Rental market overview in Cambridgeshire

The Committee Stage for the Renters (Rights) Bill took place in April, and we are now waiting for the house of Lords to rubber stamp what has been agreed by 22 July. There are still potential changes that will be made. But it does look like Royal Assent will be given at the end of July and then we will find out when things will be implemented.

The biggy is the abolishment of Section 21 which without digitisation of the court system will mean things will take longer to process and therefore the best protection you can have as a landlord for the foreseeable future is to make sure that you have cover for rent protection and legal expenses until the dust settles and we truly understand what affect this change has had

The next webinar we have planned is on Thursday 24th July where we talk you through what has been agreed. If you would like to be part of this and ask questions that are pertinent to your situation just register to join us.

Spread of bedrooms in the area

The spread of bedrooms remains the same with two bed homes making up the majority of the homes available

Property availability

The graph above shows the number of properties that were available to rent in the area in the year so far (figures from Rightmove). In May we saw an increase of 33% compared with May 2024. More choice for residents means standout presentation and fair pricing are essential. Energy-efficient upgrades and proactive management will help you attract the best tenants and reduce voids.

Number of properties let

In our local area 167 properties were marked as let which is an increase of 15% on last year. When remarketing a property, we would always look at the general market rate as well as the condition. Given the fact that the market rate on a newly tenanted property has increased more than 8% we would very much class this as a buoyant market.

Applicant activity

The graph above now gives you a clearer indication of why rents have increased so dramatically over the last two years. In 2024 the demand was at a peak. Given that on average only 25% of the total number of people that apply for a property are actually looking this meant in May we had an average of five people apply for each property we put onto the market. For would-be first-time buyers with small deposits, falling mortgage rates have pushed the monthly cost of purchasing below the cost of renting and we are finding that a higher number of residents are moving because they have bought a new home.

Marketing time

We are still seeing that properties over £1,500 are taking far longer to find new residents than in the past.

Rental up to £1,000 per month have taken 17.5 days compared with 13 days in April 2024. To find a tenant with rents from £1,001 to £1,499 – 22 days down from 25 days in March last year. The biggest change as mentioned above is for properties over a rental of £1,500 now taking 45 days as opposed to 32 days this time last year.

Rental comparisons for PE27, PE28, PE29, CB23 and CB24

You know we love a database and by having this type of detail we are best placed to give you the right guidance when looking at rental reviews and when you are considering extending your portfolio.

These average figures come from our records. Therefore, they are a mixture of the rent reviews that have been put in place over the last year. Plus, the rental figure achieved at the point of remarketing and are split by the number of bedrooms.

• One bed property is now achieving on average £890
• Two bed property is now achieving on average £1,031
• 
Three bed property is now achieving on average £1,244
• Four bed property is now achieving on average £1,818

Which areas have the highest year on year increase by number of bedrooms?

• PE29 and PE27 have performed by far the best for one bed homes
• PE29 and PE27 have performed the best for two bed homes
• CB24 for three bed homes
• CB23 the best for four bed homes