Demand and rents rising

During the course of the pandemic, the rental industry has remained relatively buoyant -  demand has increased in many areas and rents have been rising. Over the last 12 months, average UK rents were up by as much as 6.9% and, if you exclude London, they were up by 8.1%.It means the average rent in the UK nowstands at £1,029 (+ 2.3% month-on-month). Some of the largestannual rises were to be found in Wales (+ 12.8%) and the South West (+ 11.9%). The biggest monthly riser, though, was Greater London, where rents climbed by 3.6%.

Commenting on the latest data, Rob Wishart, HomeLet& Let Alliance Head of Business Intelligence, says:

“Typically, rents for new tenancies will rise in line with the rate of inflation, but that’s not been the case in the past few months. The demand for housing and certain property types is outstripping supply in many areas, causing upward pressure on rental prices. We can expect the increase in rents to continue for the foreseeable future, with many regions now seeing unprecedented demand for housing stock and landlords.”

The growing disparity between supply and demand is laid bare by the latest data emerging from Zoopla. According to them, demand has jumped by 19% over the last year. At the same time, there has been a 13% fall in supply and the average time to let a property is nowas short as 15 days. It’s a situation that is unlikely to change anytime soon, as landlords have been taking advantage of the stamp duty holiday to sell off some of their properties.The only growth in the supply chain is currently coming from build-to-rent but it is still only a minor player in the lettings sector.

London’s market, on the other hand,hadbeen a very different story, with rents lagging some way behind the rest of the country. However, after a year of decline, it’s now showing real signs of recovery. There are reports ofa substantial rise in the number of both domestic and international students registering with agents, as well as increasing numbers of young professionals wanting to take advantage of our cities’ resurgent nightlife. As a result, average rents in the capital have gone up for three months in a row and, as mentioned earlier,they rose by 3.6% in August alone.

Homelet’s Wishart, adds:

“In the capital, we have seen yet another price rise, and we may see London accelerate at a faster rate than the rest of the country in the coming months, as international travel ramps up and rates of working from home move in the opposite direction.”

September’s surging commuter numbers suggest thatprocess is likely to be taking place not just in London, but in towns and cities across the UK.And, in our areas, Wokingham, Binfield, Jennett’s Park, Warfield andBracknell, residentsare lucky enoughtobenefit from both open spaces and relatively short commutes,which will ensure demandwill continue to rise there, too.

Average rents

West Berkshire           £1,558

Wokingham                 £1,465

Binfield                        £1,340

Bracknell                     £1,890