O’Donnellan & Joyce's rental department had an outstanding year. The volume of rental stock increased by 40 per cent. While some landlords are exiting the rental market, there has been good activity with investors looking to avoid savings depreciating through inflation.
They are doing so with rental income from residential property. There is a huge demand for rental properties in Galway city and beyond. The company has noticed a 50 per cent increase in inquiries on rental properties advertised for letting.
Landlords vacating are leaving a gap in the market for cash investors to purchase properties. Cash buyers are the preference for all sales as they can close deals quickly and investors are using this to their advantage.
It some cases properties being sold with tenants in situ are being offered well below market value. Investment purchasers are the only option for purchasing these. Currently cash funds in the bank are losing money, and with inflation at its highest level in years, property is attracting investor’s attention.
The rental market is performing very strongly for Q4 2022, and it is showing no sign of easing off. Therefore it is predicted that rentals in 2023 will continue to perform well with rental prices and demand remaining strong.
The eviction ban will be lifting from Q2 2023 and there will be an exodus of landlords from the PRS. The only saving grace is the Central Bank increase in lending from 3.5 times to four times a person’s gross income. This will give renters the opportunity to get on the property ladder by purchasing a home. The market should remain strong with rents expected to rise about five per cent.
O'Donnellan & Joyce's biggest achievement of 2022 was being awarded a position on the Independent Trustee Company (ITC ) property management panel. This will ensure that its clients will be able to avail of its management and letting service when purchasing through a pension. The year to date has been great for O’Donnellan & Joyce and the team look forward to 2023.
The buy-to-let (BTL ) market will remain strong in 2023 as inflation and negative interest rates in banks continue to punish those with cash in the bank. Investors will see good opportunities to hedge against inflation through the PRS. The large demand for rental accommodation makes the BTL market attractive. O’Donnellan and Joyce will be on hand to provide the required professional management advice to investors.
