• Swindon & Wiltshire Property
• Wednesday September 30 2026

Number of available homes in Bristol halves

The number of available homes in Bristol’s residential property market has halved in the last twelve months, according to global property advisor JLL.

The findings form JLL’s latest Big Six Residential Development Report, which tracks Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester and found that the number of homes available to let in Bristol was 52 per cent lower in July compared to a year earlier.

The decline is put down to a combination of strong tenant demand and development challenges restricting the delivery of new supply.

Rents for new-build apartments in the city have increased by 2.5 per cent over the last 12 months in response to this lack of availability, above the national average of 1.8 per cent.

With a relatively small build-to-rent pipeline across the city, JLL forecasts that rents in Bristol will now grow by an average of 3.7 per cent a year up to 2030, the second-highest figure recorded throughout the Big Six cities.

The report says activity has increased across rental markets this year, with the usual seasonal rise in demand compounded by changing behaviour among both tenants and prospective homebuyers.

The introduction of the first phases of the Renters’ Rights Act in May has contributed to greater movement across the rental market, with an increase in listings and more new lets agreed. Some landlords also looked to sell or change tenants in the run-up to its introduction.

Meanwhile, elevated mortgage rates, higher stamp duty and moving costs and wider affordability pressures are contributing to rental demand, with some would-be buyers adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach and remaining in rented accommodation for longer.

JLL warned that the tightening rental market comes as significant viability challenges continue to restrict the development of new homes across Bristol.

Higher financing costs and construction cost inflation are making development appraisals increasingly difficult, while there has now significant BTR investment into the city over the last 12 months.

Regulatory requirements including Gateway 2 and 3 are adding further complexity to the delivery of higher-rise developments in England. However, JLL’s research suggests regulation alone is not responsible for the slowdown in development.

Tim Harris, Head of the South West & Wales at JLL said: “Bristol remains a popular place for people to live and work which is why there continues to be a high level of tenant demand within the regional residential market.

“At the same time there are long-standing challenges when it comes to bringing forward new developments which means the supply pipeline is unable to keep pace with demand.

“We anticipate this widening gap will only serve to increase the rate at which rental values continue to grow, meaning there will be significant opportunities out there for those who are able to bring new developments forward in the coming years.”

Meg Eglington, UK Residential Research Associate at JLL, said: “Rental markets across our Big Six cities have become noticeably tighter over the past year.

“Tenant activity has been strong and available homes are being absorbed quickly, but so far that hasn’t translated into significant rental growth because markets entered the year with relatively elevated levels of stock.

“The important question is what happens next. If demand remains at its current level while availability continues to fall, there will be considerably more scope for that pressure to feed through into rents during the second half of the year.

“Ultimately, this comes back to supply. Viability constraints remain the biggest challenge to housing delivery, nationally and across our Big Six markets.

“Higher financing and construction costs are making it difficult to bring forward new homes, while regulation creates further challenges in parts of the market.”

Image by Mikey Harris on Unsplash