Carolyn Donaldson, MD at Contempo Lettings, is expanding her lettings franchise throughout UK and explains why this is a great business to invest in.
Carolyn Donaldson, MD at Contempo Lettings
“With Britain’s economy predicted to spend several more years in the doldrums, the rental property market is expected to thrive over the next few years. With falling wages and rising house prices, there are fewer first-time buyers and these people who opt to rent private accommodation are now also carrying-on doing so well after they have had children, meaning that many families are now renting their homes instead of buying.
“Over the last few years, there has been a rise of 86% in families who are now renting their home instead of buying. It has been predicted that, by 2020, the number of home owners in Britain under the age of 30 will drop by 46% and 1.5 million of 18-30 year olds will be renting a home while the number of young people remaining at home with their parents will rise to 3.7 million.
“As a result of the increase in people looking to rent property, the rental market is set to continue to expand extremely quickly with first-time buyers only making up 23% of the people intending to buy a property in the next twelve months. Figures show, in 2011, 58,000 more properties were available for rent than in 2010 and the number of properties available for sale in 2011 dropped by 12,000.
“A Cambridge University study has predicted that only 27% of the population will be in ‘mortgaged home ownership’ by 2025 if the British economy remains in its current state. The number of private rented households is set to increase to 20% in 2020 compared to 14% of households in 2008. If the economy does not improve dramatically it is likely that family housing will remain in the private rental sector.
“The lettings market is already a lucrative business and is set to continue to expand over the next decade. We already have seven excellent Contempo Lettings franchises operating in Scotland and we would like to award 30 franchise territories over the next 3 years across the rest of the UK. ”
Alan Govan, based in Glasgow switched from estate agency to lettings when he started his Contempo Lettings franchise in 2009: “My biggest motivating factor to this move was my belief in the future of the lettings market. I expected that the impact of the credit crunch and the uncertain economic times would mean that more people would be forced to consider renting and that existing tenants would remain in rental properties for longer. The drop in interest rates has also encouraged savers to seek alternative forms of investment and the buy-to-let market offers some excellent opportunities; all making a strong business for me.“
If you would like to know more about Contempo Lettings then you can contact Carolyn Donaldson on 0845 519 1550 or visit www.contempolettings.co.uk