Your Move’s England & Wales Buy to Let Index has found that most areas of England and Wales have seen rental price growth over the last year, although the best performances continue to be seen in the regions away from London.
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the average rent charged to tenants was £938 in September. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the average rent was £843 in September, higher than the £841 recorded last month and 3.2% up on the same point in 2016.
Prices in London and the South East continued to rise at a slower rate than elsewhere, Your Move found.
On a yearly basis, rents increased in the North West by 3.6% to reach an average of £633. This made it the fastest growing area surveyed.
Close behind was the East Midlands where prices have grown to £646 per calendar month in September, a rise of 3.4% compared to last year.
The East of England rounded off the top three with prices having increased by 2.9% in the 12 months to September. The average rent in this region now costs £880 per month.
By contrast, prices in the South West have fallen by 2.2% and in the North East they have dropped by 0.3%. These were the only two regions to post a year-on-year fall.
As of September, the average price in the South West was £669 while in the North East it was £536, the cheapest region in the survey.
London rents are the highest in the country, with an average of £1,280 recorded during September. However, this headline gure continues to mask vast differences across the capital.
Martyn Alderton, national lettings director for letting agents Your Move and Reeds Rain, said: “Once again the strongest rent growth was found in the areas away from London and the South East. As activity in the capital slows, prices and activity have risen in the north.
“There was a stellar performance in the North West, with rents increasing by 3.6% over the year and landlords seeing a high yield rate of 5%.
“Yield levels have started to stabilise across surveyed areas after being squeezed at the start of the year. This is good news for landlords and demonstrates the resilience of the sector.”