PRS remains red-hot as tenant competition intensifies

Tenant interest in rental accommodation continued to rise over the summer, with new figures pointing to widespread growth across much of the country.

Fresh analysis from Dwelly highlights that demand remained strong during the third quarter of this year.

West Sussex has seen the highest concentration of properties being taken off the market, while Rutland posted the biggest quarterly jump.

The lettings acquisition specialist also says that nearly one-third of England’s rental stock had already secured tenants during the July to September period.

That is a 1.7 percentage point rise from earlier months.

Strong tenant demand

The firm’s head of M&A, Sam Humphreys, said: “Whilst uncertainty remains due to the upcoming Renters’ Rights Bill, it’s clear there is no let-up in rental demand and across much of the country, a very high proportion of rental stock continues to let quickly, underlining the strength of tenant appetite.

“For landlords, this demonstrates that the fundamentals of the market remain strong.

“Even with legislative changes on the horizon, there is no shortage of tenants needing homes, which means rental returns remain resilient.”

He added: “The real challenge is ensuring that properties are managed in a way that keeps pace with both tenant demand and regulatory requirements.”

Strong rental demand recorded

The company’s Rental Demand Index, which tracks the proportion of advertised properties marked as ‘let agreed’ across English counties, recorded 31% of listings snapped up during Q3.

West Sussex had 47.2% of available rentals already committed to occupiers.

Wiltshire follows at 43.0%, whilst Cumbria (41.3%), Somerset (41.8%), Suffolk (41.4%) and Hampshire (40.5%) all demonstrated robust tenant appetite.

Conversely, Nottinghamshire registered the weakest performance, with fewer than one-fifth (18.4%) of properties securing occupants.

Areas with falling demand

Landlords in Rutland saw the steepest acceleration, jumping 9.2%, and the City of London climbed 8.6%.

Northumberland rose 6.5%, Norfolk gained 4.5%, with Greater London growing by 4.4%.

However, several regions experienced declines including Herefordshire falling 12%, followed by the Isle of Wight (-9.8%), Cornwall (-7.5%), Gloucestershire (-5.6%) and North Yorkshire (-5.3%).