Rents begin to cool down – but voids start to rise

It wasn’t just the weather that cooled down in November as research reveals that rent prices across England also dropped – but voids began to rise.

That’s according to Goodlord who point out that while winter is traditionally a quieter time for the lettings sector, rent prices remain significantly up year on year.

The firm says that rents have now dipped in every region – with the average rent falling by 2%: going from £1,111 in October to £1,087 in November.

The biggest change was seen in the North West, where a 5% reduction in the cost of rent was recorded and the average price dropped from £903 to £858 per month.

The smallest shift was recorded in the South East, where rents fell by less than 1% – reducing from £1,194 to £1,187.

Rental costs are now at their lowest since June 2022

Goodlord says that their Index reveals rental costs are now at their lowest since June 2022 and there is a four-year trend of prices falling when the thermometer begins to drop.

However, rental prices are still up by 11% compared to 2021 averages.

Worryingly for landlords, voids rose in six out of the seven regions monitored with the average void period being 20 days in November, up from 18 days in October.

This means voids are now at their highest level since January of this year.

The South West saw the biggest change with voids rising from 17 days to 23 days, while landlords in the South East were the only ones not to see a rise in voids.

Tenant salaries broke a rental index record

The figures also show that during a month when rental prices were cooling, tenant salaries broke a rental index record – to hit the highest average ever recorded.

The average pay of a renter in England was £31,105 in November, up from £30,717 in October – a 1.3% rise.

This means average salaries are now 12.5% higher when compared to 2021 averages.

‘Higher rental prices across the board’

Tom Mundy, the COO of Goodlord, said: “Whilst we are contending with higher rental prices across the board and serious, ongoing pressures on rental stock, we are continuing to see the annual fluctuations we’d expect at this time of year.

“Things do tend to cool down as we head towards Christmas, with people delaying moving house until the spring, and we can see that reflected in the November figures.

“This is likely to mean an even busier than normal start to 2023 for agents and landlords – meaning that extra preparations to help cope with the coming demand may be needed.”

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