Rents are rising as letting agents told to prepare for ‘a busy few months’

Rents continued to rise across most parts of the country in August, although there were signs that void periods are starting to increase slightly.

The latest data from Goodlord indicates that the market is strong heading into autumn, but the picture for void periods remained mixed in August, with only three monitored regions continuing the downward trend in average void periods seen in recent months. a

However, all regions are still recording void periods below their annual average and the overall average void period in England remains low at 15 days.

The North West saw the biggest month-on-month decrease in August, with its average void period dropping from 20 days in July to 18 days in August – a decrease of 10%. London and the East Midlands also saw their average void period reduce by one day in August.

The average void period climbed by 66% in the South West in August, from 9 days in July to 15 days in August. Smaller increases were also recorded in the North East and South East.

There was no change in the West Midlands, with the average void period remaining steady at 18 days.

The data also shows that rents continued to increase in England in August, bringing the average rent across the country to £1,097.41 –  an increase of 3.5% on last month’s already record-breaking figure for the Goodlord Rental index of £1,060.50.

In the South East, the average monthly rent hit £1,293 in August, up 14% from £1,137.29 in July.

Other areas to see significant shifts were the East Midlands, where the average monthly rent is now £946.89 – a month-on-month increase of 7% – and London, where the average monthly rent increased by 6% from £1,631.10 in July to £1,725.77 in August. Small increases were also seen in the West Midlands and the South West.

The North East and North West were the only regions to register decreases in average monthly rents. In the North East, the average monthly rent dropped by 7% to £809.79 in August, while in the North West, the average monthly rent decreased by 5% to £807.17 – the lowest in the country.

The average tenant income decreased by 6% in August, which means the average tenant in England is now earning £25,264. Excluding London, the average tenant income is £23,566.

Tom Mundy, COO of Goodlord, said: “The picture for the lettings market remains mostly positive heading into Autumn. August has capped off a hugely busy summer for the industry.

“Lack of stock could be contributing to rising rents in much of the country, but, with average void periods remaining low, the indications are that demand remains strong heading into September and letting agents can expect a busy few months as we head into the final quarter of the year.”

Void figures

June 2021

July 2021

August 2021

Regional average

YoY

Month on Month % change

East Midlands

18

18

17

22

6.25%

-5.6%

Greater London

17

14

13

20

-35.00%

-7.1%

North East

13

7

8

19

-38.46%

14.3%

North West

21

20

18

24

-5.26%

-10.0%

South East

15

13

14

17

7.69%

7.7%

South West

8

9

15

17

-37.50%

66.7%

West Midlands

23

18

18

21

-25.00%

0.0%

England average

16

14

15

20

-16.67%

7.1%

Cost of rent figures

June 2021

July 2021

August 2021

12 Month Regional Average

2021 Regional Average

Month on month % change Previous Month

East Midlands

£824.86

£881.54

£946.89

£848

£845

7.41%

Greater London

£1,566.47

£1,631.10

£1,725.77

£1,570

£1,567

5.80%

North East

£732.22

£872.66

£809.79

£680

£694

-7.20%

North West

£764.44

£852.85

£807.17

£748

£756

-5.36%

South East

£1,062.33

£1,137.29

£1,293.95

£1,078

£1,085

13.77%

South West

£1,002.02

£1,248.20

£1,274.10

£987

£1,000

2.07%

West Midlands

£772.02

£799.86

£824.18

£772

£777

3.04%

England

£960.62

£1,060.50

£1,097.41

£955

£960

3.48%

 

x

Email the story to a friend



2 Comments

  1. AlwaysAnAgent

    Breaking News “a zebra has black and white stripes”. Goodlord has suddenly realised the rental market is going to be busy – wow!!

    After the Guild stopped its dreadful “pointing out the obvious PR campaign” it looks like Goodlord has taken its place.

     

    In the next thrilling instalment Goodlord will reveal that properties have bedrooms. Yes, bedrooms!

     

     

    Report
  2. Woodentop

    There is going to be some crying come 2nd quarter. Over Zealous landlord’s are walking into nightmare when the tenant starts to default on payments. Try getting them to leave and the more you will lose waiting. There should always be a buffer zone between affordability and run out of money. Looks like many are tittering on the edge of the later.
     
    For years at the old rate there was something like 40,000 possession orders year on year and we have 18 months of a backlog to work through from pre-pandemic and it got worse during, so the numbers gone up. Now add in the coming tidal wave!
     
    Just read the Welsh Governments new Housing Act to be active Spring 2022. Wow, not for the faint hearted and plenty of coffee and tablets required. I doubt most landlords would be able to understand all the new jargon and then weed out what it really means for them. One of the most appalling written pieces of legislation to confuse and I doubt many even know it exists, let alone coming.

    Report
X

You must be logged in to report this comment!

Comments are closed.

Thank you for signing up to our newsletter, we have sent you an email asking you to confirm your subscription. Additionally if you would like to create a free EYE account which allows you to comment on news stories and manage your email subscriptions please enter a password below.