• 91% of landlords with property in Outer London report rising tenant demand in Q2
• Tenant demand also strong in East Midlands and Wales, with 67% of landlords across Britain recording increasing demand levels
• Supply/demand imbalance leading to rent increases – 87% of landlords report rising rent levels in local market

Landlords with property in Outer London and the East Midlands are reporting the strongest levels of tenant demand in Britain, Paragon Bank research has revealed.

The research of 983 landlords, carried out by BVA BDRC, showed 91% of landlords reported rising tenant demand in outer London during the second quarter of the year, with 67% reporting demand grew ‘significantly’. In the East Midlands, 86% of landlords reported rising tenant demand, followed by Wales at 82%.

The weakest region for tenant demand was the North East, with 69% of landlords recording an increase in demand and 6% stating that demand fell during the quarter.

Overall, 67% of landlords across Britain reported increasing levels of tenant demand during the second quarter, unchanged from the first quarter and an equal record high.

Only 2% of landlords reported falling levels of demand, down from 4% last quarter.

The survey highlighted that strong demand was leading to rent increases – 87% of landlords said rental prices were increasing in their local market, with 51% stating that they planned to increase rents across their own portfolios within the next six months.

Landlords with properties in Wales (94%), the North East (92%), Yorkshire & Humber (91%) and East Midlands (91%) were most likely to see rent increases in their local market.

Paragon Bank Commercial Director of Mortgages Louisa Sedgwick said: “Tenant demand shows no signs of slowing down in many parts of the country. With supply not growing quickly enough to keep pace, we are seeing rental inflation and that is likely to continue until we see demand more in balance with supply.”

General inflation was cited as the main driver for increasing rents – 74% of landlords looking to increase rents in the next six months said the rising costs of running a property was the primary cause, followed by alignment with local market rents (59%).

For media enquiries contact:

Jordan Lott
Media Relations Manager
Paragon
[email protected]

Notes to editors:

BVA BDRC surveyed 983 landlords between 1 and 21 July.

Paragon lends to private individuals and limited companies and provides mortgages suitable for single, self-contained properties, as well as HMOs and multi-unit blocks. Paragon can accommodate higher aggregate lending limits and more complex letting arrangements including local authority leases and corporate leases along with standard ASTs.

Paragon Bank PLC a subsidiary of the Paragon Banking Group PLC which is a FTSE 250 company based in Solihull in the West Midlands. Established in 1985, Paragon Banking Group PLC has over £14 billion of assets under management, helping more than 340,000 customers to achieve their ambitions.