DAA Residential comments in the London Property Magazine February 2012 – So what’s in store for 2012?

Let’s start with the positive story. With the Olympics just months away, DAA Residential is involved with an increasing number of all-inclusive, fully serviced short term Olympic lets, mainly to overseas media, PR and other professional hospitality companies attracted to Wapping’s Thames side location and proximity to the Olympic site in Stratford.  We are also dealing with enquiries from homeowners who are considering moving out of their home in anticipation of achieving high rents during the Olympic period.

Likewise, we are speaking to large numbers of homeowners looking to sell during the Olympic year and we are experiencing more new applicants registering for properties both to rent and to buy.

In highly sought after locations such as Wapping and Docklands demand however, still outstrips supply with many landlords reserving their properties to capitalise on the Olympic rental market. Not surprisingly, this trend  will impact on the supply within the rental market generally.

Of course, we cannot ignore the troubles in the Euro zone, the on-going volatility in the financial markets and the very lacklustre economic growth forecasts for the UK in 2012. It would be naïve to suggest that these developments will not affect Wapping’s property prices.  So far, however,  these have stayed buoyant, mainly due to a lack of supply mentioned earlier.

Should negative economic news continue, this supply/demand imbalance could change but in what direction remains to be seen.

Diane Hood

MD,  DAA Residential