Latest research in from one of the UK’s leading estate agents highlights how important homes to rent are set to become, both in general and at the top of renting sector as the number of households who rent looks set to exceed four million.

Savills says it expects both average UK rents and their Prime London equivalent to rise by 20.5% over the next five years driven by struggling first time buyers unable to get on to the property ladder along with those ‘reluctant to commit’ to moving up it.

Approximately one in five homes will be privately rented by 2016, Savills believes, up from the one in six households rented at the moment (according to English Housing) and a drastic increase on one in ten rented during the early noughties.

Homes to rent: a five-bedroom house currently on offer at £18,417 a month in Knightsbridge, London.

What this represents is a dramatic end to the Margaret Thatcher inspired assumption that everyone has a right to own their own home and eventually gets on the property ladder. Instead, if the trend that Savills highlight continues, it is only a matter of time before we end with a German property market with only the wealthy owning property in early life.

One of the more ironic elements of this situation is that, as the Savills research points out, it is those who wish to live in central London who face the hardest uphill battle to own their first property – a group highlighted by the TV series Made In Chelsea (pictured below); relatively wealthy 20-somethings who can’t afford to buy in London and who have to pay high rents to maintain their chic addresses. But having watched the mockumentary, your sympathies may end there.

The ultimate winners in this type of market is the nation’s 400,000 private landlords. Decreasing or stagnant house prices and rising rents are driving up ‘yields’ for them. Yields are rent as a percentage of property value and Savills they could hit up to nine per cent in areas where home ownership is low but demand for rental properties.

Given that even the best savings accounts and investment vehicles struggle to delivery much better than four or five per cent interest, it’s easy to see why the buy to let market is showing signs of recovery – lending jumped by 16% over the last quarter and is at its highest level since 2008.

We have all seen House Doctor, Selling Houses and the host of other programmes telling us how to prepare our house to sell.  You know, the ones where the basic premise is to ‘paint your house magnolia’ and stick a new carpet in.

But while neutral colours do appeal to a mass market, how do professional interior designers suggest their prime clients prepare their homes for sale? After all, the more money you’re asking for a property, the harder you may have to work on presentation, right?

Before and after (below): How the lounge of a two-bedroom Georgian apartment in London was 'staged' for sale.

Our friends at Brahm Interiors say they are increasingly being asked to dress properties for sale or to let rather than just to make homes more beautiful. They say ‘don’t go for the minimal look but rather embellish and edit your possessions’.

Apparently a good edit of your possessions can do wonders. Coco Chanel once said “before you leave the house, look in the mirror and remove one accessory, less is always more”. The same can be said of interiors accessories.

Once you have had a thorough edit, it might be time to add. Whatever your property size or budget, a few savvy props can transform a home. The breadth of furnishings and accessories now available on the high street means that there are solutions available to give a property that elusive X factor. Brahm often utilise ‘statement pieces’ and simple accessories that work with the existing interiors. A large mirror, an sculpture or a prized antique can completely transform the room by giving it a focus. Tie in other items in the room and you end up with a coordinated scheme that will appeal to any buyer.

Recently Brahm were called in to revitalise a Georgian flat in London (see before and after pictures, above). They added a large rug to the living area to provide some warmth and a focal point to the spacious room. Existing furniture was joined by floor lamps to frame either end of the sofa. Light coloured cushions were placed to contrast with the sofa’s dark brown fabric while tired armchairs were swapped with two neutrally coloured ones that added ‘structure and sophistication’. They then positioned large vases of flowers in the centre of the room to provide drama.

Such simple additions can make a huge difference.

Too many for sale? How can there be so many homes for sale but no buyers?

After this blog last month started a healthy debate both here and on Twitter, let’s take it to the next level. House price analysts say a glut of homes on sale and falling numbers of buyers are causing small price drops now, with perhaps more to come.

But if people buy and sell at the same time, as most surely do, why are demand and supply out of line?

The mismatch
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says in mid-2007, before the credit crunch, estate agents typically sold 45% of their stock every three months. That fell to 15% in mid-2008 before rising to 30% early this year.

