Home rental demand up by almost a third in Shropshire
Demand for rental property in Shropshire and the rest of the West Midlands rose at its fastest rate since January during October, new figures show.
As people continue to struggle to get a foot onto the housing ladder, demand for rental properties has increased, with a 27 per cent increase in tenant demand in the three months to October.
The figures, which were released by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors today, will also mean rents increase, backed by strong demand.
West Midlands tenants can expect a 4.5 per cent rise in rent during 2013, compared with a national average increase of four per cent. Gary Preston, of lettings agency Annabel Church in Telford, said he was not surprised by the figure.
"It has been very buoyant," he said. "Almost all our stock is gone, which I have never known at this time of year, and some has been going within 24 or 48 hours of becoming available.
"The market is growing, whether because of landlords buying to let or people renting out their houses when they move on, and I think it's going to continue next year as people see renting as more socially acceptable now."
He added that interest rates and the static housing market were adding to demand for rental properties.
John Andrews, of Bridgnorth-based estate agents Doolittle & Dalley, added: "We are finding that all types of property are letting well with lettings being arranged within 14 days of properties coming available, and with a choice of prospective tenant."
As demand has increased, so has stock, with 21 per cent more chartered surveyors in the region reporting increasing numbers of landlords placing their properties on the market.
Meanwhile, with the region's lettings market still so buoyant, the cost of renting a home continued to rise, and 13 per cent more surveyors reported rises rather than falls in rental values.
The latest RICS figures also showed that many people are concerned about a lack of regulation in the lettings sector, with 90 per cent of tenants in a separate survey calling for compulsory regulation for agents.
