Thousands of new rental homes are needed in the UK

Thousands of new rental homes are needed in the UK

The demand for rental homes is at an unprecedented high at the moment, resulting in a massive need for new stock.

Ultimately, the truth about the UK housing market, and especially the UK rental market, is that there simply isn’t enough stock to satisfy the demand that currently exists across the country.

This isn’t any sort of new phenomenon, of course, it’s been a problem that has faced successive governments since the 90’s, but gradually the problem has become much more apparent.

That slow revealing of the issue has been sped up pretty significantly recently with the pandemic and the subsequent rush for more spacious housing and living spaces following lockdowns.

Dubbed the ‘race for space’ by some in the media, the reality was a race for all types of housing that caused a serious squeeze on supply from all angles. What is the solution, then? We need more housing.

The question of exactly how many new rental properties we’ll need is a question that has been debated by more than a few, with some suggesting tens of thousands, and some hundreds of thousands.

UK rental market

According to new research by Capital Economics, and reported by the Guardian, we’ll need almost 230,000 a year to meet the estimated 1.8 million new rental homes required.

As reported by the Guardian, “Private rented sector supply will have to increase by 227,000 homes a year to meet the demand for 1.8 million new households over the next decade, according to analysis by the consultancy Capital Economics.

The UK has faced a persistent shortage of new housing, adding to soaring house-price growth, with many people being forced to rent for longer. The number of households in the UK private rented sector increased from 2.8 million in 2007 to 4.5 million in 2017, according to official figures.

Private rents in Britain rose at their fastest rate on record in January and average advertised rent outside London was 9.9% higher than a year ago, according to data from property website Rightmove.”

This then begs the question, with the market so squeezed at the moment, is it worth thinking about moving?

Time to find a new rental home?

That will very much depend on your circumstances, however, if it’s something you’ve already been thinking about then chances are it could be worth preparing yourself early.

If you know what you’re going to be looking for then a good piece of advice would be to reach out and contact a reputable estate agent beforehand to let them know when you’ll be looking to make a change and also the type of properties and areas you’d be interested in.

We have relationships with tenants and clients all over the north west so if you’re looking for a new property then take a look through our current available rental homes across the UK?

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