New rental properties see 11.5% jump in April

The latest research by property crowdfunding platform Property Partner, has highlighted a substantial 11.5% increase in new rental properties being listed in April, fuelled by the pre stamp duty stampede.

Warren Lewis
13th May 2016
rent blocks

Property Partner looked at the number of new rental properties being advertised last month compared to March in 90 towns and cities across the UK. In 82% of those locations, there was an increase in the number of new rental listings.

Worcester in the West Midlands saw rental listings surge by almost 50% (48.9%) in April with new rental property ads up more than a third in Chelmsford (38.0%), Stevenage (36.4%) and Southport (34.4%).

Of the major cities, new rental property listings in London increased by 9.1% in April compared to March, with the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham (31.8%) and Havering (31.5%) both seeing significant rises. Similarly, in Britain’s second city Birmingham, new rental property numbers were up by 20.7% and Manchester by 14.3%.

The following table shows the UK towns and cities that saw the biggest rise in new rental property listings in April compared to March.

Town/City

Region

% increase in new rental property listings

Worcester

West Midlands

48.9%

Chelmsford

East

38.0%

Stevenage

South East

36.4%

Southport

North West

34.4%

Telford

West Midlands

32.3%

Cheltenham

South West

30.3%

Watford

East

29.4%

Bath

South West

29.3%

Newport

Wales

27.0%

Woking

South East

26.8%

Gloucester

South West

26.4%

Milton Keynes

South East

24.7%

Oxford

South East

24.5%

Oldham

North West

23.3%

St Helens

North West

22.5%

Dan Gandesha, CEO of Property Partner, comments: "The rental market experienced a much-needed boost in April. Unfortunately, this was created by investor frenzy to beat the stamp duty hike, and supply is unlikely to continue on an upward trajectory.

If anything, options for tenants could become more limited in the next couple of months as traditional landlords balk at the prospect of paying the surcharge now, and losing mortgage interest tax relief from next year.

There is still strong tenant demand, but the Government has changed the traditional buy-to-let landscape, and this will have ramifications for the rental market longer term. That demand will increasingly have to be met by professional landlords like Property Partner, offering tenants a better product, and investors a better deal.”

More like this
Latest from Financial Reporter
Latest from Protection Reporter
CLOSE
Subscribe
to our newsletter

Join a community of over 20,000 landlords and property specialists and keep up-to-date with industry news and upcoming events via our newsletter.