The rental property market is showing clear signs of softening as both void periods and discounts achieved by tenants during pre-tenancy negotiations rise, it has been claimed.

So says Goodlord CEO William Reeve (main image) whose firm’s data reveals rising rents but other indicators suggesting strongly that such rent rises may soon melt away.

Rents were up by 4.6% year-on-year last month, ending at an average of £1,207 per property up from £1,154 in January 2024.

The figures are based on asking rents on Rightmove’s Rental Price Tracker and Goodlord’s monitoring of what was actually agreed. This shows that the average rent per property during the last quarter of 2024 could be up to 24% lower than advertised in London and 20% lower outside it.

Confirmed rents are meaningfully undercutting advertised prices.”

In addition, voids lengthened in January – going from 21 days in December to 24 days, adding yet more evidence of softening demand in the market.

Voids are typically at their peak in January when the market is quiet, but this is the longest average void period recorded by the Index since April 2021.

Reeve adds: “On the face of it, you have another month of rising rents and a rebound in pace of year-on-year increases. But when you dig a little deeper you can see that the void periods are at their highest since 2021 and confirmed rents are meaningfully undercutting advertised prices.

“It’s a picture of a market that continues to be buffeted by supply and demand issues, but that could be teetering its way towards stabilising. We are definitely seeing a softening in the market.”