Wrexham is Britain’s busiest rental market with 54 enquiries per home

Love or Hate Rightmove
  • Rightmove’s Demand Tracker reveals that Wrexham is the busiest rental market, with letting agents receiving an average of 54 enquiries per available property:
  • This compares to an average of 19 enquiries per rental property across Great Britain
  • Glasgow (52 enquiries per property) is second and Bristol (51 enquiries per property) is third
  • Average advertised rents outside London are at a record of £1,349 per calendar month, 5% higher than this time last year
  • While the market is still very busy, demand has been easing in the rental market compared with last year, supply has been improving, and price growth has been slowing
  • However, with a record proportion of former rental homes now being put up for sale, the market needs more supply of available homes and landlord investment to prevent a reversal in these improvements

Rightmove’s Demand Tracker reveals that Wrexham is the busiest rental market, based on millions of local data points across more than 250 local authorities.

An average letting agent in Wrexham is currently receiving 54 enquiries for every rental home that comes onto the market.

This high-volume of applications from prospective tenants compares to a Great Britain average of 19 in the rental market right now.

Glasgow is second on the list, with an average of 52 enquiries being sent to letting agents per available rental property, and Bristol is third on the list, with an average of 51 enquiries per property.

Meanwhile, average advertised rents outside London are now a record £1,349 per calendar month (pcm) and 5% higher than this time last year. However, this is down from the peak annual rate of growth of 12% in 2022 and is the slowest that rents have been increasing since 2021. The 5% growth is in-line with Rightmove’s price prediction for the rental market for this year.

While the market is still very busy, the imbalance between supply and demand in the rental market has been improving this year.

The number of tenants looking for a home has dropped by 16% compared to last year, and at the same time, the overall number of available homes on the market has improved by 8%.

The rental market is still in need of more supply of available homes to prevent a reversal in the improvements to the balance of supply and demand this year.

The number of tenants looking for a home is still 17% ahead of the more normal pre-pandemic 2019 market, while the number of available rental homes is still 32% behind the same period in 2019.

A recent report from Rightmove also identified that a record proportion of former rental homes are now available on the sales market, a sign of more landlords selling up, with high mortgage rates, a potential increase to capital gains tax and increased costs to landlords all potential drivers of the increase.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert, says: “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. 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.”

 

Rightmove’s Demand Tracker: Top 20 Busiest Markets

Area Average number of enquiries per available rental property Average advertised rent per calendar month
Wrexham 54 £967
Glasgow 52 £1,078
Bristol 51 £1,658
Plymouth 50 £1,137
Wirral 47 £999
Salford 47 £1,232
Stockport 46 £1,384
Oldham 45 £1,022
Tameside 45 £1,091
Bath and North East Somerset 45 £1,784
Blackpool 44 £805
Rochdale 42 £1,048
Lancaster 41 £992
Liverpool 41 £1,018
Edinburgh 41 £1,582
Manchester 41 £1,362
Norwich 41 £1,229
Telford and Wrekin 40 £1,030
Bury 40 £1,088
Wigan 39 £895

Rightmove

UK Property news updates shared directly from Rightmove PLC - the country's leading property portal.

You May Also Enjoy

bank of england interest rate
Breaking News

Bank of England Money and Credit – December 2024

These monthly statistics on the amount of, and interest rates on, borrowing and deposits by households and businesses are used by the Bank’s policy committees to understand economic trends and developments in the UK banking system. Key points: Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals rose by £1.0 billion, to £3.6 billion in December. Net…
Read More
Breaking News

Housing market gets off to its strongest start in three years, with new sales agreed up 12 per cent on 2024

The 2025 sales market has got off to a stronger start than in 2024 or 2023 with buyer demand up 13 per cent and 10 per cent more homes for sale Rising sales are supporting UK house price inflation which is +2.0 per cent in the year to December 2024, compared to -0.9 per cent…
Read More
for sale sign london
Breaking News

Westminster council must outline how their proposals on property boards will not hinder market

Westminster City Council must explain how their proposals to renew the existing Regulation 7 Direction and expand it to the whole borough will not hinder the sales and lettings markets, Propertymark argues. At present, some areas of Westminster are subject to a Regulation 7 Direction, which means consent from the Council is needed to display…
Read More
Breaking News

National Federation of Builders View on Chancellor’s Speech

At the Autumn Budget 2024, Chancellor Reeves scaled back her interference in the planning process. However, in her speech today, she returned to the position that a well-functioning planning system is crucial to not only enabling growth but, more importantly, sustaining it. Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), commented: “The…
Read More
Letting Agent Talk

Landlords and Tenants: A Balanced Relationship in the Private Rental Sector (PRS)

New findings from Leaders Romans Group’s (LRG) latest survey reveal a balanced picture of landlord-tenant relations in the UK. Contrary to negative stereotypes often portrayed, the data shows that tenants view their landlords positively while highlighting areas for improvement in communication and responsiveness. The survey found that 55% of tenants believe their landlord provides quality…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Government Correct to Head Off Climate and Nature Bill

The ‘Climate and Nature Private Members’ Bill’, brought forward by Dr. Roz Savage MP, seeks to set new legally binding targets for climate and nature, as well as give the Secretary of State a duty to implement a strategy to achieve these targets. The National Federation of Builders (NFB) has worked closely with Government’s old…
Read More