Surge in Rental Enquiries
Record numbers of tenants continue to enter the UK rental sector generating a surge in enquiries in many areas. London has recorded a 35% year-on-year increase in enquiries, followed by Scotland (22%), the North of England (22%) and the South of England (21%).
It seems that these enquiries are being quickly converted into lettings with agents reporting more than twice as many lets in January and February as in the same period last year.
The new 2010 – 2011 English Housing Survey shows that an additional 275,000 new tenants flooded the private rental sector in 2011 – a 24% increase on the previous year. Given the flying start to lettings in 2012, it would appear that this upward trend is set to continue and that pressure on the private rental market will keep rental prices high.
Couples under 35 years of age is the largest group of new tenants looking for a home, with 2 bedroomed apartments the most popular request. Increasingly, more and more families are also beginning to enter the private rental sector as well as professional sharers who find they can afford a larger or significantly better property when looking with a friend or colleague.
In London, the majority of lets have been to overseas tenants looking for fully furnished, high quality apartments. London remains the most expensive place to be a tenant, with rental prices increasing 0.5% in a month to an average asking price of £2,086. It is cheapest to rent in Yorkshire and the Humber, where the average rent is just £558 a month.
Sources:
Countywide
The English Housing Survey 2010-2011
