The rental market in England cooled in October, with monthly rents dropping over 12%, according to the Goodlord Rental Index.
Year-on-year rent increases narrowed to an annual low, while voids, or the time properties sit vacant between tenancies, also lengthened, indicating that market pressures eased significantly from July to September.
Year-on-year rent increases in October were just 4%, compared to over 7% reported on several occasions in 2024.
The average rent for a property in England was £1,238, up from £1,190 last October.
Greater London saw a modest year-on-year rent hike of 2%, while the West Midlands reported an increase of nearly 6%.
Month-on-month, there was a notable 12.6% drop in rents from September to October, from £1,417 to £1,238. Every region monitored experienced a decrease in rents.
The South West saw the largest fall, at 24%, followed by 16% in the South East and 11% in Greater London. This came after three months of average rents over £1,400.
As property demand cooled, void periods extended from 15 days in September to 19 days in October, a 27% increase, taking averages back to pre-summer levels.
In October 2023, void periods averaged 18 days, showing little change year-on-year.
Tenants also saw salary increases. The average salary of renters signing new tenancies in October rose by 1.7%, from £37,350 to £37,997.
Year-on-year, salaries have gone up by 5.15%, outpacing rent rises for the second month in a row.
William Reeve, CEO of Goodlord, said: “If you read between the lines of last month’s figures, there were signs that a market softening was coming down the track – the latest Index bears this theory out.
“October tenancies brought decreased rents and a squeezing of the year-on-year rises, while salary figures were up modestly.
“These numbers will be welcomed by tenants, who were being pushed to the very edges of their affordability limits over the summer.
“At the same time, this data indicates that we are ushering in a more manageable period for landlords and agents.
“They have been working extremely hard to keep pace with market demand, while also grappling with a huge raft of regulatory changes coming down the track.”
