The Perfect Storm!

 September 2021

High demand for rental properties at a premium price, thanks to the pandemic’s “perfect storm”.

David Lamb, owner of North East lettings expert Orange Lettings is achieving rents of 10% to 20% above what they were six months ago, with properties being snapped up before they’re even listed online. Find out why in our latest blog…

THE demand for rental properties will be high for at least the next few months, with increased rates of 10% to 20% being achieved for landlords across the North-east.

That’s the message from David Lamb, owner of Orange Lettings, who attributes the high demand and increased rental rates to a “perfect storm” that has been created by the pandemic, as well as investment in the North-east creating a North-shoring effect, as people move to the region for work.

“Everything is going for 10% to 20% above what it was six months ago and we can’t get enough stock to cope with the high demand for rental properties,” says David.

“Properties are gone before they’re even on the website and it seems everyone just wants to move at the moment.

“There are a lot of people moving up to the North-east for work and also a lot of people who have been sitting in the same house through lockdown and just fancy a change.”

Unfortunately, there are also negative reasons behind the high demand for properties, as David has seen many examples of couples splitting up following the stress of lockdown and the pandemic.

“That one household becomes two, including one party who needs to find somewhere new to live,” says David.

“There’s a lot of that going on.”

Returning to more positive reasons for the high demand, David notes the public and private investment in the region and the levelling up agenda “is happening” creating jobs in the region and people moving for work.

He says that following the announcement of treasury jobs moving to the town, Darlington has become a real “hotspot” as well as Redcar, where the former steelworks sites are being demolished and repurposed to create jobs in the clean energy sector.

“Redcar is getting a lot of investment in the old steelworks sites,” he said.

“The whole of the region is getting lots of investment and it’s a good time to be a landlord here, especially as many of the projects and jobs that are coming to the region are long term projects.

“The investment and jobs creation here is not a flash in the pan and everyone I speak to who has their own business is also positive about the future here.”

David says the demand can also be partly attributed to the fact that a lot of people have decided not to go on holiday abroad again this year, with the restrictions still surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

“July and August are normally quiet months in the lettings market, but a lot of people haven’t gone on holiday this year, which is probably contributing to the high demand,” David said.

Speaking of his other business, property renovation specialist Revive North East, David says there are “crazy amounts of work” ongoing on behalf of property investors looking to rent out or resell their new investment.

He said: “A lot of people have got spare cash at the moment – summer is generally an expensive time, especially if you’ve got kids, but people have been investing in properties and spending money on renovations, bringing their house up in value.

“It’s just like a perfect storm that is driving up prices as we emerge from the pandemic and look to the future and I think it’s got legs. 

“I think there is potentially a couple of years in it being like this.”

David and the team at Orange Lettings are marketing rental properties 10% to 20% higher than they were six months ago and due to the high demand for properties, they are achieving that.

If you are a landlord looking to put your property in safe and reliable hands, why not give them a call on 0191 6030484 or 01642 903242.