Gordon Hood (Ascot), Amanda Driver (Cobham) and Elizabeth Hunt (Esher), discuss the Home Counties lettings market - who's looking, why they want to live here and what you can do to ensure that your property is let as quickly as possible, at the right rent.

1. Winter 2011
home counties lettings INSIGHT
Knight Frank
Gordon Hood (Ascot), Amanda Driver (Cobham) and Elizabeth Hunt
(Esher), discuss the Home Counties lettings market - who's looking, why
they want to live here and what you can do to ensure that your property
is let as quickly as possible, at the right rent.
"The real benefit
to this area is
the speed and
ease of the
commute into
London"
Where do your tenants tend to come from?
Dealing with the complete spectrum of the lettings market from modern apartments to large country houses, the
type of tenants that we have dealings with are equally as broad. The areas we cover in Berkshire and Surrey are
well placed to accommodate high end corporate tenants to single professional individuals or couples looking to
rent out of central London. The real benefit to this area is the speed and ease of the commute into London and
the frequency of the trains. In addition there is an abundance of good schools in the county that appeal to those
tenants with children.
What advice would you give to a landlord thinking about bringing their property to the market?
Any Landlord thinking about coming to the lettings market should consult one of our Knight Frank lettings team,
who can confidently advise them as to the marketing campaign that would be suitable for their property. A
number of our clients - for a variety of reasons - choose to have a low-key, private campaign. However, most of
our enquiries are from those searching online initially, so a full marketing campaign is imperative to ensure
maximum exposure. Although the market remains active, price remains key. Potential tenants, and more
importantly those agents searching on their behalf, are seeing a large assortment of property and doing their
own research, so if a property is marketed at an optimistic price it will not receive the interest. As always, ensure
that the property is well presented, that any defects are put right before viewing and that the property is
presented in a clean order.
How do you think the market will fare in the coming months?
Although activity levels have reduced from the height of the summer, there continues to be strong demand for a
variety of property, with an increased need for well presented apartments and houses with two or three
bedrooms. A significant number of applicants that have registered within the last month have budgets under
£3,000 per month, so properties within this price range are urgently required and should see good interest.
However, there is also a good number of applicants viewing at the top end of the market with 22% of the last
month’s viewings being of properties over £7,500 per month. We believe that this active market looks set to
continue over the winter months and into the spring.
Home Counties lettings market at a glance
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Last 3 months, year-on-year change
New applicants, last 12 months
New instructions, last 12 months
Market activity
Tenancies agreed
16%
Prospective tenants
registered
42%
11%
51%
15%
Viewings
What is coming to the market?
74%
New property
available
What do our applicants want to spend?
-6%
Change in rents,
last 3 months
3.6%
7%
16%
30%
20%
22%
Under £2,500
£2,500 to £3,500
Under £2,500
£2,500 to £3,500
£3,500 to £4,500
over £4,500
£3,500 to £4,500
over £4,500
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2. Winter 2011
home counties lettings INSIGHT
Knight Frank
Charting the market
Figure 5
Prime Lettings, last 12 months
Tenants
2.0%
4.9%
3.6%
26.5%
1.4%
2.9%
10.7%
2.1%
0.6%
45.3%
Prime London residential gross yields
Quarterly, last 5 years (Dec 2005 = 100)
140
130
Quarterly, last 5 years
6%
Prime Central London
Prime Outer London
Prime Surrey
5%
4%
120
3%
110
2%
100
1%
90
De
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n0
De 6
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De 7
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De 8
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De 9
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World region
Africa
Asia
Australasia
Europe
India
Middle East
North America
Russia & CIS
South America
UK
Figure 6
Prime residential rents, indexed
0%
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Ju
n06
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Nationality of Knight Frank tenants
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Figure 4
Lettings properties and the Knight Frank team
Charming family home
Central penthouse apartment
To Let
Let by
5 bed
Asking rent: £5,995pcm
1 bed
Asking rent: £1,195pcm
Ascot, Berkshire
Ascot, Berkshire
Fabulous five bedroom house
Brand new penthouse
To LET
TO LET
5 bed
Asking rent: £6,500pcm
2 bed
Asking rent: £2,200pcm
Cobham, Surrey
Cobham, Surrey
Newly constructed family home
Superb modern family home
LET BY
TO LET
5 bed
Asking rent: £4,000pcm
4 bed
Asking rent: £3,500pcm
Claygate, Surrey
Walton on Thames, Surrey
Knight Frank Lettings
Gordon Hood, Ascot: 01344 299 399
Amanda Driver, Cobham: 01932 591 606
Elizabeth Hunt, Esher: 01372 464 009
KnightFrank.co.uk/Lettings
Gordon Hood
Amanda Driver
Elizabeth Hunt
Head of Ascot Lettings
Head of Cobham
Lettings
Head of Esher Lettings
If you have any queries or would like to obtain additional information on the UK or international housing markets please contact: Liam Bailey, Head of Residential Research, +44 (0)20 7861 5133, liam.bailey@knightfrank.com
© Knight Frank LLP 2009 - This report is published for general information only. Although high standards have been used in the preparation of the information, analysis, views and projections presented in this report, no legal responsibility can be accepted by
Knight Frank Residential Research or Knight Frank LLP for any loss or damage resultant from the contents of this document. As a general report, this material does not necessarily represent the view of Knight Frank LLP in relation to particular properties or
projects. Reproduction of this report in whole or in part is allowed with proper reference to Knight Frank Residential Research. Knight Frank LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England with registered number OC305934. Registered office: 55
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