Exeter Stock Saturation

I was emailed during the week by a regular reader of our blog who asked about saturation of rental property in Exeter.

Thankfully there is currently no sign of this so do not get alarmed. If you gave us 10 or even 20 terraced houses in Exeter to let, we would find you tenants, provided they were priced sensibly. We may not be able to find 20 immediately, however they would all go without too much trouble.

Sometimes with new build developments, Cranbrook for example, many of the properties complete on the same day and the landlords who bought those properties put them up for rent at around the same time. That creates a short term problem with supply and demand, but once the initial hurdle is overcome, normal service resumes. We have let many properties at this site off plan, meaning they have not yet completed when we have found a tenant. This is one way of spreading the demand to ensure there is not a surge of similar properties at the same time.

Whether you should buy new build is another question. Some people do this as it looks nice and everything is guaranteed.

If you're a good negotiator you may be able to get the builder to chuck in all the things you need to get it let - appliances, window blinds, flooring. It is an ultra-low risk approach to buy to let. However you will always pay a premium for a new build property and whether it makes financial sense is another question entirely.

The key when buying a new build property is to ensure there are plenty of amenities nearby.  Again taking Cranbrook as an example, there is an excellent school on site and soon there will be a mainline train station, a secondary school and a variety of shops and, as the access to the city centre is so good, there are plenty of jobs nearby.

Unfortunately there is not a lot a landlord can do if lots of similar properties come to the market at the same time.  However, if your property is being correctly managed, your agent will be able to assess the market to ensure it is marketed at the best time possible.

If you would like to discuss property in Exeter, please visit us on South Street, or call me on 01392 254488.