A survey of letting agents suggests arrears will rise this year, and yet more landlords will quit the private rental sector.
The survey was small - just 160 agents who attended a Goodlord webinar - but of those 58 per cent believe that landlord volumes will decrease this year, as rising interest rates and new regulation encourage more to sell-up.
However 31 per cent of agents are more optimistic and believe landlord numbers will stay the same this year, with 11 per cent believing numbers will actually increase over the next 12 months.
Agents also believe these inflationary pressures and the cost of living crisis will be felt in arrears volumes, with 66 per cent expecting to see rent arrears to increase by up to five per cent during 2023.
Some 32 per cent of agents expect arrears levels to remain the same, with only two per cent predicting that numbers will go down.
In terms of the wider housing market, 67 per cent of the agents surveyed say they think house prices will decrease by five per cent or more in 2023, with this pricing decline already happening.
Only 15 per cent of agents expect an increase of up to five per cent or more and 17 per cent expect it to remain the same.
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