Nearly 70% of landlords reported rising tenant demand in the third quarter of the year – a record level – research carried out on behalf of Paragon Bank has revealed. 

The survey of over 600 landlords by BVA BDRC showed, when excluding those who were unsure, 69% of landlords reported increasing levels of demand, with over a third (36%) stating the increase was ‘significant’. 

Regionally, net increases of 79% and 74% were reported by landlords in the South West and South East (excluding London), respectively. Although still seeing relatively strong levels of interest from tenants, a lower proportion, 59%, of investors with property in the North East indicated experiencing increased demand. 

This figure falls to 54% amongst those managing portfolios in central London, in part due to the region seeing the highest levels of decreasing demand (16%). Despite this, the data suggests that a significant shift is being seen in appetite for central London living as people continue to return to the capital – the same period in 2020 saw a net increase in tenant demand reported by just 16% of Central London landlords, while 58% reported demand was decreasing.