Nine new tenants registered for each rental home in March, says report

In March, there were nearly 'nine new tenants registered for each available rental home', as demand continues to surpass the supply, according to a report by Propertymark. The study showed that from 89 in February, the average number of new potential tenants decreased to 82 per branch in the subsequent month, suggesting a slight slowdown in demand.

The total available homes saw a small increase, but the report maintained: "However, despite being slightly weakened, demand continues to outstrip supply, with around nine new applicants registered for each available property in March."

It was also reported that compared to the previous year, fewer new tenancies are being agreed upon, hinting that market uncertainty might be hindering progress. Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, commented: "In the residential lettings sector tenant demand decreased and stock levels increased marginally."

"However, demand continues to outpace supply overall, with nine new applicants registered for each available property."

Industry professionals provided further insights, Sophie Lang, director of Lang Llewellyn & Co in Cornwall said: "This month we have found that although it is still very much a landlords' market, tenants are finding affordability is a stumbling block."

"We have seen rent reductions this month, the first time in a long while, and we are finding rents are stabilising although still higher than this time last year."

Hilary Breeze, a partner at Helen Breeze Property Management in Kent, stated: "The supply of available rental properties is much lower than we would expect for this time of year."

"This is in part due to a strong uptick in demand for rental properties in March, but also due to fewer properties coming on the market across the board. Even though inflation is coming down, monthly rental prices are staying strong."

Earlier this week, property website Rightmove reported that average advertised rents hit new highs in the first quarter of this year.

Across Britain, excluding London, the average monthly rent being asked for a property coming on the market in the first quarter of 2024 was £1,291, according to Rightmove. This was 8.5 percent higher than a year earlier.

The average advertised rent in London also reached a new high in the first quarter of 2024, standing at £2,633 per month.

Rightmove indicated that although the balance of supply and demand is slowly improving, it estimates that nearly 50,000 rental properties would still be needed to return to the pre-pandemic level of rental supply.

Tim Bannister, the website's director of property science, said earlier this week: "The rental market is no longer at peak boiling point but it remains at a very hot simmer."

The percentage of rental properties experiencing a price reduction is currently at 22 percent, an increase from 16 percent the previous year, and the highest for this time of year since 2019 when it was 23 percent, according to Rightmove.

The property website further added that asking rents for larger homes, such as four-bedroom detached houses and properties with five or more bedrooms, are most likely to see reductions.