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Letting agents – here’s why your landlords should be targeting middle-aged renters

18 May 2018 13527 Views
Letting agents – here’s why your landlords should be targeting middle-aged renters

There is a common misconception that the private rented sector (PRS) is entirely made up of young professionals and students. While these demographics do make up a large part of the market, there are other groups that landlords should be bearing in mind.

In the most recent English Housing Survey, it was revealed that 1.8 million families with children are now renting privately (up by a million in less than a decade), while the number of retired renters is also on the rise (up by 200,000 between 2012 and 2016 according to the National Landlords Association and expected to nearly treble in the next 20 years).

Middle-aged renters, too, are one of the fastest-growing demographics in the PRS, with recent research revealing that fortysomethings are now nearly twice as likely to be renting from a private landlord as they were 10 years ago.

Rising house prices, relationship break-ups and the desire for more flexibility – freed from the shackles of mortgage repayments – are just some of the reasons for this rise.

According to the Family Resources Survey – carried out by the Department for Work and Pensions – the number of 35 to 54-year-olds who live as private tenants has nearly doubled in the 10 years since 2006-07.

Broken down further, the largest increase in renters between 2007 and 2017 was seen among 35 to 44-year-olds, with the proportion of private tenants in this age group doubling from 13% to 26%. Among 45 to 54-year-olds, meanwhile, the numbers renting from a private landlord increased from 8% to 14% over the same period.

A different demographic to target

While millennials make up a big portion of private renters in the UK – nearly half of 25 to 34-year-olds were renting their home privately in 2017 – there is a clear and steady rise in the number of middle-aged people opting for the tenant lifestyle, whether out of choice or necessity.

There may, too, be certain advantages in landlords targeting their home towards this particular demographic – who might be in a more stable financial position, in good jobs and more concerned about the upkeep and look of a home. They may also be looking to rent on a longer term basis, especially if they have roots (or children) in a given area.

A streamlined system

To free up more time to offer expert advice like this to your landlord clients, and manage more properties (possibly with an increasing number of middle-aged renters occupying them), you need an efficient, streamlined system to ensure you can manage all aspects of your business in one place.

At Gnomen, our property software offers exactly that – cloud-based, all-in-one, managed at the click of a button from anywhere in the world – while we also design websites that look beautiful and work beautifully.

To find out more about what Gnomen can do for you, please contact us today. Or you can book a free demo here.  

Like what you’ve read? You can check out our latest news articles here.

 

Montana Hassan is the Business Development Director of Gnomen

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