Rents cooled by 1.5% in August but have still risen by a huge 10% year-on-year, the rental index from Goodlord has revealed.
Prices across England coming down by 1.5% to an average of £1,347 per property in August, after they first broke the £1,300 barrier in July.
William Reeve, chief executive of Goodlord, said: “There were so many records broken in July, it’s not altogether surprising to see a slight dip in average rents and slightly longer void periods during August.
“However, when you look at the bigger picture, the market is clearly still running extremely hot. Year-on-year averages for rental costs are significantly increased, with the £1,300 per month barrier now broken for a second month in a row.
“September often brings with it the annual peak in prices, so it’s likely that we’ll see another month of high rents and short voids before any seasonal shift in pace kicks in.”
Greater London and the South East saw the biggest rise in average prices.
The capital saw an upward swing of +8% month-on-month, with the South East recording the highest rise, with rents up by +14%.
However, it was a different picture in the North West, which saw a drop of -20% in average prices.
Rents also dropped in the North East (-6%) and the South West (-10%) though both regions saw huge increases in rental costs during July.
Voids also saw a slight cooling off after the intensity of July, with average void periods rising from 9 days to 13 days in August.
However, this still makes August the second lowest month for voids since July 2022.
Greater London and the South East, which both saw a rise in rental costs, recorded no change in average void periods.
