Published: 30/07/2020
The number of prospective tenants and supply of rental properties peaked at an all-time high for the month of June,29 per cent of agents witnessed landlords increasing rent in June
The number of new prospective tenants continued to rise during June, following the Government’s COVID-19 lockdown. The average branch registered 79 new tenants per branch, compared to 70 on average in May.
Year-on-year, this figure is the highest recorded for the month of June, with a previous record of 71 in June 2019. However, this is still down on pre-lockdown figures when there was an average of 82 prospective tenants registered per branch in February.
Similarly, the number of rental properties on the market in June continued to pick up. The number of properties managed per branch reached an all-time high for the month of June, with an average of 200 properties managed per letting agent branch. This is down slightly from 208 in May, but still sets the market up for an active summer compared to the usual seasonal lull.
Regionally, Yorkshire & Humberside saw the highest number of properties managed, with an average of 264 per branch and Wales had the lowest number of properties on their books, with an average of just 104 per branch.
The number of tenants experiencing rent rises increased in June, with 29 per cent of agents witnessing landlords increasing rent compared to just 14 per cent in May. However, this is still the lowest number of rent increases for the month of June since 2016.
The average time properties were empty between tenancies decreased to four weeks in June from five weeks during May. This is still the longest period on record properties have remained void between tenancies for the month of June, with a previously consistent figure of three weeks.