Rents soar across the country, but falter in London and South East

Average rents performed strongly across many parts of the country last month, but floundered in London and the South East.

Goodlord's Rental Index for June 2019 shows that average rents in four regions soared by over 3% last month when compared to May.

The highest rise was recorded in Wales, where typical rents increased by 5.8% to £800. This was followed by the South West, where rents increased from £896 to £947 between May and June, a rise of 5.7%.

The other strong performers were the North East with a monthly rise of 3.6% and the North West, where average rents climbed by 3.3% on a monthly basis.

Typical rents in the South East experienced a sharp drop between May and June, falling from £1,044 to £980 (-6.1%).

Meanwhile, in Greater London average rents dropped by 1.3% on a monthly basis, from £1,643 to £1,621.

Rents in the East Midlands and West Midlands also decreased between May and June, with Goodlord recording respective marginal drops of 0.6% and 0.1%.

Nationally, the index calculates the average rent at £907 in June, down from a high of £917 in January but an improvement on the 2019 low of £887 recorded in February.

"We continue to see a range of market factors affecting average rental prices," says Tom Mundy, Goodlord's chief operating officer and co-founder. 

"Whilst London prices are holding fairly steady, we’ve seen a big drop across the South East as a whole. This contrasts sharply with a steady rise in rents for the South West and Wales."

"As we move into the summer - typically the busiest season for lettings - it will be interesting to see what the impact of student housing churn and the repercussions of the tenant fees ban," he says.

The index also measures void periods, identifying the South West and Wales as the regions with the lowest average void periods last month at nine days.

The highest void periods in June were recorded in the East Midlands where it took an average of 25 days to fill a vacant property.