New research has uncovered the nation’s rental market hotspot with tenant demand that far surpasses London.
The researchers measured tenant demand for rental homes in each county of England, based on the amount of available rental stock that had been marked as ‘let agreed’.
According to the study, Cornwall came out tops as the most popular rental location in the UK with an impressive 64 per cent of available rental stock already let.
West Sussex follows closely behind at 60.1 per cent, with Bedfordshire (56.2%), Dorset (54.9%), and Wiltshire (54.8%) making up the top five. Meanwhile, London was a long way down the list with only 30 per cent of properties let out.
In addition to topping the list in demand, Cornwall has experienced the most significant quarterly increase in demand, with 26 (25.9) per cent more rental properties let in Q1 compared to Q4 of 2022. Rutland came in second with a 14.6 per cent increase in rental demand, followed by Bristol (+12%), East Sussex (+11.2%) and Greater Manchester (+9.4%). On the other hand in London demand was down by -1.4 per cent from the previous quarter.
On an annual basis, Bedfordshire boasts the largest growth in demand at 5.3 per cent, with Worcestershire coming second at 4.8 per cent growth compared to Q1 of 2022. East Sussex (+4.5%), Staffordshire (+3.7%), and Greater Manchester (+3%) also feature among the top five counties with the most significant annual increase in rental demand. Once again London had experienced a slight fall in the annual numbers of -2 per cent.
The West Midlands currently has the lowest rental demand at 19.3 per cent, with Durham experiencing the largest quarterly decrease of -10.6 per cent and Herefordshire the most significant annual drop at -12.8 per cent.
Across England, the index for Q1 revealed that 35.8 per cent of all rental market stock has already been secured by tenants, with demand growing by 1.9 per cent compared to the previous quarter. While rental demand has crept up in Q1, the market as a whole remains -2.1 per cent cooler compared to this time last year.
James Forrester, Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, which conducted the research, commented: “In some areas demand remains incredibly high, while in others it has increased substantially both on a quarterly and annual basis. The upshot for tenants in these high demand areas is a far tougher time securing a rental home and when they do, they can expect to pay an inflated level of rent for the pleasure.”
So those considering a move within the rental market are best advised to act sooner, rather than later, before demand starts to soar and their options are substantially reduced.”
