Supply of rental properties jumps

Posted: 05 Mar 2009 08:34:34 GMT

Homeowners unable to sell their properties are moving their homes from the sales market to the rental market, research from property portal findaproperty.com has found.

The website published figures showing an eight per cent increase in the number of properties advertised to rent on the site in the past month, and a 43 per cent rise in the six months between September 2008 and February 2009.

With homeowners reaching such desperate lengths in their attempts to sell their homes, the opportunity to sell a property online may help find buyers sooner than traditional methods.

Selling a home online offers buyers the chance to avoid paying expensive estate agents' fees, and could attract a greater number of buyers, as web traffic could exceed the number of potential buyers who pass an estate agent's window.

"This a trend being driven in part by frustrated vendors listing their properties on the rental market and in part by an increase in turnover as tenants become more willing to move to secure better properties or more affordable rents," explained Andrew Smith, head of research at findaproperty.com.



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