Ben Paget

SnowDONE, WE DID  IT!

On Saturday 11^th September 2021, over 30 members of the Ascend Properties team set off to Wales to take on the daunting Mount Snowdon via the Llanberis path, all in aid of raising money for our chosen charity – Embassy.

Embassy are a Manchester-based Homeless charity which began its journey by repurposing a tour bus to provide emergency shelter and support to vulnerable adults. They provide food and shelter, and they also provide individuals with essential life coaching to help them reintegrate into society. They have a Resettlement Team who work closely with individuals to give them the tools and advice to gain employment so they can save up for their first month’s rent and deposit for their own home.

Mt. Snowdon, which is a staggering 3,560 ft tall and is the 3^rd Tallest Mountain in the UK, takes around 6 hours on average to complete from start to finish. It took us around 5 hours to complete – which is well below the average time of 6 hours for the Llanberis Path.

 

Our goal was to raise £500 for Embassy, but with the overwhelming generosity of our team and their family and friends, we have actually managed to raise just under £1000. Ascend has also pledged to match the total amount of money we have in the pot which effectively doubles this to bring our grand total to around £2000, with more donations still coming in!

Our Managing Director – Ged McPartlin said:

“I couldn’t be more proud of the people who took part. To get up early on your day off and climb one of the UK’s tallest mountains to raise money for charity just shows the type of people we have working here, and what an amazing cause it was all in aid of! Unbelievable effort.“

“The fact that we set our fundraising goal at £500, and have actually managed to raise almost double that amount, which will become 4 times that amount with the Ascend-matched donation, with donations still coming in is just amazing, so a big thanks to everybody who has donated.”

To make a donation visit our team’s fundraising page via the link below. https://www.stewardship.org.uk/pages/ascendembassy

Is the rental sector in need of a smart tech overhaul?

 

Last week, experts from the industry shared their, let’s say interesting, ideas on what the home of the future could look like. However, research from Build to Rent specialists, Ascend Properties, has found that while smart homes may be the focus of the future, smart tech is yet to sway residents in the rental market when it comes to property preference and the money they are willing to pay. 

 

It’s fair to say the build-to-rent sector is the future of renting, presenting better homes with all the mod-cons expected from today’s residents including great broadband, onsite amenities and communal outdoor areas.

 

When it comes to smart tech integration, however, residents are less worried with just a third stating they would be more likely to rent a home purely because it had smart tech integration. 

 

In addition, the vast majority (74%) also stated they would be unlikely to pay more for a rental property simply because it was smart tech enabled, with just 2% willing to pay much more than the market rate. 

 

That’s not to say that we should turn our backs on smart tech completely as some features appeal more than others. 

 

The ability to save money through smart tech features such as utility management and smart metres held the greatest appeal amongst potential residents. Safety also ranked high, with features such as smart locks and surveillance also holding high appeal.

 

A smart entertainment system and the ability to access lighting and heating remotely also appealed, although eco-friendly smart tech and convenience features such as voice activation were less sought after.

 

Managing Director of Ascend Properties, Ged McPartlin, commented: 

 

“It’s fair to say that while smart tech is a great addition to the home, residents aren’t quite ready to pay above the odds for the privilege of a fully automated home of the future. In fact, it’s important to get the basics right and provide the fundamentals such as good wifi, or a well maintained outdoor space, before you start to add the additional bells and whistles.

 

But that’s not to say there isn’t a market for some degree of smart tech and with any investment, it’s about choosing the right additions to compliment the property itself, as well as the wider lifestyle offering you are trying to deliver. 

 

By doing so, you can appeal to the modern resident without deterring them with a cost of renting that sits far above the expected rate.”

 

Survey of 1,427 UK tenants carried out by Ascend Properties via Find Out Now (2nd June 2021).

 

Which of the following benefits of home smart tech integration appeal to you?
Answer	Respondents
Ability to save money (Utilities management etc)	23%
Security (Smart locks and surveillance)	17%
Entertainment (Smart speakers linked to phone etc)	16%
Remote access (Lighting, heating etc)	16%
Eco-friendly smart tech	14%
Convenience (Voice activation)	14%
Would you be more likely to rent a property with smart tech integration?
Answer	Respondents
Neutral	70%
Somewhat more likely	19%
Much more likely	10%
How much more would you pay for a rental property with smart tech integration?
Answer	Respondents
Would not pay more	74%
A bit more	25%
Much more	2%

 

Rental incomes climb by as much as 68% since the last financial downturn 

Research from Build to Rent specialists, Ascend Properties, has revealed which areas of the English rental market have performed the strongest since the 2008/09 recession where the growth in average rental income is concerned. 

Ascend analysed rental market values during the last property market crash and found that the average rent in England fell from £699 per month in 2008 to £678 in 2009. However, since the end of the recession, rental market values have climbed by 20% to £814 per month during 2020, despite the problems posed to the sector as a result of the pandemic. 

However, this rental market revival has been far stronger in some regions and none more so than the London market. The average rent across the capital sat at £977 per month in the wake of the last economic downturn. However, today, the average rental income in London has climbed by 68% to £1,638. 

