Tenant demand continues to outstrip supply

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by Gill Montia

The Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA) has reported that over the past three months, a record number of its members agreed that tenant demand continued to outstrip the supply of property for rent.

In its latest survey of 444 letting agents, ARLA found that 39% more agents reported a widening gap between tenant demand and available properties to rent and the average length of time that a property remained empty between tenants fell from 24 days to 22.

Unmet demand for rental property was at its height in the Greater London area and the South East.

However, average rents actually fell 7% over the three months to the end of May, as a result of a rise in the number of new two-bedroom flats on the market. During the period average rental income from flats fell 9%.

According to Ian Potter, head of operations at ARLA, market corrections are now taking place in individual locations throughout the country as new blocks of two-bedroom flats come on-stream.

ARLA also reported that 77% of landlords surveyed are not planning to either buy or sell properties in the near future.