Property journalism ~ Homes without the heartache

Sunday Telegraph, 19 March 2006

Forget the agonies of sealed bids or those panicky last-minute hitches at the country property auction. Forget too that troubled chain when the misdemeanours of a buyer can ruin the hopes of six or seven others or the anxious wait to find out if your latest offer has been accepted. It's time to join the ladies-who-let and the gents-that-rent.

The smart apartments and handsome town houses that the doom-mongers wrote off as unlettable, unsellable and generally unlovely are back in demand. The news from the billboards is that the renters are back with a vengeance.

The Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla) says its members have been reporting record letting figures over the past six months. The revival, says Arla, is down to the recovery of stocks and shares, a high-performing City with record bonuses and a national resurgence of market confidence.

For those who may own several buy-to-lets, living in rented accommodation instead of buying their home means they can have a more glamorous lifestyle. nd for London homeowners, who are seeing the early signs of a revival, selling up while the going's good and renting is an increasingly attractive option.

"The average monthly rental is now less than a mortgage, so people who owned their homes three or four years ago are very happy to rent if it suits their circumstances," says Matthew Hobbs, London letting director at Savills. "They can move out of the hustle of city life to a pretty rented cottage or house in a scenic and tranquil location with excellent schools nearby."

James and Gillian Barrett recently moved to the country when they had a baby and then sold their house in Wimbledon, south-west London. Their ecision to rent was part-choice, part-circumstance. "Wimbledon is a halfway house between town and countryside and although we were next to Wimbledon Common and the house was handy for work, we wanted to live in the real countryside," says Gillian. As the Barretts' sale was delayed by complications and they found a dearth of houses to buy, the couple decided to rent.

"London has been getting busier and faster in the past few years and we both decided we wanted to enjoy a slower way of life. Renting has really introduced us to the advantages of living in peaceful and green rural surroundings. Although many of our London friends have been talking about moving to the country none of them have done so - but having the baby really triggered it for us," says James, the sales and marketing manager of a German development company.

The Barretts are renting a detached house in the Chiltern village of Bourne End in Buckinghamshire. "The advantage of renting after selling our London property is that we don't have all the usual snags of buying chains and it gives us the time and leisure to house-hunt in nearby Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. We're now looking for somewhere we can renovate ourselves and then we aim to find jobs locally," says James.

Figures from the Government's 2004-2005 Housing Survey show that more under-30s are renting than buying and that the average age of the first-time buyer has risen from 32 to 34 in the past 10 years.

"Many under-35s who work in the City or Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Liverpool favour renting over owning as it gives them the flexibility to move with their jobs. They rent city centre new-builds that are next to stations and all utilities and don't involve any time-consuming DIY. If they want quality of life they'll rent a cottage on the city outskirts," says Matthew Hobbs.

However the latest fashion in the rental sector is to test-drive a new area. Couples in their thirties and forties with young children like to try out an area for a year or two before making a decision about whether to settle there, says Hobbs.

"Some use the time to save up to buy a house, although many are content to carry on renting if the area has good transport connections, parking spaces, and a third bedroom that can double as a study if they want to work from home," he says.

When Christina Banks and Simon Henderson came back to Britain after a year spent touring South America they were determined to buy.

"However we discovered a huge sea-change had occurred - all our friends seemedto be renting and then when we saw a magnificent-looking Edwardian folly in Marlow that overlooked the River Thames we too decided to rent instead of buy. It involves a lot less maintenance and gives us the flexibility to go travelling again if we decide to do so," says Christina, a London executive PA.

Not everyone rents out of choice however. Divorcees and separating partners literally have letting thrust upon them. Some letting agents have even found themselves doubling as marriage counsellors.

"When a partner who has obviously been part of a marriage break-up comes in we have to be very sympathetic listeners although we are careful not to take sides. The busiest time is around Christmas when the rows get bigger and people suddenly decide they want to declare time on their marriage and no longer live together," says Caroline Cope, a partner at Henley-based Simmons & Sons.

If young children are involved, it's usually the mother who stays in the family home so she can continue looking after them while the husband rents nearby. Nottingham letting agent Spencer Birch says at least 20 per cent of its business comes from broken marriages or splitting partners.

"Partners in older marriages tend to rent suburban semis or town houses," says Joseph Harwood, Spencer Birch's letting manager, "while members of the younger set prefer city-centre apartments so they can go out on the town and start dating again.Your content here.

[ « Back to list of property articles ]