The cost of renting a new property outside London has finally fallen – after rising every quarter since 2019.
The average advertised rent of a home outside of London is now £1,341 per calendar month, dropping by 0.2% compared with last quarter.
Rents are still 4.7% higher than this time last year, but this is the slowest rate of growth since 2021.
Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said: “A first quarterly drop in rents is the culmination of several months of improvement in the balance between supply and demand.
“While new tenants are still paying more than they were at this time last year, the pace of growth continues to slow.
“However, though this is the big picture of market activity, agents on the ground still tell us that the market is very hot, and some areas have improved more than others when it comes to the supply and demand balance.
“Our own data shows that the average rental property is still receiving 10 applications per property, which is lower than the peak, but still double the pre-pandemic norm.”
The number of available rental properties is now 13% higher than at the same time last year, while there are 16% fewer enquiries from tenants.
It’s likely some renters have transitioned to the sales market, while other tenants are choosing to stay put due to the cost of moving.
The average number of applications per rental property is still in double digits at 10, double the pre-pandemic average, so the market is still very busy based on historic trends.
The number of available properties to rent has improved the most in the North East (+30%), and least in Wales (+3%), highlighting regional differences in supply improvements.