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Buy To Let

Rents hit all-time high

Kit Klarenberg
Written By:
Kit Klarenberg
Posted:
Updated:
22/05/2015

Rents across England and Wales have reached an all-time high, according to data from letting agents.

Research from Your Move and Reeds Rains found residential rents have grown 4.6% in the last year. This represents the fastest rate of increase since November 2010.

The average rent in England and Wales hit £774 in April – an all-time high.

In London records were also smashed, with the typical rent now standing at £1,204.

The East of England saw the biggest rise in rents, with properties in the region up 12.5% in 12 months. This was larger than 7.8% annual rise in London.

However, rents in Wales tumbled 2.8% year-on-year while the North East (down 0.8%) and the East Midlands (down 0.2%) also saw falls.

Slower house price increases saw the total return for landlords drop to 8.9%. However, yields have remained steady at 5.1%.

Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Reeds Rains and Your Move, said: “Rents are going skywards and still accelerating.  That momentum is fueled by a fundamental shortage of housing and given oxygen by renewed wage growth.

“Economic progress has brought about a slow but steady stream of household earnings and employment: the most basic requirements for rent rises.  Placed in the context of the UK’s pressure-cooker housing shortage, these modest improvements have driven rents up at record speed.

“The East of England has witnessed rapid growth in property purchase prices, and rental prices have taken a similar course, albeit even faster. Away from the East, London is the real figurehead for the housing dilemma. Leading the way for both the positive story of wage growth and the essential challenge of overcrowding makes the capital a potent emblem for the wider issues facing the nation.”


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