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Written by rosalind renshaw

An Olympics legacy of their own making has left London landlords with empty properties and lower rents.

According to agent Chesterton Humberts, ‘numerous’ landlords got rid of existing tenants, hoping to cash in on Olympics demand.

But this never materialised and properties that stayed empty are now coming down in price.

Chesterton Humberts says that in the third quarter, stock levels are up 57% on the second quarter, so tenants can take their pick of properties.

The firm says rents are ‘subdued’ as a result and landlords are having to be flexible with their asking prices and terms.

Chesterton Humberts also believes that the private rental market was much more affected by the Olympics than was previously believed, with little movement before and during the Games. It says this changed in the third quarter, with tenant registrations up 26.7% and agreed tenancies up by 33.6%.

However, tenants continue to have the upper hand.

Nick Barnes, head of research, said: “The balance of power in the prime London lettings market has shifted subtly in favour of tenants since the second quarter. 

“The Olympics factor has impacted on the market, although not in the way that was anticipated. Instead of boosting demand it had the opposite effect and contributed to the increase in supply as more owners unsuccessfully marketed their properties.”

Comments

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    It's easy to point a finger at a Landlord for their 'greed'. The sad truth is that many were hugely mis-led by an array of agents big and small.

    It would be interesting to know where the ASA stands on some of the claims made by agents at the time stating that they had clients/tenants 'lining up' for Olympic Lets.

    The truth is that many Landlord see their agent as a true professional. An entity that advises the client on their best interests. However, this is sadly rarely the truth and agents sell which ever approach gets them the most press (many agents basked in the coverage of offering the most expensive Olympic property to let), client enquiries or revenie regardless of the overall effects on their clients themselves.

    If Landlords feel they were misled by their agents they should not only dis-instruct them but also look to report them.

    We took a very cleat stance on this matter long before the Olympics and wrote a series of blog articles analysing all aspects of this and why the hype was so unfounded. Its quite nice to know we were right!

    You can read the first article we posted on it back in February here:

    http://propertymanagementfaq.com/london-olympics-2012-the-big-opportunity-for-london-landlords/

    • 22 November 2012 13:26 PM
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    I sit an chuckle to myself every story that I hear about greedy landlords that are sitting with empty properties. Serves them right and I hope they sacked the agent that convinced them too.

    • 22 November 2012 09:58 AM
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    I agree - and as predicted here in January when this barmy idea first surfaced.

    All agents that are involved and are members of anything meaningful should be reported unless they can show on file a specific instruction from the Landlord to terminate the existing tenancy.

    Or maybe they saw repeat fees and then higher commission from higher rents?

    • 22 November 2012 08:40 AM
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    Well frankly it serves the landlords right. They are the ones looking to capitalise on the Olympics as a short term source of income where they should be looking at the bigger picture!

    Moving a good paying tenant out is ridiculas!!

    • 22 November 2012 08:19 AM
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