Goodlord: Rents up and voids down as lettings market sees high demand

The average cost of rent has risen by an average of 3% across the eight regions monitored by Goodlord.

Goodlord: Rents up and voids down as lettings market sees high demand

Lettings market activity throughout June was significantly higher than recorded at the same time last year, according to the latest Rental Index from Goodlord.

 

As a result, rental costs are rising in the majority of regions and void periods are reducing.

The average cost of rent has risen by an average of 3% across the eight regions monitored by Goodlord.

The biggest rise was seen in the South West, which saw average prices increase by 11%, from £859 per month to £965.

Wales followed closely, with a 9% rise in average rental costs.

The only region to see a dip in prices was the East Midlands, with average rental costs decreasing by 4%, from £825 to £795.

The UK average rental cost, per property, now stands at £892.72 per month, up from £862.48 in May.

Void periods dropped in five out of the eight regions.

The biggest drop came in the North East, with voids reducing from 29 to 17 days on average.

Similarly in the South West, void periods dropped from 23 to 12 days.

However, there were increases in void periods in the East Midlands, Greater London and the West Midlands.

The number of completed lets in June stayed above 2019 averages for all but six days.

The busiest day of the month was Wednesday 10 June, when the number of completed lets was 24% higher than the same day in 2019.

Each day in June saw new tenancy applications remain above 90% of 2019 levels; at the peak of the crisis, these dropped to a low of 28%.

The average salary of a UK renter also dipped slightly, from £25,068 to £24,613.

Tom Mundy, COO of Goodlord, said: “If May was characterised by a release of pent up market demand, then June was that demand translating into action.

"The numbers throughout the month were incredibly impressive and show how hard the industry has been working to serve as many tenants and landlords as possible.

"We saw an unprecedented number of lets completed each day in June.

"It’s therefore no surprise to see those levels of demand starting to affect average rental costs and void periods.”