Rental property: Why buy when you can rent?
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More of us are choosing to tread water as tenants while uncertainty surrounds the housing market. Nicola Venning reports It is a quandary: whether to sell and then buy immediately or sell and rent hoping to bag a bargain later. For Kate Wolfryd, 34, who has just sold her onebedroom flat in Finchley, north London, the answer was obvious.
"I will rent for six months to a year. I want to see what will happen to the market and I will probably start looking to buy again in July or August," she says. "It will be easier because I'm renting, and I'm not tied in to a mortgage. I love it." Kate, who works in theatre production, is one of a growing number of tenants who have decided to step off the property ladder until the state of the slowing sales market becomes clearer. "We have had a huge influx of would-be tenants. Many are potential buyers sitting it out and waiting to see what is happening," says Nik Madan, of John D Wood agency. In the current uncertain, and in some cases falling, property market, renting is felt to be safe, flexible and even beneficial. It can often mean an enhanced lifestyle and can be cheaper than paying a mortgage. Hurford Salvi Carr, the citybased sales and lettings agency, has seen their number of lettings increase by 5.5 per cent on last year. This is in addition to the growing number of tenants who are renewing their contracts and renting for longer (up 9 per cent compared to last year). Not surprisingly, this has also pushed up prices. "Because of the increased demand, rents have also gone up by between 10 per cent and 20 per cent [in a year]," says Kari Trajer, associate director with lettings for Hurford Salvi Carr. "A one-bedroom flat in the City or West End now lets for between £385 and £450 per week." "Whenever property prices soften or fall, rental demand, rents and yields all increase," says Ian Potter, of the Association of Residential letting Agents. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2008/04/17/lprent107.xml |
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