The latest Rental Trends Tracker from Rightmove, reveals that the average advertised rent for new properties coming to the market has hit a new quarterly record of£1,344 per calendar month (outside of London).
This marks a 5.2% increase from a year ago, though it is the slowest rate of growth seen since 2021.
In London, rents have also reached a new record, with an average of £2,694 pcm, reflecting a 2.5% rise compared to last year.
Both national and London price trends are in line with Rightmove’s end-of-year prediction for advertised rent growth, with advertised rents predicted to be 5% higher by the end of 2024 outside of London, and 3% higher in London.
The balance between supply and demand continues to improve compared with 2023, but local letting agents are still very busy with high numbers of tenants looking to move.
The average number of tenant enquiries for each rental property available has fallen to 15, down from 23 at this time last year, but still nearly double the 8 recorded in 2019. Meanwhile the number of available rental properties is now 13% higher than last year, though still 27% below 2019.
More than a fifth (21%) of rental properties are currently seeing a reduction in the advertised rental price before finding a tenant. This compares to 16% last year and is the highest figure at this time of year since 2020.
Budget watch
It appears that some landlords are bracing themselves for a potential Capital Gains Tax rise in the Autumn Budget, and the challenge of complying with upcoming changes to EPC regulations confirmed by the new government, with every rental property needing a minimum EPC C rating by 2030.
A record proportion of former rental homes are currently on the market for sale, Rightmove’s real-time data shows that 18% of homes for sale were previously available to rent, compared with 8% in 2010.
Commenting on the latest figures Rightmove’s director of property science Tim Bannister said: “While we’re seeing some signs of improvement in the market’s chronic levels of demand and supply imbalance helped by a slight increase in the number of available rental properties, affordability remains a key challenge for renters as prices continue to hit new records. Tenant competition has eased slightly from last year, but the market is still far from balanced.
He added: “We are seeing some landlords choosing to exit the market with potential tax changes and stricter EPC regulations as additional factors in landlords’ decision-making. With rental supply under strain, incentivizing landlords to invest in energy-efficient upgrades or offering tax relief could help maintain rental supply and, ultimately, ease affordability pressures for tenants.”
