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Greedy home owners left with empty rentals day before London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony
27-07-2012
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Although here has been an increase in demand for short term rentals in the Stratford area around the Olympic Park, excessive rental returns have not materialised, according to Zain Mahal of Belvoir Stratford which operates in the heart of where the Olympics will be held.
‘Due to the influx of a high number of tourists from both the UK and abroad, plus the athletes and companies participating in The Games, the demand for rental property in our area has increased. There is a high demand for properties near the Olympics’ Park and in and around Stratford to save commuting time and many landlords have looked for the best ways to capitalise on this,’ he explained.
‘However, although we have seen some rental price increases I have advised landlords to focus on keeping the prices realistic and not to demand too high a premium. While undoubtedly the London 2012 Games will help boost the economy and the rental income for some central London landlords, they still need to be realistic as accepting a good rental offer is better than being left with a vacant property,’ he added.
He also pointed out that although there is a huge demand for properties, there is also a wide supply of properties available. ‘Landlords must remember that they are competing directly with hotels and high quality properties,’ said Mahal.
While central London agents have reported some increased rental activity, agents on the outskirts of the city say that the impact of the Olympics has actually been fairly minimal.
‘I think the demand for properties around London is extremely high anyway so I’m not sure the Olympics have had that much impact. Some landlords have tried to increase rent for the Olympics period but, of course, there is only a defined amount of money out there and some of them have been unrealistic and failed to get any interest,’ said Carl Belle of Belvoir Ilford.
‘It’s important for landlords to be sensible and not get on the hype bandwagon of trying to achieve crazy levels of rent, especially if the property is nowhere near Stratford,’ he added.
Jon McNeice of Belvoir Brentwood said that some landlords on the outskirts of London have unrealistic expectations of what rents can be achieved during the Olympics, with some landlords asking tenants for more than £20,000 a month.
‘Some landlords have been asking for huge sums of money to rent their properties. One couple were asking for £9,000 a week and, although they were very confident this was achievable, their property is still sat there unoccupied,’ he explained.
‘In all honesty there hasn’t been a massive surge in demand for rental properties in our area. We had enquiries last December from the Olympics organisers looking for accommodation for staff, but we haven’t seen an increase in tourists looking for short term lets. We’ve got a large hotel opposite our office and we asked them to contact us if they got fully booked or there was an overflow of guests, but even they aren’t fully booked at this stage,’ he added.
For many landlords and agents, it’s just business as usual. ‘I’d love to say that the Olympics have made a big difference for our landlords but it hasn’t,’ said Craig Walker of Belvoir Camberley.
‘Like many other offices on the outskirts of London, at Belvoir Camberley it is just business as usual,’ he added.
Gumtree.com revealed that it has seen a 62% increase in adverts posted by Londoners looking to cash in on their homes and spare rooms in prime Olympic hotspots. It has found that the average asking price for London short term rentals has actually dropped by 24% between May and June 2012, as home owners become more realistic in their price expectations and the Games draw closer.
