Revealed: The imbalance of the property market

Revealed: The imbalance of the property market

0:03 AM, 22nd March 2023, About A year ago

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Rental stock accounts for just 5% of available homes in some areas of England, according to new research.

The findings from the Gradual Homeownership provider, Wayhome, revealed in areas like the Isle of Wight rental properties account for just 5% of the total market stock.

According to the report, there are 15.6 million owner occupiers across England, accounting for 64% of the total market while renters make up the remaining 36%.

‘Imbalance of available stock highlights everything wrong with property market’

The report revealed there are currently 758,351 rental and sales properties listed across the market in England.

According to the firm, 619,942 of these are homes listed for sale versus 138,409 being available for rent. This means that the housing market stock accounts for 82% of all homes listed, versus just 18% for the rental market.

Co-founder, and chief executive officer of Wayhome, Nigel Purves said: “The imbalance of available property stock really highlights everything that is wrong with the property market in England.

“Many aspiring homeowners find it impossible to make the jump between the rental sector and buying for themselves.

“The result of this disproportionate stock availability is far greater demand for rental properties which only pushes the cost of renting ever higher, making it even more difficult to make the move from one sector to another.”

‘Government looked to dampen the financial return available to BTL landlords’

In Herefordshire, available rental properties make up just 6% of all current property listings, with Cumbria (7%), Cornwall (7%) and Northumberland (7%) also seeing rental market stock sit below 10% of total homes available in the current market.

Across a further 26 counties, rental property availability is less than the national benchmark of 18%.

Mr Purves said: “The government has consistently looked to dampen the financial return available to buy-to-let landlords, which has only reduced the level of stock further, to the detriment of the nation’s tenants.”

‘High cost of renting makes it very difficult to accumulate a mortgage deposit’

The most balanced area of the property market is the City of London, where current homes for sale versus current homes to let sits at an even 50/50 split.

The West Midlands follows the City of London, however rental properties across the county account for just 31% of all homes currently listed for either rent or sale.

Mr Purves added: “The high cost of renting makes it very difficult to accumulate a mortgage deposit in the first place.

“At the same time, the stock supply balance is currently out of kilter and while renters make up over a third of those living within the housing market, rental stock forms less than a fifth of homes currently available on the market.”


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