Lettings agency hails its busiest December ever as fall in mortgages peps up rentals

03/01/2010

The Edinburgh office of DJ Alexander secured 102 lettings last month –the first time the tally for December has reached three figures in the 27-year history of the firm.

David Alexander, proprietor, said: “I have never known such a hectic December as this one.

“Usually this is the quietest month of the year because people prefer to put off making a decision until January.”

Alexander said the total number of lettings by the firm in Edinburgh for the year to 31 December was just under 1,600 – one of its best years ever.

The continuing dearth in property sales had given the rental sector “a real shot in the arm”, he explained. Factors fuelling demand were existing tenants trading up to more spacious rented accommodation after failing to secure mortgage funding for owner-occupation; people on the move who had failed to sell their previous homes, leaving them no alternative but to rent;and a new generation of young tenants looking for rented accommodation for the first time.

Alexander added: “Another factor that I find significant is the relatively large number of clients who have sold a house but are in no hurry to buy another at present, preferring the flexibility that renting offers.”

The steady increase in demand over the past year has led to a slight but discernible increase in rents, with promises of further rises if the present trend continues.

Alexander said there are also signs of more demand from corporate rental clients: “This is good news for owners of townhouses and similar properties, who have been forced to take a big rental hit over the past year.”

SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY, 3 January 2010