Rents rose dramatically in rural areas of Great Britain while in cities prices dropped this October, says Hamptons International.

In the countryside a 5.5 per cent annual increase in October saw the average rent bill rise to £919 per calendar month, while in cities, a 5.3 per cent annual drop left the average rent at £1,336 per calendar month.

In smaller towns and suburbs, Hamptons adds, rents rose 2.2 per cent year-on-year.

In October 2019, city rent prices rose 7.2 per cent annually and, in the countryside, fell 0.2 per cent.

These dramatic changes caused the average rent price in Great Britain to rise 1.4 per cent on October 2019, which is the first annual increase seen since March 2020.

Hamptons says that there were 7 per cent fewer people looking to rent in cities than this time last year and there are 29 per cent more properties available whereas in the countryside, 4 per cent more people are on the hunt for somewhere to live and stock levels are down 48 per cent.

In London, average rent in October dropped 0.6 per cent, which is a slowdown of the 2.9 per cent drop seen in September. Inner London rents dropped 14.9 per cent, meanwhile, and Outer London rents rose 3.3 per cent.

Hamptons head of research Aneisha Beveridge says: “The opportunity to work from home means tenants can save while paying less rent in more rural areas. As a result, the gap between rents in cities and the countryside is closing.

“Tenants making the move from city to country last month spent 31 per cent less on rent, down from a 38 per cent saving in October 2019. But it seems as though these changes have been firmly priced in and we expect the gap to widen again next year.”