Homelet Find Rents Are Still Rising

Average rents across the UK continue to rise, according to Homelet’s latest rental index for August.

London went up a further 4% to £1,202, reaching a new record as the UK on the whole reached £791.

While month by month prices fluctuated up and down across the country, the annual change has been an increase except for the North East. London is now 12.23% more expensive rent-wise than this time last year and, compared to the rest of the country, rent prices in London are 53% more expensive.

The North East remains the cheapest place in the UK for renters, followed by East Midlands and Yorkshire & Humber regions.

Average rents in Northern Ireland dropped 0.51% last month to £584, still 1.92% up on the £573 charged last year. Scotland tells a similar story, the average rent dropped from £586 to £580 from July to August, but still £10 higher than August 2010.

Wales encountered the highest year-on-year rise outside of London, jumping from £550 to £586 per month.

The average age of renters dropped slightly to 31.9 with Northern Ireland and London being home to youngest tenants. The North East though has an average renting age of 34.

John Boyle, Homelet Managing Director commented on why the North East might be bucking the trend of the rest of the country. “It’s interesting that the North East, which is the cheapest place to rent, is also the home to the oldest tenants in the UK. In this particular region the average age is being pushed up by both a reduced number of younger tenants and an increase in older tenants.

“Despite having the lowest rents in the country, the level of youth unemployment remains high in the North East, so those traditional first time renters are not entering the market at the rate seen in the last few years. At the other end of the spectrum older tenants are choosing to rent rather than buy their own property.”

The North East is also one of the two regions with the longest tenancy agreements and saw a drop in average salaries. East Anglia on the other hand saw a rise in rents (5.89%) and salaries but at the same time the shortest tenancy agreements.

Boyle believes “The combination of increased average rents and salaries could suggest there is fierce competition for rented homes in East Anglia. The fact that the region is also home to some of the oldest tenants in the UK does suggest younger people are being priced out of the market.”

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