London’s rental growth hits four year high
London’s rental growth hit a four year high last year as the number of properties available for tenants plummeted, according to the latest research.
Rents in the capital rose at 2.8 per cent in 2019 – the highest rate for almost four years – as the available supply of homes has plummeted 20 per cent over the last two years.
The trend for soaring rents was reflected across the UK, as nationwide rental growth hit 2.6 per cent -the highest growth in three years – reaching an average of £886 per calendar month in the fourth quarter.
The supply of homes to rent has contracted by four per cent across the UK in the last two years, but tenant demand increased by more than eight per cent last year, according to research by Zoopla.
Zoopla research and insight director Richard Donnell said: “A lack of supply and real wage growth is behind the increase in average rents across the country over 2019. New investment by landlords has fallen since the introduction of tax changes in 2016 and this has been felt most keenly in southern England where property values are highest and yields lowest.
“This is creating scarcity and explains why rents are rising in the face of increased rental demand as levels of employment continue to grow.”
Countrywide national managing director Paul Chapman said: “2019 has been a year of change for the lettings industry and it has certainly been a year of two halves.
“The introduction of the tenant fee ban at the end of May resulted in a change in market seasonality as some customers chose to delay moving until 1 June 2019 or thereafter.”