The UK’s rental hotspot – but is it because of Kier Starmer or Ryan Reynolds? – Property Investor Today

Rightmove’s Demand Tracker reveals that Wrexham is the busiest rental market, based on millions of local data points across more than 250 local authorities.

An average letting agent in Wrexham is currently receiving 54 enquiries for every rental home that comes onto the market. This high-volume of applications from prospective tenants compares to a Great Britain average of 19 in the rental market right now.

But the person behind Wrexham’s top-of-the-table performance is more likely to be Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer than local football investor and Hollywood superstar Ryan Reynolds.

That’s because policies by this government – and its Conservative predecessor – are thought to have reduced rental supply as private landlords have left the sector because it is no longer profitable.

Glasgow is second on Rightmove’s list, with an average of 52 enquiries being sent to letting agents per available rental property, and Bristol is third on the list, with an average of 51 enquiries per property.

Meanwhile, average advertised rents outside London are now a record £1,349 per calendar month and 5% higher than this time last year. However, this is down from the peak annual rate of growth of 12% in 2022 and is the slowest that rents have been increasing since 2021. 

The 5% growth is in-line with Rightmove’s price prediction for the rental market for this year.

While the market is still very busy, the imbalance between supply and demand in the rental market has been improving this year, says the portal.

The number of tenants looking for a home has dropped by 16% compared to last year, and at the same time, the overall number of available homes on the market has improved by 8%.

The rental market is still in need of more supply of available homes to prevent a reversal in the improvements to the balance of supply and demand this year.

The number of tenants looking for a home is still 17% ahead of the more normal pre-pandemic 2019 market, while the number of available rental homes is still 32% behind the same period in 2019.

A recent report from Rightmove also identified that a record proportion of former rental homes are now available on the sales market, a sign of more landlords selling up, with high mortgage rates, a potential increase to capital gains tax and increased costs to landlords all potential drivers of the increase.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert, says: “Whilst at a high-level there has been an easing in the rental market compared with last year, from speaking with agents, we know that many local markets are yet to feel the effect from these improvements. At the same time, prospective tenants are still likely to be experiencing a very hot and competitive market. To be receiving upwards of 50 enquiries per available rental property in some local areas is an astonishing figure, which goes to show the significant amount of work still to be done to improve the balance of supply and demand across different areas of Great Britain.”

–

Rightmove’s Demand Tracker: Top 20 Busiest Markets