The August 2024 Housing Insight Report from Propertymark highlights a more stable economic footing and improved consumer confidence in the UK housing market. However, ongoing challenges in both sales and rental sectors, particularly a long-standing shortage of available stock, remain a significant concern.
According to the report, which is based on responses from approximately 100 sales and 100 letting agents across the UK, residential sales volumes increased by almost 10% compared to August 2023. Meanwhile, tenant demand surged, with the average number of new prospective tenants rising from 88 in July 2024 to 112 in August 2024.
Despite these positive trends, the availability of new properties for sale and rent has slightly decreased, exacerbating the pressure on prices. Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, emphasised that while the economy has stabilised, the housing sector faces a critical need for workforce expansion to meet the UK’s new house-building targets, which aim to create nearly 2 million homes over the next five years.
“The housing sector continues to suffer from a long-standing absence of available stock, within both the sales and rental sectors,” Emerson said. He also highlighted the significant upcoming changes expected with the new UK government, including reforms in planning regulations, building safety, taxation, and legislation like the Renters’ Rights Bill.
Emerson stressed the importance of objective, data-driven decisions and stakeholder engagement to ensure housing remains accessible for both residents and investors as the sector embarks on what he described as its “biggest transformation in many decades.”
