Average asking rental price for properties hits record high

Business

The average asking rent for properties both inside and outside of London have hit a new record high, according to a property website.

Data from Rightmove shows tenants outside of London are being asked to pay an average £1,231 per month, with properties inside London reaching a record of £2,567.

For the second quarter of 2023, rent outside the capital has increased by £308 (33%) from the same period in 2019, where the average price per month was £923.

Similarly, London asking rents have increased by £559 (28%) in four years.

The asking rent of a property is the price listed by the landlord.

“Average asking rents for new tenants have risen at a rapid pace since the pandemic, reflecting the significant increase in demand,” Rightmove’s director of property science Tim Bannister said.

He said demand is being driven by a change in housing needs, such as space to work from home.

In addition to rent increases, the average time it takes to find a tenant is 17 days, the quickest time recorded in Rightmove data since November 2022.

There are also less rental properties on the market, as landlords sell up.

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Around 16% of properties currently for sale were previously available on the rental market, up from 13% in January 2019, Rightmove said.

“Some highly leveraged landlords are considering selling due to interest rate rises, but we find most are mortgage-free, and in most cases our advice is to avoid a knee-jerk reaction,” Allison Thompson, national lettings managing director of Leaders Romans Group said.