The rental market across the UK’s major cities has started to pick up again as the country slowly eases out of the lockdown, according to the government’s roadmap, research from letting agents Barrows and Forrester has revealed.
Letting Agent Today reports that the latest market data from the estate agents have revealed that there has been a spike in tenant demand for rental properties across the UK. Demand for rental homes now sits at 37.6 per cent for the first quarter of the year, having climbed 10.4 per cent since the final quarter of last year.
Of all the UK’s major cities, Birmingham has experienced the biggest increase in rental demand in Q1 of 2021, with a 25.2 per cent uplift for demand for rental properties, and 46.7 per cent of all marketed properties have been snapped up by tenants.
Bournemouth has also seen a considerable increase, up 23.3 per cent between Q1 of this year and the final quarter of 2020. Cardiff (18.6 per cent), Southampton (16.8 per cent) and Newport (16.4 per cent) also rank within the top five largest increases in rental demand.
Only Liverpool and Belfast has seen a drop in demand for rentals during the first quarter, down by 2.3 per cent and 15.8 per cent respectively
James Forrester, managing director of Barrows and Forrester, said: “It’s been a very tough year for landlords and many have seen their rental income reduce due to tenants falling on tough financial times, while others have struggled to find a tenant in the first place.”
He added that as a result, early signs of rental demand returning to the market will be welcomed, and hopefully it will be a continuing trend through the rest of 2021.
“The green light for some university students to return and the fast-approaching start of a new academic year should further boost this initial increase in demand and so things are certainly starting to look up for the UK rental sector,” he said.
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