The South East has seen the second-largest increase in monthly rental values, climbing 39% since 2009, with the West Midlands (25%) and East Midlands (23%) also seeing above-average growth. 

But even in the North East where this rate of growth is at its lowest, the average rental property is still commanding 10% per month more (£607) when compared to 2009. 

Yorkshire (11%), the South West (17%), the North West (17%) and East of England (19%) have also seen a considerable increase. 

Managing Director of Ascend Properties, Ged McPartlin, commented: 

“It’s fair to say that pandemic uncertainty may have caused hesitation for some when looking to invest within the rental market, particularly in areas such as London where demand has dropped due to the enforced trend of working from home. 

However, while Covid uncertainty has created a tricky landscape in some respects, we remain a world away from the financial crisis of 2008 and many remain reliant on the rental sector in order to live. 

It also remains clear, that much like the wider housing market, any periods of instability are relatively short-lived and we’ve seen strong and consistent growth across the board as a result. 

For the professional investor who may be worried about a potential bump in the road, the build-to-rent space could be the best route to help mitigate any concerns. Not only does the sector provide a higher rental premium to begin with, but the lifestyle offering it provides attracts those with a longer-term view to renting. As a result, residents often rent for far longer terms than the traditional 12 months, providing a more stable stream of income and fewer void periods.”

 

Location	Average rent – 2008	Average rent – 2009	Average rent – 2020	Nominal change since pre market crash 2008-09
London	£969	£977	£1,638	68%
South East	£826	£775	£1,078	39%
West Midlands region	£621	£624	£780	25%
East Midlands	£589	£556	£685	23%
East of England	£717	£692	£821	19%
North West	£581	£564	£662	17%
South West	£704	£696	£811	17%
Yorkshire and the Humber	£603	£613	£682	11%
North East	£560	£552	£607	10%
England	£699	£678	£814	20%

The latest research from build to rent specialists, Ascend Properties, has revealed just how much growth potential is left in the sector if the US property market is anything to go by.

Across the pond, the comparable build to rent model, or multi-family as it’s known, has been established for over a decade. 

There are, of course, some immediate differences. The style of properties being delivered in the US is very much focussed on larger, family-oriented homes, with low-rise, suburban developments accounting for 70% of the market. In contrast, apartment living for rental professionals is more the focus of the UK model, although this could well change as this emerging market becomes more established. 

However, both deliver tailor-made accommodation suitable for long-term living within the rental sector, with a focus on community and an extensive range of resident amenities.

They also share other similarities, with both sectors seeing impressive growth which is estimated to continue in 2021. 

In the UK, there is an estimated 11,723 build to rent homes due to complete this year, a 22% increase in just four short years. In the US, multi-family completions are estimated to top 327,718 units this year, a 19% jump when compared to 2018. 

While the vast difference in landmass and population size means the UK build to rent sector is unlikely to reach the completion levels seen in America, the US sector does provide a glimpse of how much growth build to rent could easily achieve here in the UK. 

Ascend Properties analysed the number of completions in both countries as a percentage of all new builds delivered to market. The research shows that build to rent accounted for just 4.2% of all new build completions in 2018, climbing to 5.8% in 2019 and to a further 6.6% last year. An impressive rate of growth for a sector yet to fulfil its full potential. 

The research by Ascend Properties also suggests this potential could be as high as 20% of the new build market if the multi-family comparison is anything to go by. Already long-established, multi-family completions accounted for 23.3% of all new builds reaching the US market in 2018, with this number staying consistent in both 2019 (21.1%) and 2020 (22.2%). 

With the build to rent sector growing fast, it mightn’t be long before it’s accounting for the same proportion of new builds in the UK, if not more. 

 

 

Managing Director of Ascend Properties, Ged McPartlin, commented: 

“A comparison of the multi-family model and the build to rent sector isn’t quite comparing apples with apples, but the ethos is very much the same and so is the end result. 

Both focus on tailored accommodation that provides residents with a long-term option when renting and it’s clear that there is a very healthy appetite for this on both sides of the pond, as well as in many other countries. 

The multi-family market is a trillion-dollar business and accounts for more than a quarter of all real estate investment in the US. While we have quite some way to go in achieving this sort of dominance in the build to rent sector, the sharp growth seen in recent years suggests we are well on our way.

For build to rent to account for 20% of all new build completions is actually very achievable and we believe that not only will this be obtained in the coming years, but the sector will go above and beyond this as more of us turn to long-term renting as a life choice.” 

 

Build to Rent/Multi-Family completions since 2018
Location	Completions 2018	Completions 2019	Completions 2020	Completions 2021 (forecast estimated)
United Kingdom	8,329	12,438	10,152	11,723
United States	276,000	265,050	285,000	327,718
New build completions since 2018
Location	NB completions 2018	NB completions 2019	NB completions 2020
United Kingdom	198,978	214,182	154,680
United States	1,185,000	1,255,000	1,286,000
Build to Rent/Multi-Family as a percentage of new build completions since 2018
Location	BtR as % of NB completions 2018	BtR as % of NB completions 2019	BtR as % of NB completions 2020
United Kingdom	4.2%	5.8%	6.6%
United States	23.3%	21.1%	22.2%