Deadpool star's adopted town Wrexham makes the top of an important list
According to property portal Rightmove, average rents increased across the country 7% last year, following a 12% jump in 2022. The numbers show the average rental rate outside London is £1,314 a month – inside London that number jumps to a new record of £2,661. And in one Welsh town (that has been made particularly famous because of who now owns its football team) is topping Rightmove’s list of the places where rental properties are most in demand.
Perched between the Welsh mountains and the Dee valley, Wrexham has emerged as the UK’s most competitive rental market, with an average of 54 enquiries per available property, according to Rightmove’s latest ‘Demand Tracker.’ This makes it the busiest rental market in the country, far surpassing the national average of 19 enquiries per listing. Following closely behind the former coal and lead mining centre are Glasgow and Bristol, with 52 and 51 enquiries per property, respectively, underscoring the high demand in urban areas.
Wrexham has more recently been in the public eye given that stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny have purchased the town’s football team and launched a highly successful reality TV series about the club. And while there may be some small market pressure from the town’s new-found fame, one intermediary reports there just aren’t enough affordable houses for their clients to buy.
Tom Pitman, director and mortgage adviser at TGP Mortgages and Insurance in Wrexham, told Mortgage Introducer: “There’s definitely a shortage of housing. In the last couple of years there have been planning issues in the Wrexham area, and I think the main issue is there's just not enough actual affordable housing for people to buy. The new builds at the moment are three or four or five bed, detached houses rather than two or three bed, semis at reasonable prices, and that's probably one of the main factors.”
Wrexham’s average rents aren’t particularly high at £967 per month, and that in itself will guide how much people want to pay to buy rather than rent.
“The new builds that are more readily available now are just beyond a lot of people's budgets,” says Pittman. “I know a lot of the builders in Wrexham that struggled to sell and actually ended up selling to the local housing association, which is fuelling the issue again.”
An Intense Rental Market Despite Easing
While there has been some overall cooling in the rental sector compared to last year, Rightmove's property expert, Tim Bannister, explains that many local markets have yet to experience the benefits of this shift. Bannister notes: “Whilst at a high level there has been an easing in the rental market compared with last year... prospective tenants are still likely to be experiencing a very hot and competitive market.”
The level of competition in places like Wrexham, where properties are receiving more than 50 enquiries each, illustrates how much work is still needed to balance supply and demand in different parts of the country.
Rising Rents and Supply Challenges
In addition to the fierce competition for available homes, average advertised rents outside London have surged to £1,349 per month, a 5% increase from last year. Despite signs of the rental market easing, supply remains a pressing issue. The number of tenants searching for properties has dropped by 16% compared to last year, and the availability of homes has risen by 8%. However, demand is still 17% higher than pre-pandemic levels, while the supply of available properties is 32% lower than in 2019.
Another Rightmove study shows that a record number of ex-rental properties are heading to market – although this indicates tough time for Buy-To-Let lenders, maybe things will get easier for first time buyers.
Picture: Markbarnes licenced under the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
