Across Scotland rents increased or remained stable in every single region between October and November, Your Move Scotland found. Yields and tenant finances have also remained steady since last month.
The average property let for £569 in November 2016, higher than the previous month and the same point last year. The Edinburgh and Lothians region continued to boast the highest rents and now the fastest growing rents in Scotland also lie in this area, Your Move’s survey found.
The Edinburgh and Lothians region continued its recent sterling performance into November, Your Move Scotland found. The capital city and surrounding area boasted rent growth of 4.9% in the last 12 months, faster than any other part of the country.
It also held its crown as the place with the highest rents in Scotland. The typical property in this region now lets for £645 per calendar month.
The closest challengers are Glasgow and Clyde – with an average rent of £577 a month – and the Highlands and Islands, where the typical property lets for £576. However, the two areas have fared quite differently in the past 12 months. Prices in the Glasgow and Clyde area have risen by 0.9% while those in the Highlands and Islands region dropped by 7.8%.
Prices in the South of Scotland nudged down 1.1% year-on-year to stand at £544, although there was 0.6% growth between October and November.
The East of Scotland remains the cheapest place to rent a property in the country, although prices in this region did rise compared to both last year and last month. The average rent of £529 in October was 0.8% higher than 12 months ago and 0.2% up month-on-month.
Yields levelled off in November after falling in the previous survey, Your Move Scotland found. Rental properties in Scotland typically returned 5% this month, down on the 5.8% recorded in September but level with October’s figure.
These yields also compare strongly to property investment in other parts of the UK. Landlords in Scotland continue to see much better returns than their counterparts in England and Wales, where the average yield in October stood at 4.7%.
Only properties in the North East and North West regions of England saw better returns, 5.3% and 5.1% respectively, suggesting that Scotland may be a good place to invest, Your Move said.
Across all of Scotland some 10.8% of all tenancies had arrears of a day or more in November 2016. While this was higher than the 7.9% figure recorded last month, it remains well below September’s 12.5% total and the long-term trend.
However, Scotland’s arrears rate for this month remains above the level found in England and Wales. Across these two nations the average rate of arrears was 8.3% during November.
On an absolute basis, the number of Scottish households in serious arrears – defined as two months or more – was 9,753 in October 2016.
Brian Moran, lettings director of Your Move Scotland, said: “Edinburgh and the Lothians saw rents rise faster than anywhere else in Scotland, proving the property market continues to thrive.
“This level of rent growth is comparable with the top performing regions in England, which may tempt more investors to head north of the border.
“Landlords and tenants will both be happy to see overall tenant nances improve and this shows the Scottish rental market is in a stable position at present.
“Yields remain strong and above the level seen in most of England and Wales despite concerns about the wider economy.”