Rental costs rocketing as town and city centres recover

Rightmove says asking rents are 2.6 per cent higher than in the first three months of the year and 6.2 per cent higher than this time last year – topping £1,000 per calender month outside London for the first time.

It said record tenant demand and homes being let out quicker than ever before has led to rise, as would-be tenants plan urban moves.

Rightmove’s quarterly rental trends tracker, based on more than 470,000 properties, reveals the number of prospective tenants contacting agents about properties for rent is currently 10 per cent higher than in July 2020 across Great Britain, despite last year benefitting from pent-up tenant demand when the rental market reopened in mid-May.

In Nottingham city centre, for example, asking rents are up annually by 6.8 per cent.

The time it is taking for a letting agent to find a tenant for a property is at a record low of 21 days nationally, measured from the date they are first marketed on Rightmove until the property is marked as let agreed.

‘City centre comeback’

Tim Bannister, Rightmove director of property data, said: “At the start of this year, the impact tenants leaving cities had on rents was clear to see, but with coronavirus restrictions continuing to lift we’re seeing signs of the city centre comeback.

“As businesses settle into a more structured balance between home and office time, we expect this to continue for the rest of the year.

“Tenants across Britain are being faced with low stock and record rents in many areas, likely fuelled by some tenants signing longer leases last year and also perhaps by a rush of people who chose to move back in with family last year, who are now making plans to rent again and in many cases starting to think about their new daily commute."

Rob Cuffe, director at estate agent Philip James, said: “Since lockdown we’re continuing to see an increase in demand for properties with outdoor spaces such as balconies or terraces. Any with outside space are the most sought after. We’re letting all of our properties in an average of just 10 days.”

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