UK rents drop for first time since 2019
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Tuesday 28 Jan 2025
(Sharecast News) - The average price of rent in the UK excluding London fell for the first time since pre-pandemic 2019 in the fourth quarter, according to Rightmove, as supply continues to improve.
The property platform announced on Tuesday that the average advertised rent of properties coming to market outside the capital was £1,341 per calendar month over the final three months of 2024, down 0.2% on the preceding quarter.
This brings an end to many months of new record rents. While rentals still cost 4.7% more than they did the previous year, this was the lowest rate of annual rent inflation since 2021, having slowed significantly since peaking at 12% in 2022.
In London, advertised rents reached another new record of £2,695 a month on average, up 0.1% on the previous quarter, though the annual rate of growth eased to a three-year low of 2.4%.
"One of the drivers of slowing rent growth has been the gradual improvement in the available supply of rental properties across Great Britain, compared with recent supply-constrained years. The number of available rental properties is now 13% higher than at the same time last year," Rightmove said in a statement.
Fewer prospective tenants look to move than the previous year also had an impact, with the number of enquirers down 16%.
"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," said Rightmove's property expert Colleen Babcock.
"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."
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