News Archive

04/11/2010 RECORD YEAR FOR LEAMANS

Leamans Letting Agents in Exeter report that 2010 has been the busiest year in the firm’s 20 year history in both the traditional sector and for student lettings. It seems that the main driving force behind this growth is the contrasting fortunes in the strength of the local economy of Exeter with the perceived uncertainty at national level that has fed this boom in demand where employment attracts many ‘upwardly mobile’ professional people from afar and others are reluctant to buy their own home until the mortgage situation becomes a little more fluid. Whatever the cause, Leamans have found more tenants for properties this year than ever before and expect to see continued growth in 2011.

This growth has also been reflected in Leamans’ student properties with especially noticeable enhancement in rent levels. Not only has there been an increase in the number of prime student properties under the firm’s care, but also rents for the quality properties have risen sharply, making student property a very attractive investment at a time when returns from savings accounts and the stock market are either very low or highly unpredictable. By early October all of Leamans’ students had settled into their accommodation ready for the start of the new academic year.

Investors in residential property, having an eye to both the increasing returns in terms of income and to the longer term capital growth, have been returning to the market steadily. As long as the rental sector remains strong, this is likely to consolidate the sales market, particularly for houses and apartments that dominate the rented sector. Leamans feel that recent change in Government attitude to rental properties is very unlikely to have any adverse effect on rents as demand from working professionals is so strong.

Leamans recognise that to stay in the forefront of the market, they need to continue to offer quality properties of all sizes, whether they are for students or working professionals. Good property not only lets quickly but also attracts the best tenants who are most likely to return it at the end of the tenancy in good condition.

Leamans have also set up a superb marketing tool that has proved very useful this year and which they believe is unrivalled in Exeter. The system of email alerts notifies prospective tenants immediately a suitable new property becomes available and has led to a large number of successful lettings in quick time. This and the Leamans approach to the market should maintain us in the forefront of lettings for a long time.