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‘Bills included’ becomes most searched for rental term searched for rental term
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New analysis from the UK’s biggest property website Rightmove reveals the eff ect the rising cost of living and record rents are having on people searching for a new place to rent.
People looking for ‘bills included’ has jumped up to the top position for renters using Keyword Sort, a Rightmove tool that allows people to prioritise their property search results by choosing specifi c terms. It has overtaken those looking for pet friendly homes for the fi rst time, and is now also higher priority than gardens and garages. Last year, ‘bills included’ was just outside the top fi ve.
Many people are also contacting agents about available rental properties across a much bigger area than four years ago, to have a better chance of fi nding somewhere available within their budget.
Hybrid working is also a likely factor as many people have more fl exibility about where they live.
The average area renters are searching and contacting agents in has expanded from 70 sq km in July 2018 to 137 sq km currently.
While the number of new rental properties coming onto the market is slowly getting better, there is still a huge imbalance between demand and supply. New rental properties were up 3% in July versus June, but total available rental properties remain 25% behind this time last year.
The result is a fi ercely competitive and fast-moving rental market, with prospective tenants seeing properties being snapped up twice as quickly as they were two years ago.
Rightmove’s Property Expert Tim Bannister says: “People looking for a new place to rent are casting their net much wider than before, in the hope that it will help them fi nd a suitable place that they can aff ord. Although it’s not as constrained as it was a few months ago, the number of homes is still nowhere near enough to meet demand from tenants.
“The lack of homes is down to more people choosing to stay put and sign longer contracts, some landlords selling up due to more onerous taxes and others taking advantage of record house prices, and hybrid working shifting some demand to more rural and suburban pockets of Great Britain. This has all led to a fi ercely competitive rental market in many areas with agents reporting that in some cases properties are being rented out in just a few hours.”
1 Bills included 2 Pets 3 Furnished 4 Balcony 5 Garden
1 Pets 2 Balcony 3 Furnished 4 Garden 5 Garage
(Bills included was in position 6 in August 2021)
11
News
Tidy House, Tidy Mind
Not only is a clean and tidy home a selling point for any buyer, it also says a lot about your outlook on life!
Research into homeowners by Procter & Gamble divided the respondents into those with messy and tidy homes, with some interesting and surprising results.
As many as 76% of people who claim their house is ‘spick and span’ also describe their outlook on life as positive and ‘glass half full’.
On the fl ip side, a staggering 72% of those who admit their house is a mess say they have a mostly ‘glass half empty’ outlook.
Meanwhile, half of those (50%) with messy houses describe themselves as ‘artistic’.
According to the data, if you’re a bookworm you’re more likely to have a messy home (38%), with a further 28% of untidy dwellers claiming they are ‘academic’.
Surprisingly, Brits who have spotless houses are most likely to have an active social life, loving hosting parties and entertaining (17%), compared to a national average of 10%.
Over a fi fth of the Brits polled (22%) are guilty of secretly judging other people with messy homes, with 38% of tidy people confessing they don’t understand how they can live in a dirty, untidy house.
Meanwhile the research suggests that cleaning could benefi t our mental health, as almost a quarter (23%) of the Brits polled reckon cleaning their homes from top to bottom makes them feel calm and relaxed.
In fact, 36% say that when their house feels clean and tidy, it makes them feel serene, while a third say being in a messy home is a sure way to make them feel stressed and depressed.
Also, while having people round (68%) and hosting dinner parties (49%) would be out of the question for someone with a messy house, 42% admit they can’t even relax on the sofa if their home is a tip.
At a Glance:
*Properties in Essex had an overall average price of £406,432 over the last year. The majority of sales in Essex during the last year were terraced properties, selling for an average price of £367,670. Semi-detached properties sold for an average of £421,349, with detached properties fetching £610,458. Overall, sold prices in Essex over the last year were similar to the previous year and 13% up on the 2019 peak of £359,711. (Source: Rightmove, September 2022)
*Properties in Su olk had an overall average price of £319,708 over the last year. The majority of sales in Su olk during the last year were detached properties, selling for an average price of £469,222. Semi-detached properties sold for an average of £285,619, with terraced properties fetching £234,892. Overall, sold prices in Su olk over the last year were similar to the previous year and 14% up on the 2019 peak of £279,373. (Source: Rightmove, September 2022)
*Research by Comparethemarket has found that almost a third of homeowners whose fi xed rate mortgages are nearing an end in the next three years will only consider remortgaging to a long-term fi xed rate deal... see page 14 for more on remortgaging.
