According to the latest Rightmove statistics, rents in Swansea rose by 11.4% in 2016 – the highest annual rise in rents across the whole of the UK (outside London).

Hannah McCartan, Director of McCartan Lettings, comments, ‘This is great news for our landlords who have been waiting a long time for rents to be reflective of the rest of the UK. It’s taken a while for the London Effect to get here, and I think what happened last year was a correction in rents to reflect demand.

We have certainly seen rents rocket over the past year – a two bedroom house in Brynmill let for £750pcm in 2016, a 20% increase from the year before.

Demand for quality accommodation is at an all time high in Swansea. Professionals who can’t get on the property ladder, or have transient work commitments (such as doctors), or even who aren’t looking to buy in Swansea, are instead looking to rent. At the same time, landlords are being put off expanding their portfolios by things like stamp duty hikes and Brexit uncertainty, and some are even looking to sell their properties, causing a massive supply and demand issue, which in turn causes rents to rise.

Areas of Swansea of particular interest for tenants are Uplands, Brynmill, and Sketty. Not only are they close to the city centre, hospital and university, but have become popular with new wine bars and restaurants, too.

Landlords should be excited further by the latest positive move towards the tidal lagoon, which could generate hundreds of job opportunities and lead to an increase in demand for accommodation towards the east of the city. It’s definitely one to keep an eye on for in the future.

Overall, we at McCartan Lettings are looking forward to a really positive year in 2017, with many opportunities on the horizon, promising to make Swansea an even better place to live, work and play.’

If you’re looking to invest in property in Swansea and would like some free advice on the best locations, please do not hesitate to book in to see one of our local Lettings experts. Give them Team a call on 01792 430100.

Other news in the Rightmove 2017 Forecast:

• In 2017, Rightmove forecasts asking rent rises of 4% outside London, driven by less availability of rental stock, resulting in upwards price pressures for tenants.
• Asking rents rose 3% annually outside London in 2016, with the highest growth by region recorded in Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North West.
• London recorded an annual price fall of 4.4%, which was most marked in Inner London.
• With margins under pressure due to imminent tax changes in 2017, buy to let investors could look to towns in Merseyside and Lancashire which dominate the best yields currently on offer.

Rightmove’s Head of Lettings Sam Mitchell says ‘This year will be one of caution for buy-to-let investors due to tighter lending criteria and increased stamp duty. We definitely won’t see the spike in Q1 purchases that we saw last year as landlords rushed to buy before last April’s new stamp duty deadline. If the tax changes being phased in from this April lead to even fewer buy-to-let purchases and some landlords deciding to sell, then a tightening of supply in some areas will lead to increasing rents. We forecast that asking rents could rise by 4% outside London by the end of 2017, though in London, prices are likely to stay flat.’

To read the full rental trends report, click here.

Sources: Rightmove Rental Tracker / BBC News