Rents increased in four regions in England and Wales in June

Rents increased in four regions in England and Wales in June with the monthly average rising by almost 6% in both Wales and the South West but falling by over 6% in South East, the latest index shows.

Indeed, in the South East of England rents fell month on month from £1,044 to £980, a drop of 6.1%, according to the Goodlord rental index.

Rents also fell in the East Midlands by 0.6% to an average of £800. This is down from £864 in February. They also fell in the West Midlands, but by a marginal 0.1% to £719, a fall of just £1 and rents in the region remain higher than at the start of the year when they were £688.

In Greater London rent fell by 1.3% to an average of £1,621, down from the £1,694 recorded at the start of 2019. But the biggest monthly fall was in February when rents were £1,619.

The monthly rental average for the whole of the UK stood at £907 in June. This is up from the year to date low of £887 in February, but below the £917 national average in January 2019.

London continues to have the highest monthly rents, with an average of £1,621 in June, and an average affordability ratio of 3.3, making it the least affordable region in the country for renters.

Affordability is a tenant’s financial capacity to afford rent. Goodlord defines affordability as a tenant’s guaranteed yearly income divided by their yearly rent share, with 2.5 considered the minimum affordable ratio.

An analysis of tenancies processed through Goodlord’s platform in June found that the North East and West Midlands were the most affordable regions for renters, with the affordability ratio for both standing at 4.1.

The South West and Wales had the lowest average void periods in June at just nine days for both regions. The highest void periods were in the East Midlands, where it took an average of 25 days to fill an empty property last month.

‘We continue to see a range of market factors affecting average rental prices. Whilst London prices are holding fairly steady, we’ve seen a big drop across the South East as a whole. This contrasts sharply with a steady rise in rents for the South West and Wales,’ said Tom Mundy, chief operations officer of Goodlord.