Many city centres saw double digit price growth in the third quarter of this year, shows new data from Rightmove.
Specifically, since February 2020 (i.e., pre-pandemic), renters in Bristol faced a 12% rise in their bills, Nottingham and Glasgow clocked up an 11% rise apiece, and Birmingham saw a 10% rise in average rent prices.
In Edinburgh, however, rent dropped 5% across the same time period and, in Coventry, rents fell by 2%.
Meanwhile, rental prices in London grew by 2.7%, “first annual rise since before the pandemic started,” according to Rightmove.
This means that annually and excluding London, city centre rent prices have grown by 8.6% on an annual basis, the most rapid acceleration Rightmove has on record.
The firm also shows that demand for rental properties overall is up 39% on 2019 and by 11% compared to September 2020.
For flats, demand has risen 95% since September 2020 and for houses, by 37%. And for four- and three-bedroom flats, demand has exploded by 131% and 124%, respectively.
Despite this growth in cities, the data shows that it is more difficult to find a rental property in rural areas or the suburbs. In February 2020, 6% of available properties were in rural locations and 46% in the suburbs. These have since dropped to 3% and 33%.
Rightmove director of property Tim Bannister says: “A year of various lockdowns saw many city centres hit with either a complete standstill in rental growth, or falls of over ten per cent in some cases, as tenants moved further out or back in with family temporarily.
“But as society opened again cities have not only bounced back but are now seeing strong rental growth, fuelled by increased tenant demand and limited available stock. It’s still easier to secure a place in a city centre than in some of the hottest suburban and rural rental markets right now, but as more tenants boomerang back to busier locations this is likely to change.
“Demand is notably up in London compared with this time last year, another sign that people are reconsidering where they want to live.”
