Winter 2011

home counties lettings INSIGHTKnight Frank

Gordon Hood (Ascot), Amanda Driver (Cobham) and Elizabeth Hunt

(Esher), discuss the Home Counties lettings market - who's looking, why

they want to live here and what you can do to ensure that your property

is let as quickly as possible, at the right rent.

Where do your tenants tend to come from?

Dealing with the complete spectrum of the lettings market from modern apartments to large country houses, the

type of tenants that we have dealings with are equally as broad. The areas we cover in Berkshire and Surrey are

well placed to accommodate high end corporate tenants to single professional individuals or couples looking to

rent out of central London. The real benefit to this area is the speed and ease of the commute into London and

the frequency of the trains. In addition there is an abundance of good schools in the county that appeal to those

tenants with children.

What advice would you give to a landlord thinking about bringing their property to the market?

Any Landlord thinking about coming to the lettings market should consult one of our Knight Frank lettings team,

who can confidently advise them as to the marketing campaign that would be suitable for their property. A

number of our clients - for a variety of reasons - choose to have a low-key, private campaign. However, most of

our enquiries are from those searching online initially, so a full marketing campaign is imperative to ensure

maximum exposure. Although the market remains active, price remains key. Potential tenants, and more

importantly those agents searching on their behalf, are seeing a large assortment of property and doing their

own research, so if a property is marketed at an optimistic price it will not receive the interest. As always, ensure

that the property is well presented, that any defects are put right before viewing and that the property is

presented in a clean order.

How do you think the market will fare in the coming months?

Although activity levels have reduced from the height of the summer, there continues to be strong demand for a

variety of property, with an increased need for well presented apartments and houses with two or three

bedrooms. A significant number of applicants that have registered within the last month have budgets under

£3,000 per month, so properties within this price range are urgently required and should see good interest.

However, there is also a good number of applicants viewing at the top end of the market with 22% of the last

month’s viewings being of properties over £7,500 per month. We believe that this active market looks set to

continue over the winter months and into the spring.

Figure 2

What do our applicants want to spend?New applicants, last 12 months

Figure 3

What is coming to the market?New instructions, last 12 months

Home Counties lettings market at a glance

Figure 1

Market activityLast 3 months, year-on-year change

Change in rents, last 3 months

3.6%

42%

30%16%

11%

Under £2,500 £2,500 to £3,500

£3,500 to £4,500 over £4,500

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"The real benefit

to this area is

the speed and

ease of the

commute into

London"

New property available

15%

20%22%

7%

51%

Under £2,500 £2,500 to £3,500

£3,500 to £4,500 over £4,500

Tenancies agreed

Prospective tenants registered

Viewings

16%

74%

-6%

Winter 2011

home counties lettings INSIGHTKnight Frank

Charting the market

Figure 4

Nationality of Knight Frank tenantsPrime Lettings, last 12 months

Figure 5

Prime residential rents, indexedQuarterly, last 5 years (Dec 2005 = 100)

Figure 6

Prime London residential gross yieldsQuarterly, last 5 years

90

100

110

120

130

140

Dec-05

Jun-0

6

Dec-06

Jun-0

7

Dec-07

Jun-0

8

Dec-08

Jun-0

9

Dec-09

Jun-10

Prime Central London

Prime Outer London

Prime Surrey

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

Dec-05

Jun-0

6

Dec-06

Jun-0

7

Dec-07

Jun-0

8

Dec-08

Jun-0

9

Dec-09

Jun-1

0

World region

Africa

Asia

Australasia

Europe

India

Middle East

North America

Russia & CIS

South America

UK

Tenants

2.0%

4.9%

3.6%

26.5%

1.4%

2.9%

10.7%

2.1%

0.6%

45.3%

Asking rent: £5,995pcm

Charming family home

To Let

Ascot, Berkshire

5 bed

Asking rent: £1,195pcm

Central penthouse apartment

Let by

Ascot, Berkshire

1 bed

Asking rent: £6,500pcm

Fabulous five bedroom house

To LET

Cobham, Surrey

5 bed

Asking rent: £2,200pcm

Brand new penthouse

TO LET

Cobham, Surrey

2 bed

Asking rent: £4,000pcm

Newly constructed family home

LET BY

Claygate, Surrey

5 bed

Asking rent: £3,500pcm

Superb modern family home

TO LET

Walton on Thames, Surrey

4 bed

Lettings properties and the Knight Frank team

Gordon Hood

Head of Ascot Lettings

Amanda Driver

Head of Cobham Lettings

Elizabeth Hunt

Head of Esher Lettings

Knight Frank Lettings

Gordon Hood, Ascot: 01344 299 399

Amanda Driver, Cobham: 01932 591 606

Elizabeth Hunt, Esher: 01372 464 009

KnightFrank.co.uk/Lettings

If you have any queries or would like to obtain additional information on the UK or international housing markets please contact: Liam Bailey, Head of Residential Research, +44 (0)20 7861 5133, liam.bailey@knightfrank.com

© Knight Frank LLP 2009 - This report is published for general information only. Although high standards have been used in the preparation of the information, analysis, views and projections presented in this report, no legal responsibility can be accepted by

Knight Frank Residential Research or Knight Frank LLP for any loss or damage resultant from the contents of this document. As a general report, this material does not necessarily represent the view of Knight Frank LLP in relation to particular properties or

projects. Reproduction of this report in whole or in part is allowed with proper reference to Knight Frank Residential Research. Knight Frank LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England with registered number OC305934. Registered office: 55

Baker Street, London, W1U 8AN

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