What’s been affecting my rental property?

What’s been affecting my rental property?

Read on for the latest review and how to get an up-to-date rental valuation.

As a landlord, you need to know if the market has a sound footing. For future investing and current rentals, it’s vital to get relevant insight.

Opportunity still exists for buy-to-let investors

  • Buy-to-let remains an attractive investment option, with continuous tenant demand serving to provide confidence in its potential.
  • Investors have the opportunity to achieve strong yields by targeting properties in areas with the potential for good rental returns and future capital growth.
  • With on average over 15 enquiries per available rental property, agents can quickly find suitable tenants, maintaining a swift and effective letting process.
UK annual rental growth still rising

UK annual rental growth still rising

Rental growth is still running ahead of earnings growth, but there are signs that it is starting to cool and growth is expected to peak this year. Find out if you could be earning more from your property.

The UK may be past peak rental growth, but rents are still rising as they were a year ago despite a reduction in the high demand for rental property. Rental inflation is showing signs of slowing down when major cities and towns are reviewed.

Looking around the UK, the only place that has rental growth still in double digits is Scotland at 11.6% with London the lowest at 5.1%. The continued rise in rents now means that rents are 30% of gross earnings as measured at the end of 2023. High demand for rental property is a key factor behind the rise in rents. There are various reasons behind this; for example, raised mortgage rates have helped to increase demand for rental property from would-be first time buyers, which has placed upward pressure on rents and hence also adversely affected affordability.

7.8%

Rental value increase in the UK

9.5%

Rental value increase in Wales

11.6%

Rental value increase in Scotland

5.1%

Rental value increase in London

Want to know more about the value of your property?

Want to know more about the value of your property?

The imbalance between demand and supply is narrowing

There are signs that the recent years’ market impacts since the pandemic are starting to ease. However, the imbalance which helped drive rents up means that the average UK rent excluding London is hovering close to the £1,000pcm mark. Although demand for rented property is slowing, the average of 15 enquiries per home is still double pre-pandemic levels. On the supply side, there are low levels of new investment although the ‘build to rent’ market is growing with over 90,000 new ‘build to rent’ homes delivered in recent years.*

£1,223

Average monthly rent UK

£995

Average monthly rent UK excluding London

15

Enquiries per rental home, March 2024

29%

Increase in rental growth since January 2020

What does the growth in rents mean across the UK?

What does the growth in rents mean across the UK?

Asking rents have been rising faster than earnings growth for over two years now. This has been driven by increased rental demand in recent years, caused by such factors as a stagnating supply of rental property and increased mortgage rates, as discussed earlier. Where just 3 years ago, no regional markets outside the south had average rents above £1,000 pcm, now a certain percentage of properties further afield have reached and surpassed that figure. More than half of private rented homes now have average rents exceeding £1,000 pcm.

51%

Percentage of rented properties where average rent is now over £1,000 pcm

20%

Reduction in demand for rental homes over the past year

29.5%

UK average amount of income spent on rent

How has this affected my rental property?

Sources:

Statistics from the Zoopla Rental Market Report, March 2024.
MKT/UKON/23032024