The latest Propertymark lettings sector market snapshot shows a familiar picture with demand running well ahead of supply.

The trade body data carries a substantial leg – the latest refers to September – and this shows the number of prospective tenants registering with agents rising to 111 while the average number of properties available falling to just 12.5 per branch. That means each available rental home has nine competing tenants. 

Sixteen per cent of agents reported rent rises during the month while 66% said they remained static. There was also slight increase in rental arrears – while only 2.6% of agents reported higher arrears, this was nonetheless higher than earlier in the year.

On the sales side rhe average number of new prospective buyers registered for each Propertymark branch rose to 73 and there was also an increase in the number of viewings to 2.3 in September.  The number of sales agreed remained roughly static at 18 for each agency branch.

Propertymark data shows that in September, some 36% of transactions took over 17 weeks to complete. 

The body’s chief executive, Nathan Emerson, comments: “The latest Housing Insight figures are encouraging in parts, but they also signal clear challenges ahead for both the sales and lettings markets.

“Overall, we are seeing momentum in buyer registrations and in rental demand, which is heartening. But the two big caveats are: one, the transactional infrastructure needs to be more efficient to match that demand; and two, without growth in supply in both sales and rental sectors, we may see these positive signals muted by affordability and access pressures. 

“Policymakers and the overall industry must focus not only on stimulating demand but on making sure the system can deliver. The next few months will be pivotal.”