Tenants are being influenced by the credit crunch and choosing to extend their leases. Many are first time buyers who are either struggling to find funds for a deposit or struggling to obtain a mortgage.
The new trend allows them to consolidate and try to save for a time when they can get onto the property market, according to Braemore Property Management, one of Scotland's leading letting companies.
It also give future buyers the time to wait for better mortgage deals to come along, the Edinburgh based firm has found.
It has a portfolio of around 850 properties worth more than £250 million and has had no properties being re-let onto the market for the last two weeks is an indication that tenants are already seeing the benefits of opting for longer rents.
'It is very rare to even have one week where we do not have any properties being put back up for let. There are usually tenants who decide, for one reason or another, that they do not want to renew their lease and plan to move out of their rented home, so we try to re-let those properties as soon as possible,' explained Director Colette Murphy.
'But to have two weeks in a row where there are no properties being re-let is remarkable. It is something we have never experienced before and it's a sign that we may be starting to see a shift towards longer rents being taken out among the younger generation, who would otherwise have been first-time buyers,' she said.
'Young people are finding it very difficult to buy a property of their own so are choosing to rent for longer. Many of them are still paying off student loans and so aren't able to raise the 10 to 20% they would need as a deposit for a mortgage, so they are happy to consolidate in a rented property for the near future as they wait for the economy to improve and more favourable mortgage deals to become available,' she added.
She believes the trend is likely to continue for some time. 'With the economy still in a downturn fewer people will be able to afford their first property. A long-term lease is the easiest way to live in the home that they want to. It gives people more disposable income because they are not up to their waists in mortgage repayments and they get all the benefits of living in a nice property,' she concluded.