Wrexham is the UK’s busiest rental market

Wrexham has solidified its position as the UK’s busiest rental market, with letting agents receiving an average of 54 enquiries per available property, according to Rightmove.

Its ‘Demand Tracker’ reveals that this figure far exceeds the national average of 19 enquiries per rental home.

Glasgow and Bristol closely follow Wrexham, with 52 and 51 enquiries per property, respectively.

‘Easing in the rental market’

Rightmove’s property expert, Tim Bannister, said: “Whilst at a high level there has been an easing in the rental market compared with last year, from speaking with agents, we know that many local markets are yet to feel the effect from these improvements.

“At the same time, prospective tenants are still likely to be experiencing a very hot and competitive market.”

He adds: “To be receiving upwards of 50 enquiries per available rental property in some local areas is an astonishing figure, which goes to show the significant amount of work still to be done to improve the balance of supply and demand across different areas of Great Britain.”

Average advertised rents

Meanwhile, average advertised rents outside of London have reached a record £1,349 per calendar month, a 5% increase from last year, the property platform reveals.

And while the PRS has shown signs of easing compared to its peak in 2022, demand remains high, and supply continues to be a challenge.

The number of tenants seeking homes has decreased by 16% year-on-year, while the availability of rental properties has improved by 8%.

However, the market still requires more homes to prevent a reversal in these positive trends.

The number of tenants looking for homes remains 17% higher than pre-pandemic levels, and the availability of rental homes is still 32% below 2019 figures.

How people choose where to live

The ARLA Propertymark president, Angharad Trueman, said: “Since the coronavirus pandemic there has been a sizable reformatting of how people choose the location on where they might like to live.

“Traditionally, people have chosen locations that have strong links to their work location, for example, close to major cities.”

She added: “However, with the homeworking revolution now a more widespread part of life, it has given people the flexibility to look further afield to locations that bring additional benefits to their home life, such as easier access to countryside or the ability dwell in a more substantial property due to typically lower rental prices away from busy metropolitan areas.”

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