As we get our teeth stuck into the second quarter of 2024, we wanted to take a moment to recap the exciting first three months of 2024 for both our valued landlords and tenants.

 

 

The first quarter (Jan '24, Feb '24, Mar '24) saw a strong performance in the number of lets agreed. This translates to a busy and successful period for our landlords, filling their properties with fantastic tenants quickly and efficiently. Figures showed pleasant (albeit unusual for the season) strength in the market's momentum:

 

The strong acceleration throughout the quarter was felt by our entire team, who put in a fantastic amount of effort to deal with the influx of enquiries and applications, ensuring that we continue putting the best possible tenants in our clients' properties.

 

The first quarter saw a significant number of property viewings and applications. We had a total of 10,073 (+8.8% YoY) enquiries throughout Q1, this is across major property portals and our website. A testament to the strength of our marketing and listings, generating high volumes of interest during, what the industry would call, the quiet period.

 

 

Rent prices have increased by an average of 5-10% in our area since Q1 2023. That being said, the rental values are truly dependent on the street and area. We often find that as the rest of the region increases, some areas hold their market rental value for longer. Our expertise and understanding of the area help us identify these trends, ensuring you get the most fair and accurate rent coming in, without pricing out your tenants and risking them giving notice.

 

As the rental landscape changes in our area, we're on hand to ensure that your rents remain competitive. We conduct rent reviews on an annual basis for all of our management clients. Our team look at all of the current data and provide you with the most appropriate figure to increase to, allowing you to make a fully informed decision as to whether or not you would like to increase the rent. We also offer our clients the ability to have a completely hands-off rent increase process, by instructing us to review and increase the rent appropriately every year.

 

The first quarter of 2024 has painted a promising picture for investment sales in the Hull and East Yorkshire region. A key driver of this optimism has been the stabilisation of interest rates. This newfound stability has instilled confidence in investors, both new entrants and those looking to expand their portfolios. While some sellers remain in the market, the overall sentiment leans towards a healthy balance between buying and selling activity.

 

While investor sentiment remains positive, there is a segment of landlords looking to exit the market as a result of factors such as the recent abolishment of Section 21 "no-fault" evictions and a general tightening of compliance measures. This trend, however, paves the way for long-term landlords seeking to capitalise on these landlords looking to exit their investments.

 

Despite a typically quiet January, the market witnessed a significant increase in new agreed sales throughout February and March. This momentum represents a clear improvement compared to the performance seen in the final quarter of 2023. This positive trend is further bolstered by a steady influx of new listings entering the market throughout Q1.

 

With a stable interest rate environment and a motivated seller pool, this region is poised for continued growth in investment activity into the 2nd quarter of 2024 and beyond.

 

Our Works Team saw a high uptake in our in-house services, completing 552 (+3.8% YoY) maintenance jobs throughout Q1. The success of this team stems from the hard work and commitment of our Engineers, and their dedication to providing high-quality yet efficient repairs and maintenance for our clients' properties.

 

 

Not only did we see this uptake in our reactive maintenance, but also in our quoted refurbishments and large-scale maintenance projects (E.g. Kitchen refurbishments, roofing repairs, landscaping). During this quarter we completed 66 (+69% YoY) quoted jobs, a feat made possible by the strength of our team, both on the road and in the office. With job scheduling, timekeeping and expertise, we were able to achieve this volume of completed work.

 

We are delighted with the uptake of our brand-new financial services offering. Being able to provide our clients (landlords and tenants) with services that help protect both of their interests has been a huge benefit to everyone who passes through our doors. We provide a comprehensive service, from the complete management of properties to protecting those assets with appropriate cover.

 

We didn't have access to this service in Q1 of 2023 to be able to do a year-on-year comparison, but the statistics still shine. Over these three months, we wrote a total number of 62 policies. 23 of those were tenant policies, with varying levels of cover and product. We're now moving more and more tenants into our clients' properties that are covered in the event of a worst-case scenario, be that income loss or contents cover.

 

Tenants with more confidence in their ability to continue paying their rent, should anything happen to change in their circumstances, are more likely to stay in that property knowing they have the appropriate cover in place.

 

The positive performance in Q1 highlights our dedication to exceptional service for both landlords and tenants. We're confident that by leveraging our expertise and market knowledge, we can continue this success story throughout 2024.

 

If you have any questions about anything highlighted in this article, feel free to get in touch with our Lettings Manager, Jake, by emailing him or call our office on 01482 562 562 📞