If you are a tenant, it’s important to keep an eye on rent prices in your area. Whether you’re a student or a young professional, you should follow the UK’s prices and figures of rent. You might be paying far too much for your rental property.
You need to determine whether renting a property is the best option for you and your lifestyle. If you are looking for a rental property, make sure to take out tenants’ insurance to keep you covered.
Why should you follow the rent price per region?
Rent prices differ significantly between regions in the UK. According to the Home Let Rental Index, the average rental price for a new tenancy in the UK was £1,059 per calendar month (PCM) in October 2021. The average rental price has increased by a whopping 8.7% in the last year and decreased by 0.2% in the last month.
Various factors impact local rental prices in the UK, such as local wage levels and the demand for rental properties. When local wages increase, rent prices tend to follow suit. When the demand for rental properties decreases, rent prices are likely to go down too. There’s no point in increasing rental prices if you struggle to find tenants to fill your current properties.
Traditionally, only 30% of an individual’s disposable income should be spent on rent. However, all too often, rent prices spike and individuals spend far more than 30% of their income.
If rent prices are continually increasing in your area, you may need to look at moving elsewhere. It’s not always financially smart to stay in an area with sky-high rent prices – especially if your wage stays the same.
Let’s take a closer look at the figures
The Home Let Rental Index found that northeast of England has the lowest average rental price PCM at £588. The northeast was closely followed by Yorkshire and Humberside, The Midlands and Northern Ireland.
On the other side of the scale, Greater London racked up the highest rent price in the UK at a staggering £1759. The southeast and east of England also ranked highly on the average rent price scale.
The rental market is skyrocketing at the moment. The pandemic has had a huge impact on the economy and our personal finances. Many businesses have opted for a flexible approach to working so employees can choose between the office and home. As a result, more people are looking to move outside of the city centre to find larger homes for smaller prices. They want home offices over tiny city-centre apartments.
These days, there is a much higher demand for rental properties outside of the city centre. The rental market is changing, and you need to keep a close eye on it.