Average advertised rent in UK on track to surpass £1,000 this year

The average advertised rent in Great Britain currently stands at £987 a month and is expected to surpass £1,000 in 2014.

Summary

• The average advertised rent in the UK has steadily increased and is expected to pass the £1,000 mark this year
• Considerable increases in London rents helped to drive up the national average
• Experts claim rapid population growth has seen demand outstrip supply

Having experienced an increase of 0.77% (£7) in January, the average advertised rent in the UK now stands at £987 a month and is expected to pass the £1,000 mark this year.

Compared with January 2013, the overall rental UK property market has increased by an average of £16 (1.63%), according to property firm Move With Us.

A significant £13 rise in average advertised rents to £2,221 per month in London played a considerable role in driving up the national increase.

The capital’s asking rates remain the most expensive in the country, standing at almost double those in the second priciest region, the South East – where the average advertised rent is £1,318 per month.

Robin King, Director of Move with Us, puts this down to population growth, stating figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which revealed London’s population has grown by more than one million in 10 years to over 8.17 million people.

He said: “With the number of new homes being built not keeping pace with the rising population, competition for rental properties is becoming fiercer, pushing rental prices up.

“It is likely that the current increase in average asking rents is a sign of further increases to come as the population growth in Greater London carries on.”

Postcode lottery

When measured against figures from January 2013, landlords in the South East, East Anglia and Scotland are in the strongest performing regions, with increases in advertised rents standing at £24, £30 and £24 per month respectively across the year.

Meanwhile, tenants in Wales and the North East witnessed monthly declines in average rents in January 2014 compared with the previous year, with rents falling by £6 and £11 respectively.

via:http://www.selectproperty.com/2014/02/average-advertised-rent-uk-track-surpass-1000-year/