Surprise 12% drop in asking rents as market cools

Surprise 12% drop in asking rents as market cools

0:06 AM, 1st November 2024, About 2 hours ago

Text Size

The UK’s private rented sector experienced a significant shift in October with asking rents dropping by 12.6% compared to the previous month.

This decline, coupled with a narrowing of year-on-year rent rises, signals a cooling off in the previously intense market.

According to the Goodlord rental index, the average rent for a property in England in October was £1,238, a 4% increase year-on-year.

This is a stark contrast to the 7% year-on-year increases seen earlier in 2024.

Goodlord says that rents fell from £1,417 in September to £1,238 in October – a drop of 12.6% (or £179). All regions monitored saw rents fall.

‘Market softening was coming’

William Reeve, CEO of Goodlord, comments: “If you read between the lines of last month’s figures, there were signs that a market softening was coming down the track – the latest Index bears this theory out.

“October tenancies brought decreased rents, and a squeezing of the year-on-year rises, while salary figures were up modestly.

“These numbers will be welcomed by tenants, who were being pushed to the very edges of their affordability limits over the summer.”

He adds: “At the same time, this data indicates that we are ushering in a more manageable period for landlords and agents. They have been working extremely hard to keep pace with market demand, whilst also grappling with a huge raft of regulatory changes coming down the track.”

Year-on-year rent increase

Greater London saw the most modest year-on-year rent increase at 2%, while the West Midlands experienced the highest at nearly 6%.

The most significant month-on-month rent drops occurred in the South West (24%), South East (16%) and Greater London (11%).

As the market cooled, void periods also lengthened, increasing from 15 days in September to 19 days in October.

The index also shows that the average salary of renters signing tenancies in October rose by 1.7% – from £37,350 to £37,997. That’s an annual increase of 5.15%.


Share This Article


Leave Comments

In order to post comments you will need to Sign In or Sign Up for a FREE Membership

or

Don't have an account? Sign Up

Landlord Automated Assistant Read More