Tenant demand for rental property is at its highest in eight years.

That’s according to the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA). Speaking on Estate Agent Today, operations director for ARLA, Ian Potter, said: "The market has bounced back in a way that no one could have predicted, to levels of demand that have not been seen since the last century… It has to be hoped that this unprecedented growth in the rental market will attract much-needed investment into the private rental sector as it copes with the huge surge in demand from a generation who cannot afford to buy."

The announcement comes just days after specialist lender Paragon re-entered the marketplace for the first time since 2008. And the south-eastern region appears particularly buoyant, with 81% of agents surveyed by ARLA claiming there were more tenants waiting to rent property than was available. 

The findings echo those revealed at the Cambridge Phenomenon conference, which took place on October 5th to mark 50 years since the arrival of the first knowledge-based businesses to Cambridge and the birth of the so-called Silicon Fen. Following the conference, chief executive of Cambridgeshire Horizons, Alex Plant, said this week on the organisation’s website: “The Cambridge area undoubtedly has a global brand and many of the right ingredients to lead the UK's economic recovery.”

Responsible for the implementation of the region’s growth, Cambridgeshire Horizons hopes to have delivered at least 73,300 new homes, 50,000 new jobs and over £4 billion worth of new infrastructure by 2021 - all good news for Cambridge's landlord investors.