Greater demand for new tenancies placing upward press...

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04 August 2020

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Greater demand for new tenancies placing upward pressure on rents

Average rents across the UK increased by 1.5% in July when compared with a month earlier, the latest data and analysis from Homelet shows.

The average rent across the UK now stands at £965 a month, according to the latest figures.

The rental data traditionally reveals wide regional variations across the country, but on this occasion, rents increased in the last month in all 12 regions covered by the research.

Looking on an annual basis, 10 of the 12 regions monitored by HomeLet showed an increase in rental values between July 2019 and July 2020, with two of those regions seeing a rise of more than 4.5%.

But rents in London are down year-on-year, showing a 3.2% drop between July 2019 and July 2020, the third decrease in annual variance in subsequent months and the biggest decrease for just over five years.

The South East also shows a yearly decrease, with a 1.8% fall year-on-year.

Looking at the regions monitored between June 2020 and July 2020, the North West recorded the largest increase, showing a 6.5% rise between July 2019 and July 2020.

In July 2020, average rental value in London, stood at an average of £1,611 a month, was 99% higher than the rest of the UK excluding the capital, at an average of £808 a month.

Martin Totty, chief executive at HomeLet, commented: “July appeared to be yet another encouraging month for lettings – with a rise in rental prices across all of the twelve regions monitored compared to June - although the data does indicate a downward trend emerging YOY for those in the South East and Greater London.

“Demand for new tenancies is still strong, HomeLet received the same volume of property applications for tenant reference checks this month as the same month last year. That coupled with the steadily increasing rents is positive for the sector, but there’s naturally caution around what could happen over the coming months.

“HomeLet’s tenant reference data – which is also forward looking – is one of the few sources with access to large data sets underpinning robust regional trend data. It’ll be interesting to see what trends emerge, especially on the regional level and how these variations will affect both landlords and tenants across the country over the coming months.”

*Region*	*Jul-20*	*Jun-20*	*Jul-19*	*Monthly Variance*	*Annual Variance*
North West	£773	£758	£726	2.00%	6.50%
Yorkshire & Humberside	£670	£658	£641	1.80%	4.50%
South West	£876	£858	£855	2.10%	2.50%
Scotland	£692	£692	£679	0.00%	1.90%
East Midlands	£656	£651	£646	0.80%	1.50%
West Midlands	£721	£714	£709	1.00%	1.70%
North East	£535	£525	£529	1.90%	1.10%
East of England	£932	£917	£925	1.60%	0.80%
Northern Ireland	£674	£659	£671	2.30%	0.40%
Wales	£638	£636	£637	0.30%	0.20%
South East	£1,034	£1,022	£1,053	1.20%	-1.80%
Greater London	£1,611	£1,583	£1,665	1.80%	-3.20%
UK	£965	£951	£959	1.50%	0.60%
UK excluding Greater London	£808	£797	£794	1.40%	1.80%

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