Countrywide research
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Latest property news
Number of rentals to outstrip sales for first time in 80 years, says Countrywide Lettings Index
The number of homes rented next year will outstrip the number sold if current trends continue, says Johnny Morris, research director at Countrywide (pictured, below). His prediction is made within the Countrywide Lettings Index, published today, which also highlights increasing rents in the north but slowing growth in the south. “A different type of two speed rental market is emerging, with falling stock and growing demand driving rental growth in many Northern cities at a higher rate than those in the South,” he says. The Countrywide Lettings Index also reveals that rents in Manchester are rising the fastest at 7.1%, three times faster than the average. York, Leeds, Liverpool and Glasgow are the other cities in the high growth ‘top five’ while the slowest growth cities – where many landlords are cutting back rents – include Cambridge and Oxford. Overall Countrywide says rental growth has slowed across the UK over the past 12 months from 2.8% to 2.2% as rent rises have slowed in eight of the UK’s eleven regions (see list, below). Agents will be cheered by Countryside’s activity figures, nevertheless. Morris says September saw “record activity with increasing numbers of lets agreed and tenants choosing to renew their contracts,”…
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Latest property news
Rents rise 3.2% year-on-year
Rents rose by 3.2 per cent to an average £926 per month in February compared to the same time last year, the latest figures show. The Countrywide monthly Lettings Index for February has identified a fall in tenants’ negotiating power, with the average home in the UK let for 99.9 per cent of the asking rent, the highest such value since 2007, just before the global economic downturn. This figure is highest in London where the average let was agreed at 100.9 per cent of the asking price while it was lowest in Wales at 98.7 per cent. With demand continuing to heavily outstrip the supply of private rental homes, one in five of those renting in the capital pay more than asked for to secure a property of their choice. This equates to £94 a month over and above the asking rent against a UK average of £44 which, over the course of a typical 17-month tenancy, works out to be an additional £1,578 in rent for the average Londoner. Rental price growth in London has unsurprisingly outstripped all other parts of the country since 2007, with rents 34 per cent above their pre-recession record compared to12 per cent…
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