Rents in England and Wales down for first time in eight months

Taylor Scott International News

Residential rents across England and Wales fell to a new average of £768 per month in November, down 0.2% month on month, the latest index shows. It is the first time in eight months that rents have fallen on a monthly basis, according to the buy to let index from the UK’s largest lettings agent networks, Your Move and Reeds Rains. However, despite the month on month fall rents are 2% higher than a year ago, or £15 higher than November 2013. Also, the East of England, the East Midlands and London have actually posted new all-time record rents. The firm says that the fall follows the usual seasonal trend as landlords keen not to have vacant property over the colder months reduce rents to attract tenants. A breakdown of the figures show that five out of 10 regions have seen lower rents in November than in October with the South East seeing rents fall by 2.1% drop, the North West down 1.2% and the North East down 0.6%. By contrast, the East Midlands has defied the overall trend, seeing rents increase by 1.7% between October and November. This monthly change is four times faster than experienced in both London and the neighbouring East of England, both of which saw rents rise 0.4% on a monthly basis. Despite monthly dips, rents in eight out of 10 regions remain higher than in November 2013, with one other region seeing no significant change. Far above the overall average, three neighbouring regions stand out on an annual basis. Rents in the East of England have grown by 6.7% since November 2013. This is followed by 5.5% in the East Midlands and 3.9% in the West Midlands. At the other end of the spectrum, rents in the South West are now 0.2% lower than in November 2013, the only region to see a fall while the North West has seen zero rental inflation over the last twelve months. The index also shows that the gross rental yield on a typical rental property in England and Wales now stands at 5.1% as of November, the same as in October 2014, but a 0.3% drop from last year, when yields in November 2013 stood at 5.4%. However, alongside this stability, total returns improved in November. Taking into account price growth and void periods between tenants, but before costs such as mortgage repayments or maintenance, total annual returns on an average rental property are 12.8% over the 12 months to November. This compares to 12.7% over the 12 months ending October 2014. In absolute terms this means the average landlord in England and Wales has seen a return, before deductions such as mortgage payments and maintenance, of £21,512 over the last twelve months. Within this figure rental income makes up £8,305 while the average capital gain amounts to £13,207. ‘Property prices have shifted to a more… Taylor Scott International

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