Residential rents rose throughout Britain in the three months to May, according to the latest HomeLet rental index.
This means that the average monthly rental price is £935, or £738 if London is excluded. The rental index also showed that the speed of growth in the capital is rising after a sluggish, election-causing period. Average rents agreed in the capital for new tenancies in May exceeded £1,500 per month for the first time.[1]
Record rises
The index reveals that UK rents are now 10.7% higher than at this time last year. Additionally, it is only the third time that rents have increased across Britain since the rental index began.
By region, the South West saw the largest increase, with rent prices rising by 13.6% year-on-year. Scotland saw growth of 9.6%, the South East 9.4% and Greater London 9.2%.[1]
Within Greater London, the average rent is now £1,472 for the three months to May 2015. If just new tenancies are examined that were agreed in May alone, average rents exceed £1,500, with an exact figure of £1,506.[1]
Double-digit growth
‘Rental values are now increasing year on year across the country, with no exception,’ observed Martin Totty , chief executive officer of Barbon Insurance Group, parent company of HomeLet. ‘After a short period of London rents rising more slowly, when it seemed the rest of the UK may catch up or even exceed the capital in the speed at which rent prices were increasing, we now see the rate of price rises in London returning towards double digit growth, while the rest of the UK continues to rise steadily,’ he continued.[1]
Totty went on to say, ‘with the whole of the UK experiencing increases in rent prices agreed on new tenancies, it is possible this is an early indicator of a post-election private rental market where both landlords and tenants might expect rent prices to keep rising as demand continues to grow.’[1]
[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/uk-residential-rental-prices-2015061510627.html