As one of the recommended letting agents for Quartermile and with our lettings branch onsite we’ve helped several landlords rent out their apartments within the latest release of properties at Quartermile, ‘The Lofts’. Here’s some analysis to show how well The Lofts has performed.

1 bedroom Rents in Edinburgh & Quartermile – According to Citylets, the average rent for 1 bedroom properties in Edinburgh is £694pcm. This figure has been climbing steadily in recent years and shows no sign of slowing.

Focusing on Quartermile, the average rent of 1 bedroom properties let within the past 12 months is £1,179pcm a whopping 70% over the Edinburgh average. There’s a huge tenant demand for properties within Quartermile, attracted by the high spec, size, location and amenities of the development. Properties in Edinburgh tend to rent for between £15 and £20 per sqm depending on location and specification.  For Quartermile we tend to find properties letting for between £21 and £26 per sqm.

The Lofts – The Lofts at Quartermile comprises 2 refurbished buildings (previously part of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary) sensitively redeveloped into a series of high spec 1 bedroom and studio apartments. Here are some examples of some of the properties we have let within The Lofts;

 

Block

Description

 

 Rent Rent/sqm Gross yield
Lofts North Studio £1,175 £27.20 (46.5sqm) 5.7%
Lofts North 1 bedroom inc parking £1,450 £22.62 (64.1sqm) 6.0%
Lofts North 1 bedroom £1,350 £26.42 (51.10sqm) 6.4%
Lofts North 1 bedroom  inc parking £1,400 £27.40 (51.10/sqm) 6.1%
Lofts South Studio £1,100 £24.93 (44.13sqm) 5.2%
Lofts South 1 bedroom £1,400 £23.18 (60.39sqm) 5.9%
Lofts South Studio £1,150 £27.51 (41.81sqm) 6.3%

As the table suggests properties within The Lofts have been letting for between £22 and £28 per sqm which is sky high compared to the £15-20 per sqm you would expect elsewhere in Edinburgh.

Looking at the yield (return) of an investment within The Lofts, I was pleasantly surprised to find that gross yields for apartments we’ve let are between 5.2% and 6.4%. Normally when we source investment properties in Edinburgh we do our best to achieve a gross yield of over 5.5%. So, you can see that apartments within The Lofts make fantastic investments.

Time To Let (TTL) – Apartments within The Lofts have been letting quickly. Our office onsite is definitely helping with prospective tenant walking in ‘off the street’. Of the 7 properties in the above table 3 of them let before we could even put the property on the online lettings portals. This is great for our landlords with limited void periods to worry about. Looking back over the past 12 months at Quartermile, according to Citylets, the average TTL for 1 bedroom properties within the development is 27 days which is pretty good. (27 days doesn’t mean properties have necessarily sat empty for 27 days as normally agents will begin advertising properties during the vacating tenant’s 2 months notice period).

Conclusion – So there you have it. The Lofts make a fantastic investment option. For international investors, they represent much better value than you could achieve in London (where many investors seem happy with a measly 2-3% yield!) and for Edinburgh locals they deliver a yield comparable with some of the best tenement flats within a very well managed development. The Quartermile development and sales team have carefully selected partners they work with so properties can be seamlessly passed to rental market through solicitor, furnishing and lettings partners. We’re proud to be part of this team!

If you have a property in Quartermile and are looking for help letting and managing it please do pop into our office at 5 Porter’s Walk for a chat; we’re located just between Soderberg and Starbucks. If you can’t pop in please just give us a call on 0131 221 0888 or email [email protected].