This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
The most recent Property Activity Index from Agency Express reveals that there were lower levels of activity in the private rental sector during February.
According to the report, the UK’s rental market showed signs of apparent weakness in the last month, with the number of homes to let falling. This lack of supply is only adding to the restricted choice for renters.
Declines
Throughout the UK, the number of new listings ‘to let’ stood at -13.8% in February. This was the largest month-on-month decline since the first records in 2012.
However, the number of properties actually ‘let’ in the same period rose to sit at 3.4%. This said, previous years were more robust, sitting at 4.5% in 2016 and 5.5% in 2015.
Performance activity across the UK shows that just two regions of the twelve recorded by the Property Activity Index saw increased in listings ‘to let.’ Five saw rises in properties ‘let.’
The two regions seeing a rise in properties ‘to let’ were:
- East Midlands-10%
- West Midlands-3%
UK rental market slows in February
The three regions seeing the highest number of properties ‘let’ in February were:
- South East-40.2%
- West Midlands-7.6%
- Scotland 6.3%
Changes
Stephen Watson, managing director of Agency Express, observed: ‘The Property Activity Index historically shows us a drop in figures throughout February. However, this month we have seen a greater fall than in years previous, an impact of the buy-to-let changes which will undoubtedly affect the market ongoing.’[1]
[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/3/rental-market-slows-in-february-as-supply-crunch-continues
