Rental prices continue to rise at slower pace

Private rental values continued to rise across the UK in October, albeit at a slower pace, led by gains in Scotland, the latest HomeLet rental index reveals. It was the second consecutive month that annual rent price increases slowed below double figures, following on from six successive months of annual rent price increases of 10 per cent plus. The annual rate of growth in rental values for the UK, excluding London, has continued to slow since the July peak of 8.1 per cent, hitting an average of £749pcm in October – up 3.5 per cent compared with corresponding period last year The widening supply-demand imbalance in the market is continuing to place upward pressure on rents, with nine of the 12 UK regions seeing rent prices rise on an annual basis in October, led by growth in Scotland at 9 per cent. In contrast, rents fell by 4.9 per cent in the North West, were 2.2 per cent lower in Northern Ireland and dropped by 1.2 per cent in East Anglia. Average rents for new tenancies in London were 7.5 per cent higher than the same period last year, with the average rental value in the capital reaching £1,560pcm, which…