Rent levels dip 0.4% in April at Your Move
Average rent levels fell 0.4% to £635 per month for Your Move’s tenant clients in April.
On an annual basis, rents declined 6.1% from £677. It means that tenants signing up to a lease in April are saving an average of £1,050 a year compared with tenants who moved into rented accommodation last summer when rents peaked at £723 in July.
The lowest rent levels are in the North West of England and Yorkshire & the Humber, where tenants pay an average of £467 and £494 per month respectively, according to Your Move’s data. Conversely, rents in the North East and East of England rocked 10.6% and 11.3% respectively in April, to £608 and £729.
David Newnes, managing director of Your Move, says: “Stock levels are still relatively high in many areas of the country, giving tenants more choice and compelling landlords to compete on price. But interest in the sales market is picking up and reluctant landlords who were forced by the chronic lack of buyers to let their properties in the short term are now beginning to put properties back on the market, so supply is very gradually dwindling.
“Tenants had a lot more leeway to negotiate on price six months ago when the sales market was worse.”
Your Move attributes its 1.2% decline in new tenant registrations to the recent upturn in the sales market, which has resulted in first-time buyers being actively looking to buy.