In my last blog I wrote about how the volume of residential property sold had dipped an astonishing 29% in 2017 (Oxfordshire Property Sales Plummet) so it seemed a good time to conduct a deep dive into the rental market in West Oxfordshire, with a particular focus on Witney as the main urban centre.
Supply of Rental Property Increases
We track the supply of rental properties in Witney over time so we can provide contemporary, unique advice. What’s been particularly noteworthy is that the supply of property to rent in OX28 is up by 55% on 2017 and this isn’t specific to any given size property:
Most strikingly, the availability the supply of 3 beds is up nearly 70%!! We’ve tracked this over time (graph below) so we can confidently say that there has just been an uptick in the supply of 3-beds and this is well above the long-term average:
So, What About Demand?
Fortunately, we’ve been tracking demand as well (although not for quite as long) and this is absolutely not due to a fall in demand. In fact, we have nearly 100 registered applicants at the moment which is well above average. Easter falls quite early this year and I would anticipate this resulting in increased demand and higher churn in April.
How Much Does It Cost to Rent in Witney?
We’ve crunched the numbers and looked at the all the properties marketed to rent in Witney over the previous 3 months (03 Dec 17 – 04 Mar 18) to bring you the very latest figures:
What Sort Of Properties Rent Best?
There are plenty of variables here, not least a buyers budget and long-term plans but generally speaking, we would recommend a 2-bedroom house with parking. We’ll look at this in more detail in a future post but definitely ensure that the EPC meets a minimum standard of E otherwise you may not be able to rent it out (NB – by law any agent offering a property for sale/rent needs to display the EPC rating on the advert…..)
Which Areas Work Best for Rental Properties?
Looking at where the 2-bed houses are offered for rent doesn’t throw up many surprises. Aside from some town-centre, period properties, the main clusters are in Burwell Meadow, Thorney Leys and Cogges (Manor Road) with some cropping up on Deer Park & Madley Park too:
2-beds houses for rent in Witney (Dec17 – Feb 18)
Nationally, the number of rental properties coming on to the market to rent fell by 16% in Q4 2017 compared to Q4 2016. This isn’t because there are 16% fewer properties to rent – it’s because tenants are staying in their rental properties longer meaning fewer are coming on the market.
Our Report into the West Oxfordshire Rental Market:
If you want even more detail then we’d recommend you download our report into the local lettings market below: