Scottish rental market slowed in May

The latest report from Your Move Scotland has revealed that the Scottish rental market slowed during May, with prices falling ahead of the UK General Election.

As such, the average rent in the country stood at £561 in the month- a fall of 2.3% from April but 2.2% greater than in May 2016.

Performance

Prices in key city centres of Scotland continue to perform strongly- as have rural regions, such as the Highlands and the South. These areas are highly attractive to people relocating.

Four of the five regions in the survey saw rents rise during the last year. The front-runner was the South of Scotland, where rents rose by 8.8% in the last year.

Other regions to see year-on-year increases were the East (3.3%), Highlands and Islands (3.2%) and Edinburgh and Lothians (2.6%).

The only region to see a fall in prices year-on-year was Glasgow and Clyde, where prices slipped by 0.3%.

Returns

Landlords in Scotland are continuing to see strong returns, despite the overall fall in rents. The average yield in May was 4.9%- the same rate as recorded one year ago.

However, tenant finances were not as healthy, with 12.3% of tenancies having arrears on one day or more during May. This was slightly higher than the 11.3% recorded in April.

Brian Moran, Lettings Director of Your Move Scotland, observed: ‘With the General Election taking centre stage throughout May, it should come as no surprise that rents ticked down from their previous level.’[1]

‘Prices in most areas remain above where they were a year ago, with growth coming across a number of areas. Tenants are drifting towards city centre living or completely rural life as it was these areas which saw the most interest during May,’ he added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/scottish-rental-market-pauses-for-breath-in-may.html