London’s letting agents face the most competition and the highest demand

London and Wales have seen the biggest rise in letting agent numbers in the past year, with a 4% increase each, research reveals.

The study from Zero Deposit shows this percentage translates to a much larger figure in London, where 232 more letting agents have joined the market, compared to only 36 in Wales.

London now has 6,189 letting agents, the highest of any region in Britain, followed by the South East with 3,967.

The study also shows that there are 24,237 letting agents across Britain, a 3% increase from January last year.

‘Demand for rental homes remains high’

The firm’s chief executive, Sam Reynolds, said: “Demand for rental homes remains high and we’ve seen the number of letting agents operating across Britain increase across the board in order to help service this demand.

“London certainly remains the heart of the lettings market in this respect, with the capital not only home to the largest number of letting agents but having also seen the largest increase in transaction numbers.

“London’s letting agents have also had the busiest start to the year, currently listing the highest average number of available rental properties per agent of all regions of Britain.”

He added: “Of course, this doesn’t take into account the resource requirements related to the ongoing management of these rental properties and they remain a vital cog in the machine of the nation’s rental market.”

Highest number of rental properties available

The study suggests that London’s rental market needs this growth in letting agent numbers, as the city has the highest number of rental properties available, with nearly 50,000 homes listed for rent.

The South East is the only region that comes close to this level of rental market stock, with 20,574 current listings.

Zero Deposit also reveals that London’s letting agents have the highest average number of rental properties on their books, with eight each.

The East Midlands is the second highest, with seven each, followed by the West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber with six each.

The average number of rental properties per letting agent across Britain is five.

Share This Article