Rental supply will “nosedive” in the next six months, the Association of Residential Letting Agents’ managing director David Cox has predicted.
ARLA research showed that rental properties managed per branch increased by 8% in April from the month before but stood 5% lower than April 2015 year-on-year.
Cox said: “It’s likely that this increase in supply is only temporary.
“At the end of April we saw a flurry of landlords seizing the last few moments before the stamp duty rise to complete sales, triggering an increase in the supply of empty rental homes to be filled this month.
“However, we expect that fewer investors will be taking on buy-to-let properties over the next six months, following the price hikes, meaning that once these properties are filled we’ll see supply nosedive once again.”
Two thirds (66%) of estate agents expected the stamp duty surcharge to push rents up down the line.
