Competition between tenants seeking rental properties are creating a race to rent as listings are dwindling in numbers, according to figures compiled for the BBC. The average listing time for a two-bedroom rental home on Zoopla is now 25 days, which is 10 days less than the pre-pandemic average. High demand and a lack of available properties are forcing potential tenants to make almost immediate decisions on whether to apply for a tenancy. Estate agents and landlords say that the situation is unlikely to change without more investment in the sector.
Adrian Draude, who is 32, shared that he and his wife were ill-prepared for the level of competition they faced when searching for a flat after returning from their honeymoon. “We found properties [on listings sites] that were the perfect fit, saved them for later, went back that day and they had already disappeared,” he said. The couple recently found a place in Guildford, Surrey, but Adrian described the process as “aggravating” as he would see a place then it would disappear.
Returning to the family home is one impact of rapidly rising rents, battles to find property in the lettings sector, and the high cost of becoming a first-time buyer. Official figures reveal that 3.6 million people aged between 20 and 34 are living with their parents, including a third of young men.
The shrinking choice and faster race for rental properties have been revealed in the figures compiled by Savills for the BBC. The data analysts compared listings on Zoopla of properties to rent in the 2019 calendar year and the 12 months to March 2021. Competition is even greater in some regions, such as in the North West of England where a two-bedroom flat was listed for 37 days in 2019 and has since halved to 18 days. The average is now 15 days in Scotland, where a policy of rent control has been in place.
According to Richard Valentine-Selsey, director of residential research at Savills, the situation is unlikely to change anytime soon. There is not enough supply coming onto the market, and more investment is essential to bring more homes available to rent, including from individual landlords and big institutional landlords
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