The latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey, published this week, backs up the notion of a strengthening property market.
Buyer demand is up for the fourth month in a row, with an increased 12% of surveyors reported an increase in new enquiries over the past month. An additional 16% of surveyors reported a growth in house prices. Only two regions saw a drop in prices – Yorkshire and the Humber, with a fall of 23%, while 4% of surveyors in the South West also reported a fall in property values.
Surveyors in both Scotland and Northern Ireland expect to see strong growth in the coming months, especially in the run up to the Stamp Duty deadlines in April when rates will revert to their previous cut-off points.
Rental market chasm grows
The situation isn’t quite as healthy in the rental market however, where tenant demand still significantly outstrips supply. Around 29% of surveyors reported a drop in new landlord instructions and, at the same time, 19% said they’d seen a rise in tenant demand over the last few months. The result being that one third of surveyors expect rents to rise in the first quarter of 2025.
RICS president Tina Paillet said their data showed renters were feeling the pressure. And it didn’t look like easing any time soon.
“The Autumn Budget’s immediate stamp duty increases for landlords acquiring rental properties may increase opportunities in supply for owner-occupiers, but it will make it more challenging to address the critical shortage of rental homes,” she said.
Landlords continue to sell off properties
This is backed up by a survey published today which shows around 40% of landlords plan to sell rental properties over the next 12 months. The survey, by Pegasus Insight, and commissioned by the National Residential Landlords Association, also showed that 19% had already sold off some of their rental properties over the past year. This contrasted with 8% who had bought properties over the same time frame.
Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “Tenants the length and breadth of the country know that there are not enough homes to rent.”
He added: “Whilst landlords selling up might benefit a minority of tenants in a position to afford a home of their own, the vast majority will face a growing struggle to access rental homes.”