80% of estate agents worried over the impact of the upcoming recession and the cost of living crisis on the private rental sector

The report, which is set to be released in full on the 13th of September, collated feedback from over 2,600 agents this year making it the fifth and largest annual report of its kind – with the full findings set to shine a light on everything from sentiment about the abolition of Section 21 and the impact of pets in lets, through to optimism for the future and data on rates of arrears.

This is the first major market survey to take place since the Government’s White Paper on rental reform was published. Today, initial insights from the report have been released.

Economy has agents on edge

This year’s survey will reveal that a large majority of agents are concerned about the state of the economy – with a huge 80% of agents worried about the impact of the upcoming recession and the cost of living crisis on the Private Rental Sector.

Many are predicting a rise in arrears, with 35% of agents saying they expected the cost of living crisis to have a “major and negative” impact on tenants.

Lack of stock concern intensifies as landlords leave

Another serious and ongoing concern which appears to have intensified over the last 12 months is the issue of lack of stock. The State of the Lettings Industry report shows that two-thirds of agents – 65% – struggled with a lack of stock in the past year.

Perhaps more worryingly, however, is that 28% of all agents surveyed have seen more than 10% of their landlords leave the sector in the past year.

And the vast majority – 67% – said they expected more of their landlords to leave in the coming year.

Industry optimism lower than during pandemic

However, despite these concerns being likely to dent industry optimism going forward, currently, only a quarter of agents (26%) say they’re pessimistic about the future of the lettings industry, while 43% are still feeling either “very optimistic” or “somewhat optimistic” about its future.

Tom Mundy, COO at Goodlord said, “The upcoming State of the Lettings Industry report is our biggest and most in-depth to date. As the initial findings show, there is a range of things causing serious concern across the sector.

“Whilst the pace of lettings remains intense and the market buoyant, various macroeconomic and regulatory factors are cause for concern.

“Although these are yet to materially dent optimism amongst agents, landlords and tenants. We hope that the full report released on the 13th will provide a range of useful insights to the market at a time of increasing uncertainty for all stakeholders.”