But now, with more homes on sale, the sale-to-stock ratio is back down to 24%.

Exploding a myth
This increased supply suggests that in reality selling and buying do not necessarily happen simultaneously. There is a small but important time gap.

Research by Santander says 1.1m homes in Brtain were put on the market in the year to  August but did not sell, often because would-be buyers could not get a mortgage.

Some estate agents say that as a result, more sellers now wait to find a purchaser before registering as buyers themselves to avoid spending time and energy finding a dream home only to lose it because they cannot sell their old property.

“Supply and demand balance over time but there’s always a lag, never an exact balance. A year ago there were more buyers but fewer homes, so prices rose. Now it’s the reverse” says Lucian Cook, research guru at estate agent Savills.

In addition the new-build sector, which slumped in 2008 and 2009, is recovering and adds 120,000 new properties on sale per year without creating new buyers.

Dying, divorcing but not buying
A further factor is probate sales; elderly owners die and their properties are sold by relatives who already own homes – so they inherit the proceeds and do not buy. Land Registry figures show that in 2007 some 7% of deals were probate sales. But now, with home sales halved but death rates static, they account for 15% of the market.

There are also 120,000 divorces a year. Analysis by Savills shows that in a third of cases the couple sell their home and, at first, each person rents before buying later.

In the past these ‘sell-but-not-buy’ figures have been balanced or outweighed by first time buyers, who purchase with nothing to sell. But tougher mortgage conditions and average deposits rising to £35,000 mean FTB numbers are 50% of the level in 2007.

Let’s see if that starts a debate.

I’ll admit to having Wimbledon fever. It happens every year. I get giddy for two weeks.

So if you ask me to leave my prime viewing position on the sofa, you had better make sure the match has finished. Otherwise I’m going to be very late indeed (those five set matches are always an issue).

This time of year, everyone will be swarming the area to watch Andy Murray as he battles to win the title. But Wimbledon is actually a very lovely place to live all year round.

It’s in the quieter part of London and, frankly, is all the better for it.  Plus, you’re close to Richmond, and that, in my eyes, can only be a good thing.

Let’s have a look at some homes in the area.

Ace – £7,750,000

I love this property. There’s something so old-fashioned about it. It’s an Edwardian building and I can imagine there being wonderful Brideshead Revisited style parties here.

There would be nothing but fun in this home. Garden parties, champagne cocktails before dinner and all sorts of entertainment (yes, I think it would be fun to live in aristocratic England. Is that weird?)

But what do you get for your millions? Well aside from the stunning gardens, you’ll get nine bedrooms and seven bathrooms (and those bathrooms are amazing).

You’ll also get five reception rooms for all of your swanky soirees. I’ll expect my invite in the post.

Advantage – £1,150,000

If you’re looking for somewhere right by the All England Tennis Club, this home will be perfect.

Very handy after playing a couple of sets before dinner. You get the benefit of an indoor pool and some lovely looking gardens as well.

There’s a games room and five bedrooms too. Not bad for just over a million. If you happen to have that lying around, of course.

Maybe Andy Murray could buy this with his potential winnings?

Deuce – £309,950

This flat has many things going for it, not least off-street parking, which is pretty important in London.

The flat has one bedroom with en-suite and really spacious rooms. You get a balcony as well.

It’s a great option for a professional couple looking for a home to settle in, but still within easy reach of central London.

Love-Fifteen – £145,000

If you’re looking for a small flat in the area, you could do a lot worse than this property. It’s near both mainline stations and the underground, and it has everything you need.

Best of all, there’s no stamp duty. This is an expensive area of London so it’s nice to know that you can still find somewhere that’s good value, but has all the perks of living in this much sought after area.

I was having a nose about on Lifehacker today and saw an interesting post about how to take photos of your home. Now, if you’re selling, the estate agent is likely to do this for you so you don’t have to worry, but if you’re renting your home out, it doesn’t hurt for you to get a few good photos. You don’t have to pay a professional to do it, you just have to know what you’re doing. Whilst I don’t really understand things about exposure and shutter speed, it seems that Lifehacker commenters do know what they’re doing. They’re a pretty clever bunch. Here are some simple tips:

>> Try candles, they’ll make a room look warmer

>> Move furniture around! Even if it’s not the way you would choose to arrange a room, if it looks better in a photo, do it.

