Rents in the south west of England are rising at the fastest rate in the country, the latest rental tracker from Your Move has revealed.
The study found that rents in the region had jumped by 3.4% in the last 12 months, taking the average rental price to £686 a month.
Martyn Alderton, national lettings director at Your Move, noted that areas like Plymouth are driving the sharp rental rise seen in the south west.
He explained: “ As well as stunning countryside and lower cost of living, current multi-million pound developments are creating employment opportunities Coupled with the expansion of the dockyard and hospital, strong economic growth is encouraging many tenants to live here.
“Plymouth’s student market is also very active, as is demand for city centre apartments and Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO’s). We are seeing many millennials preferring to rent here due to their lifestyle choices and the flexibility it brings compared to buying. Demand is therefore keeping rental and yield payments up as tenants are willing to pay provided the quality of the rental property is high.”
Other regions to see strong growth included the east Midlands, where rents jumped 2.8% to hit £656, while the east of England now has an average rent of £890 following a 2% increase.
At the other end of the spectrum, rents in London dropped by 0.5% to an average of £1,271 per calendar month. Nonetheless, it remains the most expensive place to rent.
There continue to be sharp differences depending on where the property is located within London. Looking at London Travelcard Zones, properties in Zone 2 are let for an average of £1,560 a month, sharply more than those in less central areas. For example, in Zone 6 the average property is let for £1,189 per month.
Two other regions saw rents fall over the last 12 months. In Wales the typical property is let for £588, down 1.9% on a year ago, while in the north east prices have fallen 1.6% to a typical £535. The north east is still the cheapest place to rent a property in England and Wales.
Northern areas offered landlords and property investors the highest yields, the study found. The north east delivered yields of 5%, while the north west offered yields of 4.8% in June. Across all of England and Wales landlords enjoyed an average yield of 4.4%.
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