We recently blogged on the findings of RICS latest statistics showing that rental prices had been falling and would continue to do so, and that there was a lack of homes to rent.

We have backed this up in conducting survey’s with local agent’s across Basingstoke, Southampton and Portsmouth. There is very little difference upon town variants, but according to RICS it is more a regional difference, with London in particular being hit.

Rentright.co.uk have had feedback that rental prices have fallen by 10% in recent months. What is worrying is that they also report having void periods, which is something that hasn’t been typical of the past. Rather than accept a lower rent quite a few Landlords have been holding out for a higher price, which has resulted in voids of some 2/3 months. When will they realise that accepting a lower rent is not as bad as having a property stand empty for a couple of months?

Agents are reporting lower offers being made due to the supply and are working hard to convince the Landlords to accept.  Agents also report that there is a shortage of family homes to rent in the more central locations and an over supply of flats, which falls in line with the RICS report. The main problem has been that there has been a massive amount of unsold properties hitting the lettings market since January 2009.

The figures heighten concerns about the fragile buy-to-let market, where repossessions are double that of the residential market.  Will things improve in the coming months?

Feedback has not been too positive, with many thinking it is going to be some time before we come out of this dark time.  To compare rental prices in your area look to Residential Rental Price Index produced by Rentright.co.uk in the RRPI, which is updated every time property comes onto the web.