Rental Market Forecast – UK Housing Market Predictions for 2022

This report is an investigation into the current state of the UK’s rental market and what we can expect to see in 2022 and beyond. We’ve provided a summary of all our key findings below, along with explanations for each of these points.

Rental growth is expected to continue rising

The rental market experienced rapid growth during 2021. This growth is expected to slow in 2022, though should comfortably remain above pre-pandemic levels.

Supply is outweighed by demand

In 2022, the demand for UK rented properties will continue to exceed the available supply. This imbalance has been caused by more tenants looking to rent post-lockdown, along with landlords exiting the rental market.

Tenants will continue to return to cities

During the pandemic, many tenants moved away from large cities and towards more rural areas. We’re now seeing the reverse of this, with trends indicating a rising demand for city centre properties across the UK.

Rents are growing the quickest in the South West, Wales and the East Midlands

From July to September 2021, the South West, Wales and the East Midlands recorded the highest rental growths. We expect a similar trend to this in 2022 – with rental costs for areas in the Midlands and the North of England continuing to grow the quickest.

Growth is much slower in London

During the pandemic, London witnessed something of a mass exodus in terms of people leaving rental properties. Though Hamptons have forecast a small level of London rental growth in 2022 – with tenants now flocking back to London – it’ll be some time before London’s natural order is resumed.

2022 will be the right time to invest in property

Even though many landlords are selling up or avoiding any further investment in their portfolios, all the evidence suggests that the next few years will be prime-time for property purchasing in the UK.

The UK economy should return to pre-pandemic levels (though not across all sectors)

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) believe that the UK economy will return to pre-pandemic levels within the first few months of 2022. However, they also recognise that this recovery won’t happen evenly across all sectors.

Some UK regions will bounce back stronger than others

Savills have predicted that the North West and Midlands will see the largest property price increases in 2022. We expect something similar to occur in our rental market forecast, with the East Midlands showing particular potential to continue with rising rental property prices. 

What about 2023 and beyond?

There are numerous reliable rental market predictions concerning 2023 and 2024. For example, rent prices in the south of England (when excluding London) are forecast to rise 14.5% by the end of 2024.

Sources used for this report:

Zoopla – Rental Market Report

Hamptons – Rental Market Forecast

Hamptons – House Price Forecast

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