A series of rental market records were broken in July, setting the highest rental averages ever recorded by the Goodlord Rental Index.
The average rental cost in England is now £1,470, up 7.5% year-on-year, past what some market observers believed was the ‘ceiling’ on rental costs set last summer.
In July 2023, the average price of a rental property in England was £1,367 – the highest ever rental average recorded by the Index.
July 2024 was the first time the Rental Index recorded a national rental average of over £1,400.
Regionally, the biggest year-on-year jump was recorded in the South West, where rents were 10% higher than a year ago.
The smallest shift was in the West Midlands, where rents were up by a comparatively small 4% compared to July 2023.
Month-on-month there was a huge 20% increase in rents across England.
Rents jumped up from £1,225 per property in June to the £1,470 average of July.
Two regions saw a particularly notable increase in rents for new tenancies in July versus the previous month, jumping over 40% in both the North West and South West.
The East Midlands and North East saw demand drive month-on-month costs up by more than 20%.
The smallest changes were seen in Greater London (+5%) and the West Midlands (+3%).
Void periods shortened from 17 days in June to 11 in July across England – a reduction of 35%.
The shortest voids were found in the North West, at five days (down from 17) and the South West, at seven days (down from 11).
Both regions recorded the biggest increases in rental costs over the month.
Voids are now at a 12-month low, but tracking slightly longer year-on-year; in July 2023, the average void period was even shorter, at nine days.
The Index recorded a rise in salaries for renters signing new tenancy contracts in July, with average pay up from £36,800 in June to £38,086 in July.
This was a rise of 3.5%, although it lagged significantly behind the month-on-month increase in rental costs.
William Reeve, CEO of Goodlord, said: “These July figures show another remarkable increase in rents.
“We’ve become used to seeing steady year-on-year increases since 2020, but there were indications that the striking numbers set last summer might start to level off.
“This argument has been dramatically disproven.
“July’s figures have smashed rental price records and set a new baseline for the market’s busiest months.
“At the same time, voids have notably shortened, further highlighting the squeeze on supply.
“For tenants, the new Government’s moves to accelerate house building can’t come soon enough.”