>> Keep the flash on, even if it’s sunny. It makes for a bright picture.

>> Stand in corners and try not to get more than two walls in a shot.

>> Tidy up! Sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t.

>> Remove anything personal from the fridge like photos, and make everything look like a blank canvas.  It’ll still have your style, just without your stuff everywhere.

>> Put some flowers in the shot. They work!

>> Take a picture of the room – not just details. People want to see what the whole space looks like.

Of course, these are just basic ideas. If you know anyone who is nifty with a camera, bribe them with tea and biscuits. Good images will get people calling about your house. The more people who view it, the better.

Could the location of your rental property affect whether or not your tenants are likely to damage it? Recent research claims it could!

According to analysis carried out by The Deposit Protection Service (DPS), tenants living in the South East of England are more likely to damage property. Over 40% of DPS disputes between landlords and tenants were found to have occurred in the South East region. Over half of the disputes (52%) were due to the tenants damaging the property and over a third were because the property wasn’t being cleaned. The rest of the disputes revolved around the garden being in poor repair and left to grow wild.

The second highest level of disputes (15%) was noted in the North East, followed by the South West (12%), North West (11%) and West Midlands (11%). When the data was broken down into cities, the worst offender was London, followed by Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne and York.

“The introduction of a dispute resolution service has been one of the real successes of the Government’s tenancy deposit regulation, ensuring that these differences are sorted out fairly,” commented Kevin Firth, director of the DPS. Despite the findings, he offers reassurance that the number of disputes that do occur between landlords and tenants is relatively small in the general scheme of things.

If you’re a landlord, then you can help try and reduce the likelihood of long-term damage occurring by scheduling regular check-ups, where you call in and check the property. Even if they don’t keep it pristine the entire time, at least it will (hopefully!) be tidied up each time you pop in.

If you’re a landlord, are you expecting rental arrears in the coming year? According to research released recently by the National Landlords Association (NLA), 71% of landlords are expecting rent arrears to increase in the coming year.

With the current global economic situation and credit crunch, it’s a worrying time for everyone, including landlords. Of those questioned in the survey by the NLA, only one per cent thought that rent arrears would decrease in 2009 and 28% thought there’d be more no major change.

They also found that 67% of landlords have experienced problems with rent arrears in the past and 37% are currently having difficulties with non-payments from tenants. Not receiving rent from tenants can lead to all sorts of problems and it’s no fun trying to evict tenants. The NLA are advising that landlords do all they can to try and regularly receive rent, including keeping regular channels of communication open to try and alleviate any issues.

Don’t forget that if you’re currently trying to rent out a property, it’s important to make informed decisions about the financial worthiness of potential tenants. As much as you may be keen to get the property rented out, don’t skimp on doing credit or tenant reference checks, as these can save you a lot of hassle in the long run.

In cities across the UK, parking spaces and garages are often in demand. One nifty way of making a bit of extra money from your home is to make use of unused space and rent out your garage or parking space.

There used to be a time when cars were routinely parked in garages, but these days the garage is frequently used for storage of garden equipment or tools, rather than as a place to park your car. If you’ve got a double garage, plenty of parking, don’t own a car or have a garage that remains unused, then you could consider renting it out and making full use of its potential – and earn yourself some extra income at the same time.

With garages and parking spaces in short supply in city centres, it makes sense for those not being fully used to be rented out to those who do need them, such as city workers or business people who need regular or occasional car parking facilities. The amount of rent your garage could command will vary depending on its location and size. A single garage in the SW6 area of London, for example, is up for rent for a weekly fee of £80 or a secure underground parking space in SW3 is on offer for £60 a week. Elsewhere, in Cardiff, a refurbished garage with metered power supply has a weekly rental of £75.

To find out what a garage in your area might make from rental income, put the location and the keyword ‘garage’ into the Primelocation.com rental property search.