There was a rise in activity across the UK lettings market in July, according to the latest data from the Agency Express Property Activity Index.

The findings showed that national month-on-month figures for new listings ‘To Let’ stood at 8.5%, while properties ‘Let’ stood at 6%. When analysing the index’s historical records, it becomes clear that while lettings market activity was generally greater throughout 2018, July’s figures exceeded those recorded a year before.

The Property Activity Index observes activity across twelve regions, with eight reporting increases in new listings ‘To Let’ in July and ten reporting increases in properties ‘Let’.

July’s leader board was topped by the East Midlands, with new listings at a robust 46.7% and properties ‘Let’ at 23.3%. East Anglia performed well, too, with new listings at 27.4% and properties ‘Let’ at 29.6%. Both these regions reported their record best figures for July.

Other top-performing regions included:

Properties ‘To Let’

• South East, 16.4%
• Yorkshire & Humberside, 16.1%
• South West, 10.8%
• Wales, 10.8%

Properties ‘Let’

• North East, 17.2%
• Yorkshire & Humberside, 7%
• South West, 6.7%
• London, 5.8%
• Wales, 4.3%
• South East, 4%

The largest falls in July’s Property Activity Index were recorded in Central England, with new listings declining for a second successive month at -0.50% while properties ‘Let’ dropped to -11%. That said, over a three-month rolling period, figures were greater at 3.9% and 0.1% respectively and year-on-year activity remains on trend.

“July has been an unexpected month for the UK lettings market,” Stephen Watson, managing director of Agency Express, commented.

“Usually we would see slower movement throughout the summer holidays but this month’s activity, which is somewhat reflective of an increase in our customer base, has been buoyant. Looking forwards, while we expect to see further increases in August, we don’t envisage a real pickup in activity until September. It will be interesting to see if the current rate of activity continues.”