50,000 rental properties needed says Rightmove

The rental market is still extremely busy, with nearly 50,000 rental properties needed to bring the supply of rental homes back to pre-pandemic levels says Rightmove. The number of available rental properties is 11% higher than last year, but 26% below 2019. The number of people looking for a rental home is 17% lower than last year, but 54% above 2019. The average number of enquiries each home is getting is now 13, down from 19 at this time last year, but still nearly triple the 5 in March 2019.

According to the portal, average advertised rents outside of London rise to a new record of £1,291 per calendar month (pcm), though the pace of rent growth continues to slow, with average rents now 8.5% higher than last year. Greater London rents reach a new record by two pounds, rising to £2,633 per calendar month. Average advertised rents in the capital are now 5.3% higher than last year, with rent growth steadily slowing since the peak of 16.1% in Q3 2022.