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…