Rental market defies usual summer slowdown

There has been a further improvement in letting market activity, according to board company Agency Express.

The number of new rental property listings ‘to let’ increased by 8.5% during July compared to the previous month, while the volume of properties ‘let’ was up 6% during the same period, the latest letting data from the Agency Express Property Activity Index has revealed.

Looking at performance across the UK, eight of the 12 regions recorded by the Property Activity Index reported increases in new listings ‘to let’, while 10 of the 12 saw a hike in properties ‘let’. 

July’s top performing region was the East Midlands, with new homes to let increasing by 46.7% month-on-month, while properties let rose to sit at 23.3%. East Anglia followed suit with figures for properties ‘to let’ sitting at 27.4% and properties ‘let’ at 29.6%. Both regions reported record best figures for July.

Other prominent performing regions included:

Properties ‘to let’

South East 16.4%

Yorkshire & Humberside 16.1%

South West 10.8%

Wales 10.8%

Properties ‘let’

North East 17.2%

Yorkshire & Humberside 7%

South West 6.7%

London 5.8%

Wales 4.3%

South East 4%

The largest declines in this month’s Property Activity Index were recorded in Central England. New listings in the region dropped for a second consecutive month at -0.5% while properties 'let' fell to -11%.

But over a three-month rolling period figures were greater at 3.9% and 0.1% and year on year activity remains on trend.

Stephen Watson, managing director of Agency Express, commented: “July has been an unexpected month for the UK lettings market. Usually we would see slower movement throughout the summer holidays but this month’s activity, which is somewhat reflective of an increase in our customer base has been buoyant.

“Looking forwards, while we expect to see further increases in August, we don’t envisage a real pickup in activity until September. It will be interesting to see if the current rate of activity continues.”

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