Looking good for CITRA15 May 2024 13:21
Intense competition between tenants is creating a race to rent as the amount of time listings are up for gets shorter, figures compiled for the BBC show.
Two-bedroom rental homes are listed on Zoopla for an average of 25 days, some 10 days less than the pre-pandemic average, estate agency Savills said.
High demand and a lack of available properties are forcing potential tenants to make an almost immediate decision on whether to apply for a tenancy.
Agents and landlords say the situation is unlikely to change without more investment in the sector.
Adrian Draude, 32, admitted he and his wife were ill-prepared for the level of competition they faced when searching for a flat after returning from their honeymoon.
"We found properties [on listings sites] that were the perfect fit, saved them for later, went back that day and they had already disappeared," he said.
They have recently found a place in Guildford, Surrey, but Adrian described the process as "aggravating".
"You'd see a place - one minute it was there, and the next it had gone."
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cxr33l9dx0yo