A growing number of people are struggling to find homes to rent, as the supply-demand imbalance in the PRS continues to widen, new figures show.

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England looks on course to raise its main interest rate by half a percentage point to 4% on Feb. 2, but economists will be looking keenly for signals that this 10th consecutive rate rise will be one of the BoE's last.

The risk of a recession striking the UK is gathering pace experts warned today as still extremely high inflation and collapsing confidence has resulted in the economy going from “bad to worse”.

A bid by a landlord to get the Government to reinstate tax relief allowing mortgage interest to be set against rental income has been shot down after the petition reached 28,000 signatures.

The demand for rental property is still outpacing supply and rent growth is still rising – so the sector starts 2023 very much like it ended 2022, one property expert says.

Increased mortgage rates have hit housing affordability in the UK, according to new figures from lender Nationwide, with first time buyers now facing levels last seen in the run up to the financial crisis.

The average price of a home jumped by £3,301 this month, at the same time as Rightmove saw double the amount of inquiries from prospective buyers.

It may not stave-off recession, according to inflation data expert.