The latest research by Zero Deposit has revealed that tenant demand for rental homes climbed by 1.5% during the first quarter of 2024, with almost one-third of all homes listed for rent already being snapped up by renters.
Some 31.8% of all rental homes listed to rent have already been taken by tenants, meaning that rental demand has increased by 1.5% compared to Q4 2023.
While only a handful of counties saw tenant demand climb during the final quarter of last year, no less than 34 have seen rental demand increase on a quarterly basis during the first three months of 2024.
The Isle of Wight has seen the largest increase in demand for rental homes, with demand climbing by +14.8% on a quarterly basis.
Cornwall has also seen a significant quarterly increase at 14.3%, with Northumberland (+11.9%), Dorset (10.6%) and West Sussex (7.9%) also ranking within the top five.
In contrast, Tyne and Wear has seen the largest reduction in demand for rental homes, down -7% versus Q4 2023, followed by North Yorkshire (6.1%), City of London (4.3%), Merseyside (3.2%) and Nottinghamshire (2%).
The strong quarterly uplifts seen since the end of last year mean that West Sussex (56.4%), the Isle of Wight (55.8%), Cornwall (54.5%) and Dorset (52.5%) also rank as the current hottest spots of the rental market and are the only counties where more than half of all homes listed for rent have already found a tenant.
The City of London is home to the lowest rental demand across the nation, with just 15.6% of current rental listings having already found a tenant.
Sam Reynolds, CEO at Zero Deposit, commented: “Following the seasonal slowdown seen in Q4 of last year, the rental market certainly seems to be back open for business, with tenant demand climbing across many counties during the first three months of this year.
“We anticipate that as we now enter into the busiest time of year for the housing market, tenant demand will continue to climb and this will put further strain on the level of stock available, with this supply-demand imbalance only pushing rents higher.”
