Average asking rent outside London ‘falls for first time since before pandemic’
Average asking rent outside London ‘falls for first time since before pandemic’
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The average price being asked for a home to rent outside London has fallen for the first time since before the coronavirus pandemic, according to Rightmove. Excluding London, the average advertised rent in Britain fell in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with the previous quarter, dropping by 0.2% to £1,341 per calendar month.
It was the first quarterly decrease recorded since 2019, and while it equates to a drop of just £3 in newly advertised monthly rents, it brings an end to many months of prices reaching new record highs, Rightmove said. Rents are 4.7% higher than a year earlier, but this is the slowest rate of growth since 2021, the website said.
Average advertised rents in London continued to rise, reaching a 13th quarterly record in a row of £2,695 per calendar month. But Rightmove said the quarterly increase in monthly asking rents in London was relatively small, at 0.1% or £1. Average rents in London were 2.4% higher than a year ago – the lowest increase since 2021.
A rising supply of rental homes to choose from was improving the balance of supply and demand, the website said, although there were still 10 applications being made typically per rental property. Rightmove said that looking across Britain, rental supply had increased the most in the north-east of England, and least in Wales.
Some rental sector demand may have moved across to the house sales market, Rightmove suggested, helped by some mortgage rate reductions and rising wages. It said agents were also reporting that some tenants were choosing to stay put rather than move due to the costs.
