Buying to Let in Edinburgh is gaining in popularity

Although the expected boom in house prices in general doesn’t seem to have materialised since the No vote last year, there’s certainly been an upturn in the Scottish buy-to-let market, with both Glasgow and Edinburgh being named as buy-to-let hotspots for aspiring landlords recently, according to recent research carried out by Barclays Mortgages.

The UK has experienced a rise in property prices in recent years, due in part money coming in from countries with weaker financial institutions and fewer property rights, where investors consider their money to be ‘safer’. Investors and institutions are also buying up residential properties because the rental market is definitely booming, and in Scotland the number of people renting properties more than doubled between 2001 and 2011 alone.

Around 54,000 households in Edinburgh are privately rented, and 27 per cent of Edinburgh residents are currently living in rented properties. Some predictions suggest that the demand for decent rental properties is going to increase drastically in the next couple of decades -  predictions are that Edinburgh’s population is likely to increase by up to 30 per cent by 2037, leading to another 39 per cent more households. There’s likely to be a great deal of pressure on housing availability if these predictions come true.

Average private sector rents are increasing in line with demand and although this is great news for landlords on the face of it, there are moves afoot to slow down the increases and introduce some form of rent controls to the city. Recently published figures showed that the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom property in Edinburgh in the second quarter of 2015 was £850 – up from £781 last year. The rise, which took the average rent to £53 a month higher than the same in Glasgow, was the biggest in any of Scotland’s major cities. Average rents across the whole of Scotland have increased by 5.4 per cent from last year to £762 per month.

If you are looking to rent a property in Edinburgh, it shouldn’t be empty for very long – a survey carried out by an agent found that three out of four rental properties in Edinburgh were let within a month of going onto the market.

So, it would appear that things are certainly looking up for anyone who wants to buy-to-let in the city – but if you would like professional advice tailored to you, why not visit our offices and talk to our friendly advisors?