Landlords get a tough time on the Thanet Chat. from angry tenants at all these rent rises. Understandably renters have to take their frustrations out on someone and landlords come up as the most obvious direct cause. We know it’s government meddling in the market of course and someone bravely pointed this out in the group, which made a change from the usual bashing.

Setting the context, there was a new build flat up for rent, sea facing, balcony, £2500 a month and the pitch forks were out on how disgusting the landlord must be. The voice of reason simply explained, that the flat may have cost £300,000 to buy, plus stamp duty and fees (I would say it cost more but anyway) and the annual rent is £30,000. Which is 10% yield, minus management and a 6%+ interest rate the owner is left with very little. They could achieve 5%+ risk free in the bank. It’s a sensible comment but unfortunately we are still left without a solution and this will be the case for a long time to come I fear.

This is bad for everyone. And for those landlords rubbing their hands together at the prospect of fewer competition with higher demand and rapidly rising rents, whether you’re in Broadstairs, Margate or Ramsgate, I wouldn’t get too comfortable. The government has demonstrated they are not interested in a long term solution and will, I fear, consider rent controls as they have in Scotland. They may not be called that, but legislation with the same effect could come into play. We have an election coming up after all and renters and home owners are their priority.

Now for the market. Commentary appears to be stuck with the latest inflation figures. “Is this good or bad?” they ponder, as month on month prices fell 0.4%. This is the first drop in 6 months. Good news I think, but they were expecting it to drop more during summer as the energy usage falls. The consensus seems to be “well this is the holiday season so we’ll just leave that there for this month and have a closer look in September.”

House prices show a flat market that peaked in November 2022, and we are officially 1.75% below that. This is based on transactions, but those with boots on the ground will know we are closer to 10% down.

For those looking to grow their portfolio, I honestly believe there hasn’t been a better time to buy in Thanet for several years, certainly since pre-pandemic. The amount of buyers fighting over properties has fallen off a cliff and estate agents will even call YOU to see if you’d like to buy anything. Some of you are in a position where you don’t need to risk buying right now and can happily sit on the side lines, but we should respect those who are not at that stage and need to grow their portfolio. The problem today is financing. Low yields just simply don’t work anymore, 10% cash on cash is a minimum. So to thrive today, you need high yields AND some sympathetic financing.

It really is time to just get on with it.