Although some Polish workers have recently left the UK, new research shows that there has been a new wave of demand from Poland for UK rental properties as others now consider a move to the UK, reveals statistics from ludlowthomson.com, London’s lettings agent.

Demand for UK properties from Poland has risen over the previous quarter, from 1.8% of the total overseas demand in the second quarter to a 3.5% share of demand in the third quarter of this year.

Stephen Ludlow, Director of ludlowthompson.com comments: “Fears that the credit crunch would put Eastern Europeans off moving to London have so far proved to be mostly unfounded. Some workers have left the UK but despite the economic slowdown there are still opportunities for skilled workers here, although employment contracts may be shorter.”

According to ludlowthompson.com Italy is taking the largest share of overseas demand for property, followed by France. The number of enquiries for rental property from Italy has risen to 8.3% during the third quarter of 2008, up from 7.4% during the second quarter. Enquiries from France increased to 8.2% during the third quarter, up from 7.7%.

Stephen Ludlow says: “Although the UK economy is currently not as sturdy as in previous years, it still has a more active labour market than Italy or France. It has a more relaxed immigration policy than other EU members, meaning that it is still a strong draw for overseas workers.”

“The steady demand for rental property from overseas indicates that higher rates of unemployment have not yet had an impact on the rentals market.”

“Despite recent Government proposals to restrict immigration in order to tackle rising unemployment a relaxed immigration policy will help to support businesses. A mobile workforce that helps to keep wage inflation low will be essential as the economy enters a downturn.”

“Economic migrants have long been recognised as a net contributor to the UK economy and the positive impact of their spending is not solely restricted to the private rentals market.”

Says Stephen Ludlow: “It is good news for landlords that people from across Europe still see London as a desirable place to live and work.”

“The rental market should be reasonably well insulated from the impact of redundancies as workers who are between jobs still need somewhere to live.”

“However, landlords shouldn’t be complacent. If unemployment does increase then that is going to restrain the rental growth we have seen over the last 18 months. If economic uncertainty increases then employers might start offering more twelve-month employment contracts which, by offering flexibility for tenants, will support the lettings market.”

The UK is one of few major EU countries that currently allow free movement of labour from all the new East European members and therefore it still offers significant advantages over most of its Western European neighbours to immigrants from Poland and other new ascension EU members, explains ludlowthompson.com.

Figures from ludlowthomson.com show that the 12 new EU member states* now account for 10.2% of the total demand from overseas, up from 6.3% in the second quarter (April – June) of this year.

Interest in UK rental property from South Africa has increased over the last 12 months, with a surge in demand for UK property occurring between April and June this year, when demand jumped to 7.1% of all overseas demand, up from 2.4% in the January to March period, this coincides with a period of political instability in South Africa, says ludlowthompson.com.