Rental rates increase as supply drops
The number of residential properties offered for rent by landlords dropped over the past two months, while rental rates were on the rise throughout much of the country. Rents increased by 1.2 percent in February, bringing an end to a short period during the holidays and in January when rental rates either stagnated or declined. According to statistics released by FindaProperty.com’s Rental Index, the average rent for residential properties now stands at £814, as opposed to £804 in late January. Landlords can also expect rents to rise further in the coming months, as the supply of rental properties fell by 3.6 percent, in part due to the continued departure of so-called “accidental landlords” from the buy-to-let sector.
While parts of the north were very heavily hit by the financial crisis and recession, many of these regions posted some of the most significant rental increases. For example, rents jumped by 5.5 percent in the North East, 2.3 percent in the North West and 2.5 percent in Scotland. Nigel Lewis of FindaProperty.com noted that this rise in rent throughout the country is almost certainly sparked by the fact that the buy-top-let sector is no longer “awash” with a large surplus of properties, thanks to the departure of accidental landlords. But observers also caution that it will take some time before rental prices return to levels seen even a year ago, near the start of the financial crisis. Current rents are still on average 1.9 percent lower than they were in January 2009.