Rents dip across England and Wales according to letting agencies

Rents across England and Wales have fallen between September and October, according to data from the Your Move and Reeds Rains letting agencies.

Average rents now stand at £806 per month. This follows a month-on-month fall of 1.2 per cent, down from September’s all-time record high of £816.

Despite this, rents are considerably higher than a year ago. In the 12 months since October 2014, average rents have risen by 4.7 per cent. After negative CPI inflation of -0.1 per cent, this represents real-terms annual rent rises of 4.8 per cent.

Only four regions saw rents rise in the past month. In the lead, the East of England has seen rents increase 0.7 per cent between September and October; they are also up 0.4 per cent in the north east, 0.3 per cent up in the neighbouring Yorkshire  and Humberside region, and rents in the East Midlands have seen 0.1 per cent month-on-month growth.

By contrast, rents in the South East lead the generally downwards monthly trend, dropping by 2.5 per cent between September and October. This is followed by the South West with a 2.1 per cent monthly dip and by London, down 1.1 per cent. 

The gross yield on a typical rental property in England and Wales - before taking into account void periods - has dropped to 5.0 per cent in October.

As property purchase prices have accelerated, landlords have seen their finances boosted by the value of their properties.

Taking into account both rental income and such capital growth, the average landlord in England and Wales has seen total returns of 11.6 per cent over the 12 months ending October 2015 – up from 10.0 per cent in September 2015.

In absolute terms this means that the average landlord in England and Wales has seen a return of £20,933, before any deductions such as property maintenance and mortgage payments. Of this, the average capital gain contributed £12,272 while rental income made up £8,661 over the 12 months to September.