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As mortgage loans get harder and harder to get hold of for many younger people, rents are on the up – according to YouMove in February this trend saw an almost 60% rise on last year's numbers

Demand for rented accommodation boomed 56% over the past year, despite a 7.6% month on month slowdown in the number of people signing up to new leases, rental demand is still on the up.

David Newnes, managing director of Your Move says: “As far as the 2008 property market was concerned, rental demand was a diamond in the rough. House prices were falling, no one could get a mortgage for love nor money, and every day heralded fresh news of economic Armageddon. While the mortgage market was still in dire straits, the drop in lending boosted the lettings market."

To make sure you are still getting the most out of people waiting to get on the property ladder, make sure your 2008 mortgage could not be improved with some 2009 rates. Thanks to base rate drops, buy-to-let loans are several percentage points lower than they were a year ago.

Rental demand like this will not last forever, eventually more mortgages will come into the market and more people will be getting onto the property ladder. This means you have to act now to take advantage of this upswing. make sure you are getting all you can out of your mortgage, make sure you are making all your can out of your property investment.

SOURCE: YourMove, 23/02/09

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