By Average rent prices across the UK have risen by 2.5 per cent in January 2019 when compared to the same month last year, according to the HomeLet recent Rental Index on the UK’s private rented sector.
The average monthly rent is now £932, which is up from £921 in December 2018 and £909 in January 2018, according to HomeLet.
Rents in London have increased by 3.7 per cent in January 2019 compared with the same month of 2018 and the average rent in the capital now stands at £1,588 a month. This is a drop from £1,596 in December 2018.
When London is excluded, however, the average UK rental value was £775 in January 2019, which is an increase of 2 per cent year on year, according to the recent data from HomeLet.
Also, rents rose in 11 out of 12 regions that were covered in the January Rental Index by HomeLet, suggesting that this is a national trend not isolated to any one region or city.
London still has much higher rent values than other parts of the UK, however, with average rental prices of £1,588 compared to the national average of £932, which is 70.4 per cent higher than the UK average, according to the recent data from HomeLet.
Market outlook
Martin Totty, chief executive at HomeLet, said: “Positively for both tenants and landlords, this year we’ve seen stability in UK rental price growth, with increases remaining broadly in line with the rate of consumer inflation. For landlords there remains a sustained demand for property, with the private rental sector continuing to provide the market with both flexible and long term housing options.
“The slowdown in the rate of house price growth, as reported by the Nationwide House Price Index is being driven by the depressed London market, which saw house prices decline by 0.8 per cent during the last four months of 2018. In contrast, we have seen average rental values in the capital rise by over 4 per cent in the latter stages of the year. Ultimately, we would expect this theme to continue in London, if the demand for property outweighs supply.”
He also commented that the outlook for 2019 when looking at the role that private residential landlords will continue to play remains positive. However, he states that one of the key concerns for the market in 2019 is the potential lack of supply in certain regions.
Martin commented: “The government’s squeeze on private landlords via taxation changes and more regulation could discourage their continued participation in this important sector. Unlike the trends we saw in 2018, any reduction in supply could lead to rental increases that are above the rate of consumer inflation.”
Comments