Yahoo Finance UK rents rise, but London's fall for sixth consecutive month
The UK average rent continued to rise in November – but London rents dropped for the sixth consecutive month, data shows.
UK average rents increased 2.9% year-on-year, but London rents fell yet again by 4.4% year-on-year, according to the HomeLet Rental Index.
The average rent in the UK is now £974 ($1,299) – up by 2.9% since November 2019, when it stood at £947, research by HomeLet found.
However, excluding London, the average rent in the is now £828 – a much larger increase of 5.6%.
“Outside of the capital we’re seeing UK rents rise at the highest rate we’ve ever reported, yet, in contrast, rents in London are now decreasing at the highest rates that we’ve ever reported,” Andy Halstead at HomeLet said.
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Nine of 12 UK regions analysed showed a year-on-year increase in rental values in the year to November 2020, with the south-west seeing the largest increase of 8.6%.
However, rents in London continue to fall year-on-year, showing a 4.4% drop between in the year to November – it's sixth consecutive annual decrease in recent months.
Northern Ireland also saw a continued yearly decrease, with a 3.1% fall between November 2019 and November 2020.
Meanwhile, 15 of the 21 London borough groupings monitored by HomeLet showed a year-on-year decrease in rental values leading up to November 2020.
Westminster saw the biggest drop of 16.1% fall. Redbridge and Waltham Forest both saw a 3.5% increase year-on-year.
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Yet still, in November , the average rental value in London – £1,576 – 90% higher than the rest of the UK, where it was just £828.
The trend is likely driven by the increase in people working from home and tenants looking for properties with more space, both inside and outside the property, HomeLet said.
However, the UK may also be seeing “the continued impact of Brexit” on central London, Halstead said.
“Alongside the increase in rental values outside the capital, we’ll continue to see confidence grow in property investment in areas, such as the north-west,” he predicted.
“We’d also expect that demand for property in less built up areas, which are commutable to urban centres, will continue to increase across the country.
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