Landlords, Are You Offering Tenants What They Want?

With every generation comes more barriers to owning a home. The amount of people able to purchase a first home is much lower than before the credit crunch due to rising house prices, more stringent lending criteria and an increase in living costs.

This means that for many Millennials renting is the only viable option if they wish to live on their own. But are they getting what they want from their rental property? If you are a landlord you’ll be interested in the recent research carried out by GoCompare.

GoCompare research figures show that 59% of rental tenants would like to own their own home but are unable to do and nearly 60% of those aged 45+ have been living in their rental property for over 10 years, which shows that renting can be a long term position for many.

With this in mind, finding a place to call home rather than it just being a stepping stone to a property purchase is the harsh reality for many, and this means that the property meet their long term requirements. This includes not only the location and size, but proximity to good schools and transport links.

The research also showed the disparity between those looking to rent, and the number of available properties and asked the questions around the importance of the area, number of bedrooms and other amenities. They then compared the results against RightMove rental ads to see what landlords were actually renting.

The research concluded that half of all renters felt that the number of bedrooms was important and even though only 14% of properties were advertised as unfurnished, it was a requirement for 60% of renters.

Nearly 60% of landlords advertised that their property was close to work or university, but only 40% of renters believed this was important, with 11% believing it wasn’t at all relevant.

In addition, just 3% of landlords offered an addition amenity such as cleaning, but this is something 16% of renters were looking for.

House prices are steadily increasing in Scotland, which means that renting is the only viable option. In addition, with demand outstripping supply, rental prices are on the up making it even more difficult to save for a deposit. Therefore if you’re a landlord looking to let your home quickly and for the right price, it’s worth really thinking about what you should be offering. At Clyde Property we can help you with this, so talk to us today for some friendly, professional advice.

Clyde Property is a leading independent, multiple award winning estate and letting agent with more than 30 years’ experience in selling and letting property in Scotland. Just call your local Clyde Property branch today, for friendly, impartial advice on finding your next dream home.