50,000 Rental Properties Needed to Bring Supply Back in UK Rental Market

The average rent in the UK rental market has increased for a 17^th consecutive month according to Rightmove’s Rental Trends Tracker, with the average price for a rental property in the UK now £1,291 per calendar month outside of London.

Couple Real Estate Listing Manchester UK Property

Image Source: ft.com

UK rents increase by 8.5% on previous year

Average UK rents have reached £1,291 per calendar month according to the latest data from Rightmove as their Rental Trends Tracker shows that the average UK rents have increased by 8.5% on the previous year and prices are at record levels.

Rightmove’s Rental Trends Tracker has also highlighted that UK rents have increased for the 17^th consecutive month, and the UK rental market is in desperate need of nearly 50,000 rental properties to bring rental supply back to pre-pandemic levels achieved in 2019.

Letting agents unable to meet the level of demand from tenants

The latest market statistics from Rightmove have shown that the number of rental properties available to prospective tenants is currently 11% higher than this time last year, however, this figure is still 26% below the levels in 2019 prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Letting agents are reportedly unable to meet the level of demand from tenants in the UK and are now receiving an average 13 enquiries per available rental property in the market, which while down from the 19 received last year, is still nearly triple the average 5 received in 2019.

In addition, the number of prospective tenants looking for a rental property in the UK has decreased by 17% compared to last year’s figures yet it is still a staggering 54% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Average rents increase as tenant affordability strains under the weight

Tenant affordability is being “severely tested” according to Rightmove as average rents continue to increase and reductions in rental prices are now at a five-year high for this period with the number of rental properties in the market seeing a reduction in asking price now standing at 22%.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s Director of Property Science, says: “The rental market is no longer at peak boiling point, but it remains at a very hot simmer. Looking at data across the whole market, we can see some slow improvements for tenants with more choice, and competition with other tenants slowly starting to ease. However, tenants may not feel the benefit of some of these improvements in their local market, as the balance between supply and demand remains so far from pre-pandemic levels. The fact that even with some improvements to the level of supply, we are still nearly 50,000 properties behind the pre-pandemic market, is a stark reminder that the industry needs more good quality rental homes, and we need to encourage investment from landlords to provide them.”
‘‘
’’

To speak to one of our expert team about our available properties and learn more about the current state of the UK property market, get in touch today.

Share this article