Whilst there are more properties available in the country’s private rented sector rental costs are still continuing to increase, a new research shows.
Property portal Rightmove’s latest rental tracker report revealed that supply has increased by 7% outside of London during Q2 of 2017 when compared to the same period last year.
In the capital itself, rental supply even increased by 8% over the same period of time.
However, despite the increase in supply, rental costs are still on the rise. They’re increased by 2.8% outside of London from Q1 2017 to Q2, currently averaging at £790 per month.
Within London, average rents have only increased slightly during the same time frame, up by 0.2% to an average of £1,934 per month.
Ascot, Bath, Salford, Newcastle, Leeds, Cambridge, Birmingham, Cardiff and Aberdeen
offer some of the biggest concentrations of available properties in the private rented sector. This is based on the areas with the highest numbers of available rental properties, as a proportion of total housing stock in the areas. However, some of these areas, such as Salford and Newcastle, also come with huge demand from potential renters.
Additionally, the extended choice comes as a surprise to many as the added stamp duty charges (introduced last year) were intended to stop investors from putting their money in buy-to-let property.
New study locates all 10 buy-to-let hotspots in England’s North
Sam Mitchell is Rightmove’s head of letting and said:
“Many thought that rental supply would constrict this year, as landlords sold up and looked to invest their money elsewhere, but clearly this isn’t happening yet. Perhaps landlords are re-mortgaging their buy to let properties instead, as they still feel it’s a better investment than looking to other industries.”
“It could spell good news for tenants coming to the end of their lease as they might find there is slightly more choice than last year. Anyone hoping for a drop in prices due to the extra choice will be disappointed though as rents are following a very similar trend to previous years,” he added.
