The Propertymark report said the number of new tenancies being agreed remains subdued compared with a year earlier, adding that ‘uncertainty appears to be slowing the market’
Around nine new tenants were registered for each available rental home in March as demand continues to outpace supply, according to a property professionals’ body.
Propertymark noted a slight dip in the average number of new prospective tenants registering per member branch, from 89 in February to 82 in March 2024, hinting at a potential cooling off in demand. Despite a marginal increase in the stock of available homes, the balance between supply and demand remains tipped, with around nine new hopefuls for every property on the market last month.
The report also highlighted that the number of new tenancies being agreed is still lagging behind the figures from the previous year, suggesting that market uncertainty is putting a damper on activity.
Propertymark’s chief executive, Nathan Emerson, 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.”
Echoing the sentiments of industry experts, 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.”
Hilary Breeze, a partner at Helen Breeze Property Management in Kent pointed out: “The supply of available rental properties is much lower than we would expect for this time of year.”
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, Rightmove found. This was 8.5% higher than a year earlier.
The average advertised rent in London also hit a fresh high in the first quarter of 2024, at £2,633 per month. Rightmove said that although the balance of supply and demand is slowly improving, it estimates that nearly 50,000 rental properties would still be needed to head back to the pre-pandemic level of rental supply.
The website’s director of property science, Tim Bannister, said earlier this week: “The rental market is no longer at peak boiling point but it remains at a very hot simmer.”