Earlier today, Rightmove disclosed that 16 percent of the properties currently listed for sale were previously part of the rental market. This figure has increased from 13 percent before the pandemic. According to Rightmove’s rental market snapshot, a sentiment survey conducted by the portal indicates that landlords are currently dealing with multiple challenges.
The study highlights that landlords’ top concerns include the government’s sentiment towards the industry, higher taxation, and growing compliance requirements. Additionally, a quarter of landlords express worries about the escalating cost of buy-to-let mortgages.
The data indicates that landlords are particularly worried about their properties with lower EPC ratings, especially with upcoming government changes to EPC requirements. Specifically, 33 percent of landlords who own properties with lower EPC ratings now plan to sell them instead of improving the rating, compared to 20 percent last year.
Despite these challenges, landlords highly value having good tenants in their properties and are committed to retaining them for extended periods. The majority (57%) of landlords report that, on average, tenants choose to stay in their properties for more than 24 months, while only eight percent stay for a year or less.
In the meantime, the portal reports that average asking rents for new tenants outside of London have hit a new record this quarter, standing at £1,231 per calendar month.
Despite the rapid increase in prices, rental properties are still being quickly leased out, and many landlords are experiencing long queues of potential tenants eager to view and rent their properties.
The current average time to find a tenant for a rental home is 17 days, the shortest duration since November 2022.
Tenant demand remains strong, surpassing the already busy levels of the previous year, currently standing three percent higher than the same time in 2022 and a remarkable 42 percent higher than in June 2019.
The difference between the supply and demand for rental properties has slightly reduced compared to the previous year. Available rental properties have increased by seven percent in June 2023 compared to the same month in 2022. However, this number is still 42 percent lower than the supply levels recorded in 2019.
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