There’s been a noticeable increase in the number of properties being listed for sale by landlords, with fresh data revealing a sharp rise compared to last year.
In the first quarter of 2025, 15.6% of all new property listings were homes that had previously been rented out. This marks a significant jump from the 9.8% recorded during the same period in 2024.
The figures come from property consultancy TwentyEA, which tracks new instructions across the UK housing market. Their latest report suggests that landlords are continuing to exit the rental sector in growing numbers.
According to their analysis, a total of 451,154 new listings were recorded in Q1 2025. Out of these, 70,542 were homes that had been part of the private rental market before being put up for sale.
This trend indicates that landlord sell-offs are not only continuing but accelerating, likely influenced by changing regulations, rising costs, and shifting investment priorities in the housing sector.
New analysis has revealed that in the final quarter of 2024, 12.2% of all new property listings were homes that had been part of the private rental market within the previous three years. This amounted to a total of 39,684 properties coming from former rental stock.
When looking at the properties sold during that same quarter, only a small proportion — just 2.9% — were rented out again in the first quarter of 2025. This means only around 3,634 of those homes returned to the rental market, suggesting they were likely bought by other landlords.
With estimates showing that roughly 50 to 55% of newly listed properties go on to complete a sale, this indicates that around 18,000 homes either have already left or are expected to leave the rental sector since Q4 2024. Such a shift only worsens the existing supply issues within the private rental market.
Further data from TwentyEA highlights a 1% year-on-year decline in the number of new ‘to let’ listings during the first quarter of 2025. More worryingly, the supply of rental properties is now sitting 22% below levels seen in 2019, before the pandemic disrupted the market.
The number of available homes to rent across the UK has now dropped to just 284,000 — a new record low. This figure represents an 18% fall compared to Q1 2024, and a 23% decrease from the same period in 2019, further intensifying the rental housing shortage.
Nearly half of all rental properties currently available are being advertised at more than £1,500 per calendar month, with over 15% commanding rents in excess of £3,000 pcm. The average rent agreed has now climbed to £1,767 pcm, pushing much of the available housing stock beyond what many tenants can realistically afford.
According to Katy Billany, Executive Director at TwentyEA, the rental sector is still facing immense pressure, with a severe lack of available homes continuing to impact tenants nationwide.
Billany explained that their data shows a worrying trend, as more landlords are choosing to leave the sector altogether. While it’s often assumed that these homes will be purchased by other landlords and re-enter the rental market, this doesn’t appear to be happening in practice.
In the final quarter of 2024, around 40,000 former rental properties were put up for sale. Yet, in the first quarter of 2025, just 3,600 of those were rented out again — indicating that only a small number were taken on by landlords.
Given that roughly half of the homes listed typically go on to sell, this suggests that approximately 18,000 properties will have left, or are in the process of leaving, the private rental sector since Q4 last year. This loss further reduces the already limited supply of homes available for rent, compounding the challenges faced by renters across the UK.
The rental market is currently undergoing a rapid phase of adjustment, largely driven by ongoing supply shortages and steadily rising rental prices. These pressures are becoming more pronounced as the sector prepares for the upcoming implementation of the Renters’ Rights Bill.
Interestingly, signs of these shifts were already evident before the proposed legislation was officially introduced. This suggests that the challenges facing the rental market go beyond just policy changes and are rooted in broader market trends.
The private rented sector remains highly volatile, with recent analysis indicating that this level of uncertainty is likely to continue in the short to medium term. Planning for stability in this environment is expected to remain difficult for both landlords and tenants in the months ahead.
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