The rental market has started to show signs of slowing the BBC reports today. According to property website Zoopla, the rate at which rents are increasing has risen at its slowest rate for nearly 3 years. While rents are still rising, this tentative slow down gives hope for tenants that the increases in the market may soon start to level off.

Renting in the UK has become increasingly difficult over recent years, with on average 17 prospective tenants chasing every available home, down from 30 to 35 this time last year. The data varies across the regions, but Zoopla has pointed out that the current rate of increase is roughly on par with the rate of wage increase. Their figures cover tenants taking on a new rental agreement, not those renewing existing leases.

Rents increased by 5.7% in the year to the end of June, the slowest since September 2021, and only 1.6% in the first 6 months of this year.

On average, renting is 20% more expensive than it was a couple of years ago. More people are being forced to lower their expectations or go into shared housing. Although competition for new places has dropped, it's still twice the level before the pandemic. Falls in student numbers and graduates are a factor in the decline, as fewer students arrive from overseas and many graduates choose to move back in with their families. Savills claims that 57% of first time buyers had family assistance in 2023, the highest percentage for 11 years.

But some areas are showing signs of rents falling. Nottingham, Brighton, London, and Glasgow all showed a small dip in the average rental price. Richard Donnell, executive director of Zoopla, claims that the real problem is that the number of properties available to rent has not risen since 2016. While demand has fallen 39% in the last year, he predicted that the only thing that could make a real impact on rents would be an increase in available homes. How that could come about is uncertain.

(Sources: bbc.co.uk)