Average asking rents have rocketed at their fastest ever rate to £1,068 per month outside London – 9.9% higher than this time last year.
Rightmove’s Quarterly Rental Trends Tracker reveals that this rapid growth, driven by high tenant demand and low numbers of available rental properties, means that rising rents are outpacing house price increases in all but three regions: East Midlands, South West and the South East.
Wales (+12.7%), the North West (+12.5%) and the South West (+11%) lead the way in annual asking rent growth, while London hit record annual growth of 10.9%, with asking rents in the capital now 3% higher than before the pandemic started – the first time they have risen beyond pre-pandemic levels.
Largest increase
Pontypool in Monmouthshire saw the largest annual increase in asking rent of any local area, jumping 20% from £562 to £674, followed by Ascot (+18%), and Littlehampton (+17%).
Rightmove predicts that asking rents will rise by 5% in 2022 as the imbalance between supply and demand continues. It also reveals the average rental yield in Great Britain is at its highest point since 2016, at 5.5%, with record yields seen in the North East and Wales.
Total rental demand is up by 32% compared to this time last year, while the number of available rental properties is 51% lower. This has led to available rental properties being snapped up by tenants in an average of 17 days.
Tenant demand
Rightmove’s director of property data, Tim Bannister (pictured), says: “Tenant demand continues to be really high entering the new year, meaning the imbalance between supply and demand is set to continue until more choice comes onto the market for tenants, which has led to our prediction of a further 5% increase in average asking rents in 2022.
“Landlords understand the importance of having a good, long-term tenant, and there is a limit to what renters can afford to pay, which will prevent rents rising at the same rate we’ve seen over the past year.”
Read the report in full.
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