Rents Rise at Fastest Rate Since Records Began
Rents in England and Wales have risen faster in July than any month since records began in 2009.
The latest buy-to-let index from estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains reveals that rents increased from an average of £789 in June to £804 in July, 1.9% growth.
Annually, tenants are paying 6.8% more than they did last July, which is the largest yearly rise on record.
Rents Rise at Fastest Rate Since Records Began
The index believes the increase was fuelled by record rents in Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands, West Midlands and London.
Director of Reeds Rains and Your Move, Adrian Gill, comments: “Just when you think the rental market is accelerating at full throttle, it finds a way to shift into a higher gear.
“We’re seeing rent rises manage to hit record-breaking speeds on both monthly and yearly timeframes as far back as data can go.”
Annually, rents have risen in all regions.
In the West Midlands, rents have increased by 3.6% in 12 months, making the average rent £583 per month. Rents in the East Midlands were up 2.5%, taking the average rent to £584.
Renters in Yorkshire and the Humber now pay an average of £582 a month, after a record 2% annual rise.
In the capital, a huge 12% year-on-year increase takes monthly rent to £838 on average.
Just two regions experienced falling rents on a monthly basis, Wales and the East of England, where rents decreased by 0.1%.
Gill continues: “The fact that rents are purring along at higher than ever speeds is a sign that the rest of the economy is picking up.
“An engine can’t use fuel it doesn’t have. These rent rises are a reflection of heavier wage packets being fed back into the economy now that the rust from the recession has been cleaned off the cogs.”1
The proportion of rent in arrears has improved monthly, from 8.6% in June to 8.4% in July. However, this is still much higher than 7.3% in July 2014.
1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/rents-rising-at-fastest-level-since-records-began/