Date Published 02 February 2024
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has stated that the UK housing market has improved in December as buyer demand steadied and sales picked up. Unfortunately, as for the private rental sector there is still a big shortage of properties.
In a recent UK Residential Survey, Agents and Landlords have responded that they have seen a +17% demand increase for private renters in December. Even though this demand had risen, it still dropped behind previous months' due to the slow down during the festive period.
Agents have reported a scarcity of Landlord instructions during 2023 with PRS stock. This has caused 50% of agents to predict that rents will still increase during 2024's 1st Quarter, with a probable 4% rise in rental prices during 2024. It is also believed that there will be an annual average of a 5% increase over the next 5 years.
Even though Landlord instructions have been scarce there is a claim in new research from The Mortgage Lender that most Landlords still have been extending their property portfolio. The Mortgage Lender states that 52% of residential BTL Landlords have added to their property portfolios in the last 12 months, with 25% having added a single property and a further 27% adding multiple.
The research looked into what has prompted Landlords to add to their portfolios. Increased tenant demand (31%) came out top, while 25% said they grew their portfolio because they had spare capital to deploy.
For new buyers their enquiries were -3% in December which was a massive decrease from Novembers -13%.
A director of a property lender, said: 'As lenders look to reduce mortgage rates in order to increase lending volumes, buyers are definitely feeling more confident in their ability to buy, both due to affordability but also with the possibility of more stock coming on the market. 2023 was an incredibly flat year for sales, with multiple factors affecting the market, from interest rates rises and high inflation to low stock levels. Better sentiment is expected with encouraging prospects for the year ahead.'
