Breaking Property News – 09/10/2023
Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.
tlyfe App delivers rent ready tenants free to letting agents and lets tenants pre-qualify themselves
Most lettings agents are under increasing pressure, they are short of time short dealing with multiple potential tenants; similarly tenants are under pressure competing with other tenants looking for their next rental home. Solving these pain points, Adam Pigott CEO of Openbrix, and team launched the tlyfe App which is now scaling in popularity following its recent launch, as the App helps both sides of the lettings equation.
For letting agents tlyfe simplifies the tenant selection process by delivering free ‘rent-ready’ tenants who have already undergone thorough pre-qualification, government-backed right to rent checks and ID verification, and fully verified references. For tenants it allows them having used the App and paid a small fee to qualify themselves in readiness to move into a rental.
As Adam Pigott CEO puts it,
‘The benefits to agents can be seen in direct time and cost savings, as tlyfe removes the time and money spent on traditional tenant sourcing and referencing methods. Because tenants pre-qualify and reference themselves providing you with verified and certified documents, so agents can skip unnecessary viewings and focus on closing deals with confidence.
It promotes stress-free tenant selection; tlyfe simplifies the tenant selection process by allowing tenants to prove that they are ‘Rent-Ready’ and are already vetted and compliant. Saying goodbye to endless paperwork and uncertainty. Also it drives improved Landlord-Tenant Relationships as tlyfe’s comprehensive screening process contributes to stronger landlord-tenant relationships. The beauty for letting agents is there is zero cost and no integration, no Contract. As tlyfe is a stand-alone application the onus is on the tenant, removing any costs or complex integration for agents.’
The App which only tenants pay to use, also is designed to give them an advantage in getting to the front of the queue when a new rental listing comes live. Again Adam Pigott CEO explains,
‘The concept behind the tlyfe App is pre-qualified tenants are ‘Rent Ready’ tenants putting the control into the hands of tenants through our easy to use and intuitive app, it has Government-backed Right to Rent Checks and ID Verification. So prospective tenants have proven they have undergone thorough government-backed right to rent checks and ID verification.
Complying with all necessary regulations to ensure that your properties are rented out legally and securely. The App ensures fully verified references, gone are the days of painstakingly sifting through references. tlyfe handles the entire reference verification process, providing fully vetted tenant information for all stakeholders.’
Housing market recalibrating to higher interest rate environment
As we enter the final quarter of the year, the market continues to adjust to higher borrowing costs. This is according to Nicky Stevenson, Managing Director of Fine & Country, who adds that interest rates being unexpectedly held at 5.25% is a good sign for the housing market, and sentiment should slowly improve as buyers and sellers increasingly know where they stand.
Looking at property prices, Stevenson says that according to Nationwide, the average house price in September was £257,808, showing no monthly change compared to August. This is an improvement on the 0.4% decline that economists had previously anticipated for the same period, house prices proving resilient in the face of high interest rates. Regions less stretched on affordability have seen shallower falls. Spotlighting London, the decline in prices slowed in the last three months to the end of September to 3.8% year-on-year, indicating the capital is holding up well in tough conditions. “The prime market remains particularly strong, with positive year-on-year growth of 2.4%. The average price of a property in the prime market is now £1,271,287, and all regions bar one had positive annual growth,” she comments.
According to Stevenson, mortgage market activity, an indicator of future demand, dipped in August, with 45,000 approvals, 8% lower than the previous month. “This is a 14% improvement on the start of the year, although it remains below the long-term average. The Bank of England reported that gross mortgage lending rose from £19.1 billion in July to £19.7 billion in August. With increasing competition between lenders as we move through autumn, activity should pick up again,” she adds.
Data from the GfK Consumer Confidence Tracker reveals that consumer confidence rose to –21 in September 2023 from –25 in August, the highest reading since January 2022, and defying expectations of a slowdown to –27. This is boosted by the prospect of lower mortgage rates, with Zoopla recording an uptick in buyer demand, up 12% since the August Bank Holiday weekend.
“The average time taken to finalise a sale is close to 20 weeks, up from 16 weeks in 2021, and time is ticking for those wanting to move in by Christmas. HMRC data reveals that transaction numbers showed a small uptick on the previous month, with 87,000 taking place in August, albeit 16% lower than last year’s higher levels. Buyers looking to move are highly motivated. Three-quarters of buyers in August were confident they’d purchase a property within the next three months,” says Stevenson.
She notes that affordability for those relying on mortgages is still a challenge after sustained high interest rates. Buyers now entering the market are particularly conscious of their budget and are careful not to overstretch themselves. There are around 80% more homes available for sale than in September 2021. This increased choice means that there may be headroom for buyers to negotiate with sellers, putting pressure on asking prices. According to Zoopla, the average discount is 4.2% of the asking price, the largest since March 2019.
“Affordability remains stretched but is slowly improving, with mortgage rates continuing to fall on the back of dipping swap rates. The average five-year fixed rate has dropped below 6%, after reaching 6.38% in August. Those with a low loan to value or no mortgage are in a particularly strong position. Inflation is steadily easing, forecast to end 2024 at 2.6%, improving the outlook for the Bank Rate, which is thought to be at or very close to its peak. Buyers increasingly know where they stand, and sentiment should improve as volatility reduces. According to the HM Treasury Consensus Forecast, prices are forecast to soften into 2024, then set to rebound by 9% between 2025 and 2027,” Stevenson concludes.
Andrew Stanton Executive Editor – moving property and proptech forward. PropTech-X
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