Rents have increased by 3 per cent throughout 2014 driven mainly by rises in the East and London.
Nation-wide, the average residential rent reached £767 in December, up from £745 a year ago, the latest Buy-to-Let Index from Your Move and Reeds Rains shows.
Although there was a marginal decline (0.1 per cent) from November to December, it did not come even close to offsetting the strong rise on an annual basis.
Rents grew in eight of ten regions of England and Wales, with East England taking the lead with a 7.6 per cent surge, followed by a 6.2 per cent rise in the East Midlands and a 4.1 per cent increase in London. Yorkshire & the Humber saw a 3.4 per cent annual rise in rents. This led to new record highs in all four regions in December.
The two regions veering off the general upward trend were the North East and the South West, where rents fell by 2.1 per cent and 1 per cent respectively.
Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Reeds Rains and Your Move, analyses the data:
“There appears to be a new fire in the rental market as we enter 2015. Demand for homes to let is hotter than we would normally expect at this time of year.
“Recent months have shown a divergence from usual seasonal norms. Historically, there is a tendency for rents to ease in the winter, particularly December. With fewer tenants willing to relocate in the festive period, landlords usually compete to fill empty properties and agreed rents tend to dip as a result. Last month that happened – and rents fell compared to November – but by much less than the usual extent.
“In particular a jobs boom across the eastern regions of England has seen a larger than usual number of people relocating in the winter months. This has pushed up rental prices in these regions even further.”
