The latest Homelet rental index has found that the average monthly private rent across the UK, excluding London, is now £729. London’s average monthly rent is £1,464.1
The August index revealed that rental price rises in the UK steadied in August, as every region of the UK saw smaller rent increases than in previous months. The study also found that some regions that have previously seen high monthly growth, have dropped in August.1
The figures from the index saw rental rises were significantly lower than in previous months, with just London and the South East showing increases of over 2%, at 2.4% and 3% respectively.1
Two areas that have been showing strong growth in recent months, East Anglia and the South West, have seen stability in August, as rents in East Anglia rose by only 1%, and the South West recorded a decrease of 0.9% in rental prices.1
In Scotland, Wales, the North West and northeast England, rents were also down. The biggest drop was in the North West of England, with rents on new tenancies last month an average of 3.5% lower than in July.1
However, rents rose by 1.9% in the West Midlands, and 1% in the East Midlands and Northern Ireland.1
Martin Totty, Chief Executive of Barbon Insurance Group, comments: “August can traditionally be a slower month for the rental market and similar dips have been seen in rental prices in previous years.
“Nevertheless, the cooling in the rental sector may prove to represent the beginning of a trend towards a more settled market after several months of much more significant growth.
“A similar cooling has been seen in the wider housing market, with house price indices recording an easing of house price growth.”1
On a yearly basis, rental growth seems to still show strength, as just the North East and the East Midlands report lower rents for new tenancies in August than in the same month last year. Within London, rents rose by 11.4% on last year, East Anglia’s by 8.4% and the South East by 5.3%. Around the UK, the average UK private property rent increased by 8.2% in the year to August.1
Totty concludes: “While a calmer period for the rental sector is likely to be welcoming by landlords and tenants alike, with affordability concerns having increased in some parts of the country in recent months, demand for rental property is set to remain strong.”1
1 http://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/news_features/Renting-growth-easing-across-UK