As the travel and hospitality sectors continue to battle ongoing challenges, these are areas which landlords and investors are keeping a close eye on in a bid to increase yields and diversify their portfolios. Holiday and short-term lets have risen in prominence over the course of 2021 to reflect ongoing international travel limitations, the rise of the staycation and the attraction for Airbnb-type properties.

This trend is likely to continue as opportunities are becoming more evident for property professionals in urban areas, as well as coastal areas, as the UK gradually opens its borders to more tourists. In addition, some workers and their employers are opting for short-term lets as more flexible and secure places to stay whilst heading back into their London offices.

In the last few weeks we have seen many world leaders, delegates and famous faces jet in and jet out, stay awake and fall asleep at the COP26 summit in Glasgow. The lasting impact remains to be seen but, if nothing else, it’s encouraging to see such widespread coverage of this event and the awareness being raised around the huge climate-related challenges which impact us all.

The medium to longer term effects of the pandemic continue to have a major bearing on various industries, sectors and individual businesses within these. The housing and mortgage markets have been fortunate to emerge from these challenging times relatively unscathed, although it’s evident that some homeowners, landlords and tenants have suffered to some degree. And we can’t, and mustn’t, ignore the financial strain being placed on such people.

Dynamo and Dynamo for Intermediaries have embarked on a new challenge: Movember 2021. The team members will be either growing a moustache or committing to run or walk 60km throughout November in order to raise funds for Movember UK’s important work.

A growing number of men – around 10.8M globally – are facing life with a prostate cancer diagnosis. Globally, testicular cancer is the most common cancer among young men. And across the world, one man dies by suicide every minute of every day, with males accounting for 75% of all suicides. Since 2003, Movember has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world, challenging the status quo, shaking up men’s health research and transforming the way health services reach and support men.

One of the most positive stories to hit the buy-to-let sector in recent weeks centred around tenant demand hitting an all-time high in Q3. This headline emerged in research from Paragon Bank which outlined that almost seven in 10 (69%) landlords said they had seen demand grow in Q3 – the record high – with 36% describing this happening to a ‘significant’ level.

One of the most noteworthy effects of the pandemic on the rental market has been the shift in the distribution of available properties between urban and suburban areas.

According to Rightmove, the imbalance of supply and demand for rental properties in these areas has led to an 11% rise in asking rents compared to pre-pandemic levels. The average asking rent in suburban areas across Great Britain is now suggested to be £1,041 per calendar month, up from £940 in February 2020. In rural areas, rents have jumped from £1,141 per calendar month to a current level of £1,264. Urban rents are up by just £25 over the same time period, from £1,347 to £1,372.