Tenants benefit from oversupply

Tenants are benefiting from cheaper rents because of an oversupply of property, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said. The supply of rental homes in London has grown by 67 per cent in the past year, while rents have fallen by 6.9 per cent since March last year, and 1.1 per cent in the past month. In the North of England rents are down 13.5 per cent. Nationwide rents have fallen faster than at any time since 1998. However, estate agents are reporting a big rise in demand for rental properties – up by 100 per cent – as would-be first-time buyers rent because they cannot get mortgage finance.