Estate agents are reporting that, for the first time in almost 80 years, the number of people renting is outnumbering those buying homes.
September has seen the highest levels of new lets agreed and rental contracts extended since the 1930s.
This is due to a number of factors including rising house prices, particularly in the south of the UK, and the lack of properties on the market fuelled by a continued uncertainty as a result of the Brexit decision back in June.
Other reports indicate that house purchase numbers are suffering as a result of new buyers having to find larger deposits than in 2015 against a backdrop of increasing house prices since the summer, making purchasing a home even more unaffordable for many. The latest UK House Price Index shows the average UK house price in July was £206,750.
At the beginning of 2016, home ownership had fallen to its lowest level in 30 years. Although lenders recently reported an increase in the number of successful house purchase loans agreed, the issue remains the lack of available properties for sale, coupled with rising prices.
This, and the increased number of rental properties on the market since March, as some landlords acquired more properties in advance of the changes to the stamp duty rates, together with privately advertised lets means the rental market has now overtaken the sales market.
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