Rental market still strong

ARLA Propertymark have released their latest rental market snapshot. It shows that the rental market, whilst not at the extreme levels of previous months, is still breaking records and carrying momentum.

Rental market snapshot

The average number of prospective tenants registered per branch fell to 88, this is down from May’s figure of 97.

However, year-on-year, this is still the highest figure on record for the month of June. Last year’s June data showed the average number of prospective tenants was 79.

Regionally, the West Midlands was the highest ranked area when it came to prospective tenants with an average of 128 per branch.

This is contrasted with Scotland where the average was only 34 prospective tenants registering in June.

House price growth starting to normalise

Other data released this month shows the average price of a property in the UK has dropped slightly, as the step down in stamp duty thresholds has “taken the heat out” of the UK housing market, according to lender Nationwide.

They report that house prices fell marginally in July compared with June, but were still 10.5% higher year-on-year.

They have also commented that the average price of a home cost £244,229 in July, down 0.5% month-on-month.

Nationwide’s chief economist, Robert Gardner, commented:

“The modest fall-back in July was unsurprising given the significant gains recorded in recent months. Indeed, house prices increased by an average of 1.6% a month over the April to June period – more than six times the average monthly gain recorded in the five years before the pandemic.

“The tapering of stamp duty relief in England is also likely to have taken some of the heat out of the market.”

Slower but not slow

Despite some of the recently seen urgency being removed, the UK-wide property market remains somewhat solid due to low interest rates on mortgages.

While property price growth appears to have slowed, there was no sign of it grinding to a halt due to the winding down of the stamp duty holiday, according to Iain McKenzie, CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals. He said:

“Demand is still strong and, while there has been a slight adjustment in some areas, house prices are still way above the average figures we’ve seen in recent years.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how the demand for properties changes as we come into the autumn. This will give us the opportunity to evaluate just how successful the stamp duty holiday has been at keeping the property market buoyant since the start of the pandemic.”

It was always expected that, as the impact of the discount on stamp duty tailed off, house prices would normalise. This is the time those landlords who have been patiently waiting to invest can start to grasp their opportunities.