Your Move Scotland’s tracker for April has found that the Scottish rental market continues to perform well, with landlords seeing good returns on their investment.
The average rental price in Scotland increased by 0.2% in the last 12 months to reach £571 (seasonally adjusted) in April 2018. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis the average rent this month was £582.
Brian Moran, lettings director at Your Move Scotland, said: “The Highlands and Islands continues to remain in first place for the steepest growth in the Scottish rental market.
“Prices here have increased by more than 11% in the last 12 months – much faster than anywhere else in Scotland.
“Elsewhere it was a more mixed picture with prices rising strongly in the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, but falling in the East and South.”
On a regional level, Edinburgh and Lothians was the area with the highest rents for tenants in Scotland at £672, with prices growing faster than the national average. The Highlands and Islands region posted the strongest rent growth at 11.4% in the 12 months to April. Prices in the region now stand at £664 per calendar month, making it the second most expensive region for tenants in the country.
However, Edinburgh and Lothians remains ahead by less than ten pounds, as the average rent was £672 this month. This follows growth of 2.6% in the last year.
Glasgow and Clyde was the other region where prices increased in the last 12 months. Here the average property is let for £587 a month – 3% more than a year ago.
Both the East of Scotland and the South of Scotland saw falls in the cost of the average rental property. In the East there was a 1.3% fall in the last 12 months, with the average price now standing at £531. Meanwhile in the South prices dropped by 2.9% to £547.
The East is once again the cheapest region for tenants to rent a property in Scotland.