Competition for rental properties is easing in South West

Rental prices in the South West showed a yearly increase of 2.6 per cent, with the average monthly rent reaching £1,147.

This growth is slightly above the nationwide average, which saw rents for new lets increase by 1.9 per cent over the year to January, reaching an average of £1,319.

This is according to a recent report from the property website Zoopla, which also found that the number of average inquiries per property was 4.8 in February, down from 6.5 last year.

The website claims this means there are fewer tenants typically competing for each home.

This marks the lowest level of competition for the month of February in six years, and is said to be "clear evidence" of the rental market becoming more balanced after a peak in competition seen in 2022 and 2023.

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: "The rental market is moving back towards balance as demand cools and more homes become available to rent.

"Renters are facing less competition for homes and slower rent increases than in recent years.

"Localised changes in demand and supply are resulting in rents falling in some cities but this will be only a short-lived trend.

"However, supply remains well below pre-pandemic levels, which means increasing the number of rental homes remains key to improving affordability for the UK renters over the long term."

Nathan Emerson, chief executive of property professionals' body Propertymark, said: "We currently have a rental landscape where demand for properties continues to outstrip available stock.

"When looking at the latest data available, Propertymark members report a near seven per cent increase in the number of landlords who have chosen to sell their properties year-on-year."

Across the UK, the rental growth remains stronger in more affordable northern markets where rents are lower, such as cities like Liverpool, Newcastle, and Glasgow.

These cities are said to be seeing stronger increases of three to 4.6 per cent.

Zoopla has said it expects rents to increase by around two to three per cent on average across the UK during 2026.

This projection, like the others, is based on Zoopla’s rental market index, which is based on asking rents and is then adjusted to reflect achieved rents.