As we enter May 2022 it continues to be a case of too little properties, and too many tenants actively looking.
It has been much the same story since August 21 with record demand outstripping the rental stock, however there are signs of slight improvement during April especially in student lets as flats come to market again, coinciding with the end of the student year, ready for the new wave of students upon the city.
However, Rightmove still reports that as we enter May, there are under 800 available properties available right now in Edinburgh. Compare that with almost 2000 available in April last year.
None of this has been helped by the buoyant sales market which has resulted in many landlords selling up to take advantage of record sales prices.
Rents continue to rise in the first quarter of 2022 hitting record levels in March/April. This has acted to correct the rental yields back towards pre-pandemic levels as rents catch up with the runaway sales prices. Simlarly average time to let for rental properties has hit the lowest level in the in recent memory.
There may be a respite on the horizon as the Scottish Government announced new rules to come in later this year with much more stringent regulation for the short term market, and crucially, the new requirement for short term lets to apply for planning permission in order to operate a year-round holiday let business.
Edinburgh Council are not known for their love of the ‘Air BnB’ sector and are lightly to blanket reject hundreds of applications in order to protect neighbourhoods. Top of their ‘hit list’ is likely to be the staple of the Edinburgh rental market, non-main door flats within tenements and large developments.
This may help to also relieve a little pressure on the sales market as a wave of properties come to market to meet the seemingly endless demand.
If you can buy a property at a sensible price right now - and thats a big 'if' - then prospects for landlords are looking strong right now to say the least.
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