compared with 18 months ago as the recession has led to job cuts at large companies such as Royal Bank of Scotland.
In his latest quarterly review, David Alexander, head of DJ Alexander, reported that as firms tighten their belts, there is less requirement to take out leases on rented property to accommodate executive staff relocated to Scotland.
Alexander said the reduction in demand had a particularly adverse effect on investors at the upper-middle end of the market, whose properties previously commanded rents of between £1,500 and £2,000 a month from companies willing to pay a premium for above-average accommodation.
He said: “Fortunately for investors, the slack has been taken up by a healthy level of demand for rented property from private individuals.”
He added that some landlords are having to negotiate downwards on rent but most are not losing out because, with the exception of those on fixed rates, their own mortgage outlays have fallen sharply in recent months amid the downturn.
Meanwhile, banks and liquidators are appointing estate agents to sell ‘distressed’ properties when housing developers go bust because they are struggling to shift them in a depressed market.
If a sale is not the best option, agents are offering alternative methods of generating an income from properties rather than leaving them empty, including ‘try-before-you-buy’ letting schemes. If land has not yet been developed they are recommending alternative uses, such as building hotels or care homes.
SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY, 19 April 2009
A Glasgow townhouse at £1.5 million
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A tie does more than merely save your neck in a downturn
Top ten: Forget about property prices and home in on the rental income
Renting is as good a measure of economic confidence as buying
Residential lettings give clue to wider economic performance
Another of our properties is Sunday Times 'Rental of the week'
How first time buyers can lick stamp duty
Surge in residential lets despite fewer executive postings to cities
Rents drive housing investment more than capital gain
Renting a home can be cheaper than you think
Why there are still good reasons to invest in residential property
Yield is now the focus for buy-to-let investors
High-flying executives push up rental prices for city flats
One of our properties named Sunday Times ‘Rental of the week’
Scotsman property editor gives star treatment to one of our homes for sale
Rise in new-build home sales offers glimmer of hope to battered industry
Capital tips to help you reduce tax expenses
Sunday Herald thanks D J Alexander
Why renting second home is best way to save cash – and face
Sharp fall in corporate residential property rentals as firms suffer
Misery of the 'two-mortgage' trap
Buyers return but Scottish housing market still tight
Like two old-fashioned fairground favourites, the property market continues to be scary
Energy ratings get a green light
BPF calls for a radical shift to rentals
Gloom stalks the housing market but ‘hockey stick’ revival is on the cards
House prices 'won't recover until 2013'
Scotland's engine room may be on the brink of seizing up