There is currently £1.3trn worth of housing stock within the private rental sector in England, according to research by Sequre Property Investment.
The buy-to-let (BTL) specialist analysed housing stock rented either privately or via a business and found that despite declining from a high of 4,832,000 in 2016, there are still 4,799,000 privately rented properties across England.
In the same period, house prices across England have climbed 8.9%, meaning that not only are there more rental properties, but landlords have enjoyed a strong rate of capital appreciation.
London is home to over a million private rented properties that account for 22% of all private rental stock in England. With London also home to the highest average house price, it means the capital’s rental market is worth £512bn alone. The South East is home to 14% of all private rental stock and is home to the second most valuable rental market at £229bn.
The research revealed that the North East accounts for just 4% of all rental market stock, the lowest of all English regions, although the region is still home to a private rental market worth £29bn in housing stock.
Sequre Property Investment sales director, Daniel Jackson, commented: “The private rental sector has grown considerably in recent times, both in terms of the level of stock available, but also where the value of this stock within the wider housing market is concerned.
“Not only does this demonstrate the continued strength of the sector, but it also highlights its importance as the backbone of the private rental market. Without it, the government would be left with a shortfall of nearly five million homes and given their consistent failures in addressing the current housing crisis, this would no doubt be yet another obstacle they would fail to overcome.”
Jackson said he hoped the government had “realised the importance” of the rental market after the widely expected increase in capital gains tax failed to materialise during the last Budget.
He added: “While a BTL investment will predominantly focus on the yields available, the capital appreciation of a rental market investment is an additional benefit that many landlords can reap on exit. Had the government decided to penalise this, a mass exodus of landlords would no doubt have followed.”
Latest News
NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?
The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.
Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
© 2019 Perspective Publishing Privacy & Cookies
Recent Stories